Kimekai MMA

Wrestle!!!

2012-02-15T17:29:00.001-08:00

Brian is back in Melbourne

2012-02-15T17:26:00.001-08:00

Get on the mat w/ The Hairrow!!

Jez Victory 2010 in Chicago

2012-02-15T17:22:00.001-08:00

Just having a fond memory. Indulge me.

This is why we love Hendo

2012-02-15T14:51:00.000-08:00

Kimekai Fight Team 2011 Preps for 2012

2012-01-15T04:14:00.001-08:00

27 Kimekai Fight Team members represented proudly in 2011.

Professional Fighters-
Nick Patterson
Supi Lanumata
Vik Grujic
Frank Ferreria
Jeremy Wharerau

What I would call Semi-Pro + Amateurs-
Joe Hooke
Dave Trotter
Fred Terepita
Ronnie Radovic
Roberto Fernandes
Andy Wright
Stuart Finn
Reuben Roelleston
Paul Morello
Meg Gallagher
Tareke Lefervre
Brad Payne
Francisco
Cerith Jones
Scott Rea
Daniel Cupples
Leirossa Patterson
Ryan Pyne
Jung Lee
Jamie Bazant
Jason Zivkovic
Jon Bradey

We are very proud of everybody who brought the Bushido Spirit to the ring + cage.
From local shows in Melbourne, country shows in Shep, Numurkah+ Warragul, Interstate shows in Tassie, NSW + the very 1st Cage show up in Darwin. Then all the way over to camp in Temecula, California onto Chicago, Illinois USA vs Team USA. Fantastic work boys + girls.

Kimekai Fight Team will represent once again all 2012.

There is already plans in the works for a Boston, Massachusetts show in July. We are hoping to bring up to 5 fighters over. Some training w/ our Sityodtong Brothers + Sisters and maybe a stop in California again.
There is a suprise brewing w/ our Bro John Salvitti we will reveal once he gets back from Hong Kong where he is working w/ Donnie Yen. Exciting times!!

Brian Ebersole finishes 2011 w/ 3 Wins in the UFC

2012-01-08T00:16:00.001-08:00

We could not be prouder of Brian in the huge year of 2011!
Kimekai MMA looks forward to 2012 and will be with Brian in chasing all his dreams. Melbourne has a UFC fighter to rally behind!

Brian's BJJ Coaches for UFC 140

2011-11-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

It is wonderful to witness generous + gifted Martial Artists like Cam Rowe + Dave Hart sharing their knowledge w/ Brian as he concludes his preparation for Toronto.

MMASF South Pacific Title

2011-11-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

Fantastic Night of Fights @ Moorabbin Sat 5 Nov 2011 w/ Kimekai represented
By
Frank"Skyscraper" Ferreria
Jez "BroTown" Wharerau
Vik "Not Sure of his Nickname Yet" Grujic
+
Nick "Banjo" Patterson

Most people agreed Vik had the fight of the night vs. The very tough Xu. We saw Vik do some great striking that he has not shown before.

Nicko fought against NZ's StrikeForce Powerhouse Jacques Marsters who had beaten our Chico last year. They fought a great MMA battle that displayed the skills of both boys. Nick came out on top- his wrestling being a key ingredient.

Jez had a great sub finish -this was his 1st MMA fight this year. Good to see him firing up his Jitz!

Frankie had his MMA debut and scored a KICK KO! He even had a little ground reversal that suprised us all as he is known as a MuayThai boy.

The whole team helped prepare the team.
Pete Hatton w/ his BRUTAL conditioning sessions + Ryan Pyne(BJJ Purple+ strong Greco) w/ his strong cage grappling training were the secret weapons.
We are very proud of you all!

G'Day From Darwin

2011-10-27T15:52:00.001-07:00

Sent via BlackBerry® from Vodafone

5 Nov Fight Night

2011-10-27T15:50:00.001-07:00

Come on Down + Support Kimekai MMA Fighters

Nick Patterson

Vik Grujic

Jez Wharerau

Frankie Ferreria

Exciting night of MMA + Kickboxing @ Moorabbin Town Hall Saturday 5 Nov.
Sent via BlackBerry® from Vodafone

18 June MMA Fights

2011-05-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

General Admission Tickets Purchase Below
$50.00

Dandenong Fight Night

2011-05-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

Kru Neung MuayThai Seminar

2011-01-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

$50.00

Kru Neung MuayThai Seminar Saturday 12 Feb@KIMEKAI Chelsea Heights 227 Wells Rd-1PM Start

December Rocking On

2010-12-13T19:03:00.001-08:00

The Boys keep fighting away. With 8 fighters getting in the ring on 11 Dec Saturday arvo up in the country in Numurkah we have had 23 different boys fight on the TEAM this calendar year.

BIG BIG Year.

We are so proud of our TEAM.

Lets get ready and make 2011 even bigger!

Nicko won his fight @ Patong Stadium on Phuket. 1st rd KO in 20 sec against a French bloke.!! Fantastic

OCT & NOV CRAZY BUSY

2010-11-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

Lots of action for the Kimekai Team w/ Brian Ebersole spending a valuable training camp w/ us to prepare for events in Darwin, Shepparton, local, Pan Pacs BJJ , & the 1st AFC in Melbourne.

First off Supi is our man and a huge part of OHANA- we are proud of him even after a loss @AFC 1. His opponent Leigh & his Dad & Trainer(Mick) are pure gentlemen. We hate to lose but the Allwoods are 100% class- Full Props on a great win to their team.

The Cranny Latinos went 2 great wins out of 4 fights. The Fernandez Bros are Fuego-Fuego(Fire!) & the Cerros boys gave us the warrior spirit in their interstate debuts.

Nicko (BANJO) and Joey Luc had 2 excellent victories in K-1 & MuayThai respectively.

Pete's Dandenomg gym is firing and has a FULL Cage getting us ready for interstate and more USA fights. Nicko's Cranny location has almost as much mat space as Chelsea and will produce more than a few Champs before I lose all my hair.

Very Proud of the Team - Very Proud to have Kimekai OHANA!

2011 is on the horizon and many more battles for us to fight!! Exciting Times!!

Fight Action

2010-10-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

Busy month of October for the Kimekai Fight Team.

Nicko had a tough fight against Max The French bloke from Ray Elbe's team @ Tiger in Phuket. They both stepped in on couple weeks notice and entertained the crowd til Max finished the fight in Rd 3. Max showed good jitz and a strong chin. We will see them both fight again soon! Nicko had nothing but praise for his opponent-showing the spirit of Martial Arts.

Big card coming up in Shep- we love the way Mat Reid puts on a show.

Joey fights Mac Daddy Drew -Full Thai Rules. Dan Mod Thai and debut MMA for Robbie Mendes.

5 Cranny boys head up to Darwin the night before Shep for an all MMA Team of Latinos Express and 1 Big Jon Jon. Very exciting to see the boys preparing well and bringing El Corazon to the NT!

Aus Cup in Perth 2010

2010-10-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

Ryan & Rob brought home the trinkets from The BJJ Aus Cup in Perth.

Ryan scored the No Gi Silver and Rob No Gi Gold & Gi Silver representing Kimekai as part of the Peter de Been organisation. They both are the 2 most dedicated grapplers on the Team. It is great to have them leading and pushing all the boys to be their best. We are very proud of them both!!

Nuengpichit Sityodtong Muay Thai Seminar

2010-09-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

Lumpini Champion 1995 - Muay Thai Legend

Nuengpichit Sityodtong

Seminar Sunday October 3rd 12noon $50.00 3hrs.

All Welcome

Kimekai

227 Wells Rd Chelsea Heights

Nicko Back on Deck!

2010-09-09T02:35:00.000-07:00

Fight Team Action-Vik, Ronnie,Bronco, Dan,Joey & Jez

2010-09-01T23:55:00.000-07:00

August has been huge w/ Chicago then on to local victoty for Vik-Big Slam & RNC!. Ronnie "The Wall of Humanity" Radovic & Bronco Fernandes and Dan Cupples having their 1st MuayThai bouts.

Miguel Torres Is The Man!!

2010-08-12T00:04:00.000-07:00

Big Thanks to Miguel for taking the time to give Young Joey a thorough bang up for 5 rounds!

We can not say enough about Miguel and his great bunch of people! He made the Aussies feel very Welcome.

Chicago Irish, Polish, & USA Teams

2010-08-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

AUSSIES REPRESENT IN CHICAGO!!!!!!

2010-08-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

The Boys from Melbourne stamped their mark in Chicago on Saturday night @ Toyota Park which is located on the Southside of Chicago.

The Team went 2 for 3 on the night!

Ash "The Executioner" Powell started the action @ 145 lbs (66kg) completely dominating his opponent Anthony Goodwin of Illinois who has a record of 18-3 and 3 title belts in 3 seperate organisations. Anthony is an experienced wrestler but Ash shutdown his takedown attempts and an early armbar and controlled the action on the ground w/ strong Jitz and superior GnP. Great UPD victory for Ash making Coach Carl and the rest of the Team proud while giving his wife Heidi a sore throat as the lone Aussie in the crowd.

Next up was Joey "Lucky Luciano" Hooke 2 155lbs (70kg)who stood and traded w/ a tough experienced Alex White (8-0) from Missouri. Joey and Alex had a war for the 1st rd trading blows in a MuayThai battle that never went to the ground. Alex moved forward like a demolition machine as Joey stuck and moved delivering nice low chopping kicks to the legs and body. The 2nd rd started hot and Joey got caught in a scramble and guillotine choke on the fence and Alex of the USA finished the submission. Great fight! Joey did us proud fighting w/ heart against a great opponent. We all thought Alex was the star of Team USA as we Aussies love a stand up warrior!

Jeremy "BroTown" Wharerau could not have done anything more convincing to show what the boys from DownUnda can do by taking on BJJ man Shawn"Big Heart" Jackson @ 205lbs(93kg) 10-2 record. Jez came out firing and landed 2 hard straight rights that stunned the big grappler and pounced to sink a school yard rear naked choke w/ no hooks in that was deep and tight to finish in 26 seconds!! Ed almost fell into the cage as he climbed the fence screaming(so out of character). Great result.

The MMA Sports Federation put on a great event in a great venue outdoors on a nice balmy Chicago night. We look forward to seeing it on the screen.

Team Irish had a great run winning 2 out of 4 while Team Poland was shutout by the USofA 0-3.

Lots of fun and a great international sense of goodwill- everybody having a cold one after the fights.

Our Man Brian Ebersole Victory Over Carlos Newton

2010-07-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

Not just a Wrestler- How bout' Nak Muay!!!!!!!!

Lest We Forget

2010-07-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

Kimekai MMA Fight Team Executes in Shepp!

2010-07-13T20:04:00.001-07:00

Brian Ebersole At Kimekai for Month of July

2010-06-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

Brian back in town to drill & skill the team and all Kimekai members in his own brand of MMA Wrestling that only a kid from Illinois can bring. Please take advantage of training w/ such a knowledgeable grappler and a great coach. We definitely wish Brian the best in his next bout in Briz Vegas-10 July - taking on the UFC legend Carlos Newton!

Tribal Punishment Fight Nights

2010-06-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

Tribal Punishment Fight Night in May was a great night of action. Joey, Jon,& Vik produced the Victories for the Team. Robbie Knight of Tribal really is making an effort to back MMA at the grassroots level. It was great to see Gracie Barra Bros from Sydney bring it to Melbourne. Denis Kelly's boys strong as always and the 1st time I have seen a Frank Barca fighter on a card - 10th Planet Jitz represented well. I want to put my 2 cents in and say that MMA in Melbourne is starting to build and grow - united. This is the most important part of the MA part of MMA. The fighters are building a brotherhood that will last a lot longer than knee and shoulder joints on an old war horse. Keep working hard and representing your teams and the knowledge and experience gained will be its own greatest reward! OOSS!

Melbourne Fighters Chicago Bound!

2010-05-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

CHELSEA FIGHT NIGHT MAY 2010

2010-05-06T19:36:00.001-07:00

SUPI SONIC Victory

2010-04-19T18:03:00.001-07:00

Senior Team Member SUPI"SONIC" Lanumata brings his MMA record up to 4W- 0L with a UPD victory over Mario Sperry BJJ Black Belt CASSIO VALDEZ out of Sydney. It was an honour for us to compete against a Brasilian warrior trained by Mario Yokohama-a BJJ BB and Judo Black Belt- OOSS!!!

SkyScraper's 2nd Fight

2010-03-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

Frankie lost a close decision to a more experienced opponent in Chris who displayed some great skills.

Coach Peter Hatton & Mo Smith

2010-03-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

MMA Manager-DR DREE

2009-11-05T19:50:00.001-08:00

MMA East Coast Manager Dr Dree Rosa w/ The Badger, Kid Pass & Ed.

Dree is responsible for Banjo getting an opportunity to fight in the Boston area. We would like to thank the DR Dree for hosting Nicko in his home and looking after him while in the USA.

Dennis "Kid Pass" Passaretti is the head of the KO Ohana out of Providence. Kid Pass trained Badger and Ed over their fight careers out of the legendary Federal Hill Dojo-Little Italy of Providence. Much love and great respect to the Ohana of Federal Hill.

Banjo in the Big Bad Apple

2009-11-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

Nicko in NYC w/ Ali's trainer Jimmy Glenn and in Times Square.

KIMEKAI FIGHT TEAM SEPT 2009

2009-09-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic night of fight action once again at the Chelsea Heights Hotel- right down the street from our largest Dojo. Denis Kelly and Nicko put on a display of MMA that covered all ranges and left the crowd screaming for more. 2 true warriors who treat each other w/ honour and respect. Nicko not the victor , but we could not be more proud to have him lead the charge for our team and we are all honoured to take part in any fight that includes Denis. Andy showed us real heart & some new tricks (Superman!) and is gaining momentum in his quest. Wayno had a run at another stand up fight-he is the 1st ever Kimekai fighter to have an MMA fight back in 2005. Wayno and Nicko lost on Sunday night but showed the Bushido Spirit by showing up to train on Monday night in the general MMA session w/ regular students.

This leads me into a few words about what we do on the mat in all our training centres. Marco and I made a decision to start the full contact program in a truly formal way back after Wayno bothered me to train him for his 1st MMA bout. Most of you know I have stated I would prefer the fights to take place in a room w/ no music, hype, rah-rah, blah-blah, card girls prancing around and chest puffing. Well we live in a real world and thats what the punters want in a fight night. I put up with it to experience the spirit I witnessed Sunday night by our fighters and each of their opponents. The true test of a martial artist that can only come from a full contact match- against an equal opponent pushing each combatant's wills and skills is why we train so hard. The answers to the questions we have inside ourselves are presented to the martial artist who puts themselves on the line. This is the essense of Budo and the Muay spirit. Our greatest opponent will always be inside ourselves. The strength and confidence we gain after each test is what never leaves a martial artist who gives themselves fully to the art they study and train in.

-Ed

Chelsea Fight Night

2009-09-17T18:41:00.001-07:00

Chelsea Fight Night 20 September- 4 Boys fighting on the night.

Ryan Silver Aus Cup

2009-09-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

Ryan Pyne did us proud winning a Silver Medal @ the BJJ Aus Cup in Adelaide.

JULY FIGHTS ACTION

2009-07-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

Novice MMA Event @ Hammer's Gym

2009-07-07T00:35:00.001-07:00

NOVICE MMA EVENT

3 BOYS SCHEDULED TO COMPETE

Tony "Oil Can" Cowley

Richard Eppinger

Cameron Van "Damn Straight" Stavaran

BANJO WINS VIC TITLE

2009-05-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

FAREWELL TO OUR DEAR VLAD

2009-04-13T00:06:00.000-07:00

THE KIMEKAI FAMILY IS SAD TO SAY GOOD BYE TO OUR DEAR BRASILIAN JIU JITSU INSTRUCTOR VLAD. HE PASSED AWAY ON THE WEEKEND.

VLAD IS ON THE FARTHEST RIGHT IN HIS BELOVED GI. EVEN WHILE TRAINING W/ THE GREAT STRIKER & UFC CHAMP- MAURICE SMITH, VLAD PROUDLY WORE HIS BJJ COLOURS.

THERE IS NOW A HUGE VOID ON OUR DOJO MAT THAT WE WILL WORK HARDER THAN EVER TO FILL EVERY TIME WE ROLL. HIS ANALYTIC APPROACH, ATTENTION TO DETAIL & PASSION FOR THE GRACIE WAY WILL LIVE ON IN US AS STUDENTS. HE WAS A GIFTED MARTIAL ARTIST, ATHLETE & COACH. WE WILL MISS HIM DEARLY.

VLAD WAS BORN IN BELARUS OF RUSSIAN HERITAGE AND EARNED AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEGREE IN WISCONSIN, USA. WE HAD THE PLEASURE OF SHARING SOME LONG CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM ABOUT MARTIAL ARTS, THE GRACIE WAY & RAISING A FAMILY IN AUSTRALIA. HIS UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE IS WHAT WE WILL MISS THE MOST.

May 2009 Fight Night

2009-03-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

MMA & KICKBOXING BACK IN MELBOURNE CITY VENUE

FEB 09 FIGHTS

2009-03-03T17:15:00.000-08:00

ANOTHER GREAT NIGHT @ CHELSEA
BANJO WINS A GROUND & POUND VICTORY IN 1ST RD AGAINST A TOUGH OPPONENT WHO WOULD NOT QUIT!

JOE WINS HIS DEBUT WITH THE COMPOSURE OF A SEASONED COMBATANT.

WAYNO & ANDY FIGHT HARD IN THEIR 1ST STAND UP FIGHTS MAKING US PROUD TO HAVE THEM ON THE TEAM!

FIGHT NIGHT FEB 09

CHELSEA HEIGHTS

Brian Ebersole Training Seminar

2009-01-22T17:40:00.000-08:00

BRIAN EBERSOLE RETURNS TO KIMEKAI

TUESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2009 - 7.30 PM

COME ON DOWN & TRAIN W/ BRIAN AND THE TEAM FOR A NIGHT OF MMA & WRESTLING. BRIAN'S COACHING & SENSE OF HUMOUR ALWAYS MAKE FOR A GREAT SESSION.

KIMEKAI VICTORY

2008-12-13T15:46:00.000-08:00

THE OIL CAN & BANJO VICTORIOUS

13 DEC 2008-CHELSEA HTS HOTEL- CHELSEA, VIC

ANTHONY "OIL CAN" COWLEY WIN VIA DEC IN MUAY THAI FIGHT

NICK "BANJO" PATTERSON WIN VIA 1ST RD STOPPAGE GROUND & POUND IN MMA

SOME MAYHEM & CROWD INVOLVEMENT. MORE NEWS TO COME......

BRIAN'S TRAINING SESSIONS

2008-12-01T21:43:00.001-08:00

ANOTHER GREAT WEEK OF TRAINING W/ BRIAN
The week leading up to the Pan Pacs was a great time to drill technical aspects of our wrestling takedowns. Brian gave us many new options off the single leading into good positioning for grappling or striking. He moved us through quite a few single leg penetrations & completions that will now be a big part of the team tactics. Much thanks to Brian's past coaches for training him proudly to carry on the legacy of Mid-West USA Wrestling right here in OZ.

Big Props & Congrats to Brian on his CFC Welterweight Title win in Sydney followed by Gold medals @ the Pan Pacs a week later.

We are grateful to have such a skilled competitor and an even better coach as a resource for our fight team and martial arts program.

CHRISTMAS ROSTER

2008-11-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

KIMEKAI MMA CHRISTMAS TRAINING ROSTER

ALL TEAM MEMBERS AND STUDENTS PLEASE BE AWARE TRAINING SESSIONS ARE NORMAL EXCEPT ON SPECIFIED DATES BELOW.

WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO TRAIN THROUGH THE HOLIDAY PERIOD. THIS IS A UNIQUE TIME OF YEAR TO WORK ON TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF YOUR CHOSEN COMBAT SPORT. ALL MEMBERS CAN USE THIS TIME TO IMPROVE STRENGTH & CONDITIONING RATHER THAN FALL INTO THE NORMAL TRAP OF FALLING BEHIND INTO THE NEW YEAR. TODAY IS NOW! NO EXCUSES IN 2009!

DECEMBER

ALL DAYS NORMAL INCLUDING 5.15 AM SESSIONS @ HIGHETT EXCEPT DAYS BELOW:

CHRISTMAS EVE - NO PM CHELSEA SESSIONS-1PM ARVO @ HIGHETT ONLY

CHRISTMAS DAY - CLOSED

BOXING DAY - SPECIAL SESSION @ 8 AM @ HIGHETT- NO PM SESSIONS

NEW YEAR'S EVE - NO PM CHELSEA SESSIONS - 1 PM ARVO @ HIGHETT ONLY

JANUARY

PLEASE NOTE ADDITIONAL 6PM @ CHELSEA & NO WED ARVO @ HIGHETT

NEW YEAR'S DAY - CLOSED

CHELSEA SESSIONS - MON-WED-FRI 6PM & 8 PM - SAT 4PM

HIGHETT SESSIONS - TUE&FRI 5.15AM - FRI 1PM ARVO

DANDENONG & N. MELBOURNE - NO MMA FOR JAN -

ALL WELCOME @ CHELSEA & HIGHETT

AUSSIE DAY (26TH) - CLOSED

BOYS FIGHTING

2008-11-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

JAMIE BOGOVIC WINS ANOTHER AUSTRALIAN TITLE IN TOWNSVILLE!

CHECKOUT WHAT QUEENSLAND MEDIA SAY:http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2008/11/29/25265_sport.html

BIG CONGRATS TO JAMIE & PETER FOR ALL THE HARD WORK!! ALSO A BIG THANK YOU FOR FLOGGING THE MMA & KICK BOXING FIGHTERS IN THE SPARRING SESSIONS!

KIMEKAI BOYS FIGHTING ON THE CHELSEA CARD:

MMA
NICK "BANJO" PATTERSON - 79 KG

MOD MUAY THAI
ANTHONY "OIL CAN" COWLEY - 68 KG

KBOX
WAYNE RONALDSON - 82 KG

December 2008 Fight Card

2008-11-23T17:49:00.000-08:00

13 DECEMBER FIGHT NIGHT @ CHELSEA HEIGHTS HOTEL

3 KIMEKAI FIGHT TEAM MEMBERS COMPETING ON THE NIGHT.

2008 BJJ Pan Pacs

2008-11-16T17:32:00.001-08:00

KIMEKAI TEAM RESULTS

MICK MORAN - SILVER GI, BRONZE NO GI

MAX ARCOS - SILVER NO GI

ROB GUY - GOLD NO GI

SAM KEREKES - GOLD NO GI, SILVER GI

HONOURABLE MENTION - RYAN PYNE, NICK PATTERSON, ROBERTO FERNANDES, ANTHONY COWLEY

Brian Ebersole Training Seminar Nov 2008

2008-10-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

Brian Ebersole Training Seminar November 12-14 2008-Melbourne, Victoria

Kimekai Dojo- 227 Wells Rd. Chelsea Heights Tel. 03 9555 1316

All Welcome

Train with Professional MMA Fighter & Coach w/ over 60 fights experience. Former NCAA Eastern Illinois University Wrestler under famous Coach & UFC Champ Matt Hughes. 4 Years on the Frank Shamrock Pro Fight Team under the legend. Brian has fought in promotions globally including -SHOOTO, IFL, ELITE FC. STRIKEFORCE, CFC, XFC ........

We will be focussed on wrestling takedowns, clinch work & MMA ground fighting techniques & strategy. Be a part of an exciting training camp.

2008-10-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

October MMA action in Chelsea, Victoria.

Kimekai had a great night with Nick "Banjo" Patterson scoring a dec victory against a strong Sydney based opponent.

Scotty "Bluey" Gardiner showed great heart battling with a closed eye from an elbow. We are proud of his warrior spirit.

ATT 2008

2008-08-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

April 2008 brought me home to the USA. I had the priveledge of training with an old friend and making some new ones.

John Salvitti - the man on the left gave me the exceptional gift of a key to his dojo while I was in my 20's. This was his home and cherished place of learning located in Revere, MA USA. He taught me how to train by myself and how important this was to truly progress on my journey of martial arts knowledge.

John has never stopped in his quest of learning true fighting arts. He is an expert in Wushu and Shotokan - 2 very different styles, this shows his unique gifts as an athlete and artist. He now trains in BJJ at Rickson Gracie's Academy in California. Professionally he is know in Hong Kong as one of Donnie Yen's irreplacable cornermen. As you can never take the Boston out of the boy - all of us Boston Boys are incredibly proud of his achievments in the film industry, but more so in the man he is.

http://www.americantopteam.com/

The man between us is well known in MMA & BJJ as an innovator. Riccardo Liborio above all else is a gifted martial arts master who leads by example. John and I were completely suprised by his warmth and openess as a teacher and man as we only knew his reputation as a competitor.

ATT is a special place founded and run by a unique man. What is most striking from first contact is the welcoming spirit that runs through all the people teaching there. Anyone who walks through the doors of the academy will be overwhelmed by the depth of experience and the willingness of all the instructors to share the magic of martial arts. What a time John & I had in Coconut Creek.