SBGi News March 13th, 2013

As of now, March 13th, we have 13 BJJ black belts CONFIRMED to be at the SBG camp in April. Among those will be the UFC's Gunnar Nelson, one of the top BJJ athletes on the planet right now! Gunnar's coach, SBG BJJ black belt & legendary singer John Kavanagh! From right to left, SBG's own John Kavanagh, upcoming UFC SBG fighter Conor McGregor, and current UFC fighter and grappling genuis Gunnar Nelson. Don't miss this chance to train with Gunni and witness for yourself what everyone around the globe is talking about as it relates to his calm, technical Jiu Jitsu! Exclusive : Gunnar Nelson Weigh-in Video http://t.co/boMunCSr Also scheduled to attend is SBG BJJ black belt & the scientist of MMA coaching, Karl Tanswell! Also confirmed long time BJJ black belt & renowned instructor, professor John Frankl! And if that wasn't enough, you also have OLD SCHOOL SBG members Adam & Rory Singer coming! Adam is one of America's top MMA coaches, with multiple world champions, including Forrest Griffen! And Rory is himself a UFC veteran and great coach! In addition to BJJ black belt & UFC fighter Gunnar Nelson, BJJ black belt & MMA coach John Kavanagh, BJJ black belt & MMA coach Karl Tanswell, BJJ black belt John Frankl, BJJ black belt & MMA coach Adam Singer and BJJ black belt & UFC vet Rory Singer, we will also have BJJ black belt & striking coach Steve Whittier, BJJ black belt & multi-gold medalist Travis Davison, BJJ black belt & SBG headquarters coach Rick Davison, BJJ & Judo black belt Lily Pagle, BJJ black belt & SBG headquarters coach Cane Prevost, BJJ black belt & multi-gold medalist John Diggins, and BJJ black belt & SBG founder Matt Thornton + MORE! This is the first time a group like this has EVER been assembled for a single camp. You will not want to miss this historic event! In the last newsletter we mentioned that we had just a few spaces left for camp, then we would close it due to space restrictions. We dont want the event becoming so crowded that it is uncomfortable for our members. That wasn't a ploy, we meant it. And since we sent out that message the sign ups have continued to grow. As of the writing of this e-mail we have about 8 spots left. Once those are filled up, camp will be closed for registration. We anticipate that happening within the next 24 hours, before the early-registration fee ends this friday, the 15th. That makes it simple, if you want to attend this event you MUST register before Friday the 15th, about 48 hours away. After that I am afraid we will be at maximumum capacity. Register now, here: http://www.straightblastgym.com/camps.htm Team SBG, on its way to the Northwest Conquest! SBG once again proves it has the best BJJ in the Pacific Northwest! This last weekend, team SBG sent competitors to the the largest BJJ tournament in the Pacific Northwest, the very well organized Revolution Tournament held in the Seattle Area. Despite a number of our top BJJ competitors being unable to make it, and despite some of the very large Seattle based schools greatly out numbering SBG in terms of the volume of competitors BJJ entered… Team SBG once again won FIRST PLACE for TEAMS! #1 in both gi BJJ, and #1 in no-gi BJJ Submission Grappling as well! How do we do it? It’s simple. Rather than a few star BJJ athletes, we make sure everyone on our mats grows and becomes better. As we’ve said before, by % of medals to BJJ competitors, nobody can touch us. This is a testament to the SBG training methods, the SBG professional coaching staff, and the focus on fundmentals that ensures our BJJ competitors remain a step ahead of their competition. SBG is for everyone, male, female, old or young. And the fact that nearly every person who ever enters from SBG ends up on the podium, proves that point. A few highlights: Amanda Lowen GOLD gi BJJ and no gi Josh Smith dominated for GOLD in gi BJJ 0 points scored against him in 3 matchs Trent Shadduck GOLD with 0 points scored against him from all matches, he also avenged a loss winning 15-0 in first BJJ match. Eddie Ziegler GOLD in no gi, with SBG’s Mike Mangin taking SILVER in the same division. The list goes on and on and on…details will be posted on the SBG FaceBook page. Eddie in action www.sbgi-pdx.com Here is a video of one of Eddie’s matches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5RQw5oOewc&sns=em And here is one of coach Amanda's matches. Watch how she handles the deep half guard and turns it into an armbar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qyEy_mPtx4&sns=em The Revolution was only the first part of our planned “NW Conquest”. Stay tuned, we are just getting warmed up! Conor McGregor, ready to rock the UFC & fight world MTV recently aired this documentary on SBG fighter Conor McGregor. Conor is an extremely talented fighter, and a very interesting guy. He will be making his debut into the UFC in a few weeks. Check out the video here: http://www.mtv.co.uk/sports/mma/video/the-rise-of-conor-mcgregor And get ready for Conor’s UFC debut. He will rock the sport. Also, here is a fantastic interview Conor recently gave: http://severemma.com/2013/02/25/video-conor-mcgregor-interview-on-the-mma-hour-22-mins/ “You’re in the wrong mindset if you leave your team, if you leave the guys you came up with.” Coach John Kavanagh's recent interview Read it here: http://sbgi-pdx.com/news/2013/03/04/i-pinch-again-sbg-coach-john-kavanagh/ Some highlights: The founder of Straight Blast Gym Ireland currently trains some of the country’s best fighters – Iceland native Gunnar Nelson won his second UFC bout on two weeks ago, Conor McGregor is a month away from his debut while the likes of Cathal Pendred, Chris Fields and Owen Roddy have been making waves in recent times. When asked about the gym’s humble beginnings, Kavanagh talks of wandering through a Laser Video store nearly 17 years ago and spotting a cover displaying eight men and a cage. “I didn’t even think it was real,” he tells TheScore.ie. “I thought it was pro wrestling at first.” After instantly falling in love, he began training the very next day. With little or no knowledge of the sport, Kavanagh met a Judo player named Andy Ryan before being offered a fight in South Africa in 2000 thanks to a Dublin-born matchmaker living there. Although he lost, Kavanagh struck up a relationship with his opponent’s coach. Renowned trainer Matt Thornton who had established Straight Blast Gym in the US back in 1992 and decided to take Kavanagh under his wing. “I went training with him and a lot of stuff that he said made sense to me. This was the beginning as everything I had learned before was wrong.” Returning to Dublin, Kavanagh set up SBG Ireland and endured a shaky first couple of years. Also studying mechanical engineering at the time, it was tough balancing the two and when he graduated, there was a decision to be made. “I knew I wanted to do this but wasn’t sure if there was a living in it. UFC itself was very small at the time. I said I’d give it three months and if it didn’t work out I’d be an engineer. That was eight years ago and I’m still at it.” Read it all here: http://sbgi-pdx.com/news/2013/03/04/i-pinch-again-sbg-coach-john-kavanagh/ SBG founder Matt Thornton speaks to the TRACE program SBG founder and BJJ-MMA coach Matt Thornton spoke via Skype in Portland Oregon, to the TRACE program in PA. TRACE, or TRAnsition to Community Employment, is a two-year employability skills program for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism. Matt spoke about his history with the Martial Arts. His early years, running his business, and lessons learned along the way. After a brief talk, he fielded questions. Subjects discussed ranged from the Martial Arts, to self defense, dealing with bullies, depression, health and fitness, goal setting, and much more. Many thanks to Karla Porter: http://karlaporter.brandyourself.com/ for providing this opportunity. You can view the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu_bLx-CMXE&feature=youtu.be SBGi East Coast kicking butt & taking names Big congratulations to John Murphy from SBG East Coast Headquarters, Nexus Martial Arts & Fitness, on winning yet another IBJJF Gold medal at the Boston Winter Open this past weekend. This is John's second straight Boston Open Gold medal. John has also won the New York open, the No Gi Pan Ams, Grapplers Quest expert Gi and No Gi divisions, and many NAGA championships. A final note from coach Kavanagh Hotel booked. Number of SBGi black belts there will be somewhere in the teens! The changes I've seen in SBGi this year have been remarkable. The new info for coaches and schools that Matt has to share will be invaluable. No doubt this has been the best year SBGi has had by far. With Travis hosting you know it's going to be a top notch event. Plus Irish car bombs and Rick Davison Karaoke. (You will find out)