Recent news and what we have coming up
Welcome to the Lions Den Martia Arts summer newsletter!! We will briefly cover some of the recent events we have had here at the Academy as well as fill you in on some of the things going on this Summer. We have had some exciting events recently,have more to come and also have some new programs headed your way!! Last month we competed in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu NAGA tournament held at the Albany Armory. This is the largest and most competative BJJ Tournament in our area and the students did an amazing Job. Our Youth and Teens once again came away as Team Champions for the 5'th year in a row. Great job by all of our Coaches , Parents and Students!! (PICS above and to the left)
Last month we also had Bridget Grace come to us for 2 great seminars!! (Pictured above) Bridget is one of the Head coaches from the Main Renzo Gracie Academy in NYC. She did a great job and we all came away with a few new tricks to share on the mats. These Seminars are a great tool to stay ahead of the competition as well as help in breaking through plateau's you may have during your your BJJ journey. Thank You Bridget!!
Last Weekend we had 2 of our Muay Thai students compete in a Cage Wars outdoor event held at the Vice & Virtue restaurant in Schenectady NY. Taha and Qasim both had fights and we had a huge turnout from our student base along with friends and family. These guys had a great time and represented the gym in fantastic fashion. Taha came away with his first win Via stoppage and Qasim again had the fight of the night for the 2nd event in a row for him. The commentators again commented how his fight was the most technical of them all and we couldnt be more proud to have these guys as students. Keep up the good work!! Big thank you to all who came out for this event. Super fun and the food here was delicious btw.
Ok ,so thats what has been going on recently here at the Den. Here are some things we have coming up.
Next weekend we will have a Members Appreciation Party here at the Den. This party is open to all members 15 & up as well as all parents of youth members. This Party will be right here at the Den and will be fully Catered. It will take place on Saturday June 29'th from 8pm until the end of the UFC 303 event which will be on here at the facility. This is totally free and just a thank you to all our members. Come down and have some great food and drink. The UFC event looks to be a good one and it is sure to be a fun time. Mats will be up and plenty of tables and chairs out. Must RSVP on the sign up sheet at the gym by 6/23.
( Pictured above) On July 19'th we will have 2 of our MMA Fighters competing at Cage Wars at the Rivers Casino in Schenectady. Both Fighters will be on the main card and facing top ranked competition. Qasim Sanders whom is currently 3-0 in MMA will be fighting for the USMTA Bantamweight Title!! These events are alot of fun and open to all ages. Be sure to come out that night for a great time and to cheer these guys on.
On July 27'th we will be having our next BJJ Belt promotion ceremony here at the Den!! This will take place at 11am for ALL members!! All members should be in attendacnce for this whether you are getting promoted or not. We hold these ceremonies 3 times per year for our BJJ students. This is a pot luck event so each family is required to bring 1 pot luck dish to share. Plenty of food for all so bring the family. This event should be about an hour total. We have around 20 kids getting promoted along with 5-6 adults. Please sign up on the sheet at the gym so we now what dish you are brining.
August 3rd - 5'th - NAGA - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Tournament in Wildwood NJ. This tournament is totally optional for any student whom might want to compete. This is the Worlds Largest NAGA tournament held annually and it takes place at an awesome venue directly on the boardwalk located on the Beach in Wildwood NJ. We will have cocahes at the event for all youth/ teens competing. This makes for a great weekend getaway and we currently have 8 kids competing. Competitors can weigh in on Friday August 3rd or the morning that they compete. Teens and Adults compete on the 4'th with youth competing on the 5'th. On Friday August 3'rd we will meet on the beach in front of the Adventurer hotel for a beach day from 11am - 3pm for anyone that wants to stop down.
August 22'nd : We will officially have our first ranking testing going on for our Muay Thai program. Youth and Adult students will be invited to test for ranked arm bands this evening at 7:45pm. Testing sheets can be found at the front desk.
August 31'st : At the end of August things start to pick back up here at the Den with the end of the summer looming. We will be adding some classes back to the Schedule and we will also be adding our Judo program back as well. Judo is a great addition and compliments your BJJ skills well as does wrestling. We want our students to have every advantage possible while learning these great arts. We will have a 90 minute Judo class on Saturday's. Our program will be run and overseen by Jason Morris whom is one of the Nations Top Judo competitors and Coaches ever. He has medaled at the Olympics himself and also Cocahed the Olympic team. There is no addiitonal cost for these classes/program. The only fee's will be for belt promotions and youth students whom compete. Most classes will be instructed by Kathleen Johnson whom is a Brown belt in Judo under Jason Morris.Jason and some of his top athletes will also at times be down running classes. Promotions will take place at the Jason Morris Judo Center in Scotia and will include a seminar by Jason followed by promotions 3 times per year. Students looking to particiapate in this program can use the same Gi they have for Jiu Jitsu but will need to purchase a seperate Judo white belt to get started. Order yours at the desk by August 15'th for $20.
We already have some great things lined up for the fall including the Biggest UFC star to date that will be stopping in to the Den this November for a seminar. Stay Tuned for that info as we plan to have 3 UFC stars in over the next 10 months. We have had some requests to carry merchandise for some of these stars to Autograph for our members when they are here at the Den and WE ARE LISTENING!! We now carry UFC trading cards here at the Den. We have a couple of products already out and you will see a full display up in July with a couple more card brands, individual cards, Binders, pages and cases for purchase.
THANK YOU
See you on the mats!!!!
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