Grappling Seminar

On Saturday, July 31, THE TRAINING MAT instructors Mark Houston and Jesse Marez, students Ana Murcia and Christopher Long, as well as training partners Mike Paluzzi and Aaron Hayes took part in a Brazilian Ju Jitsu seminar with BJJ World Champion and UFC Veteran Vinicius “Pezao” Magalhaes and Peter Sutton at Mr. Sutton’s Stable BJJ Studio.  Mr. Marez has been training in BJJ with Peter Sutton and competing for Stable BJJ. The additional knowledge and experience Mr. Marez has gained is being used to enhance Mr. Marez's instruction of his students at THE TRAINING MAT.  Mr. Sutton is a highly decorated competitor, being a multiple times Grapplers Quest champion and the very first Black Belt promoted by Vinny Magalhaes.  Vinny, a finalist on the Ultimate Fighter and highly accomplished BJJ and No-Gi Grappling competitor, showed highly advanced techniques from the half-guard, butterfly guard and De La Riva Guard.  He was a hands on trainer, and he and Peter Sutton gave individual attention to everyone involved for over three hours of action and learning.  It was the first time Mr. Houston (no-gi grappling competitor) and Christopher (4 year varsity high school wrestler) grappled in a gi (traditional martial art uniform).  They both commented on the many subtleties of offense and defense that the gi adds.  It was a great learning experience and we were proud to be a part of such a fine training session and to be associated with individuals of their caliber.

Dogbrother Seminar

On Saturday, July 24th 2010, staff and students of THE TRAINING MAT joined Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny for a self defense seminar held at Dan Henderson's school in Murrieta, Ca. Mr. Denny conducted a 5 hour seminar covering basic combat strategy and street application. Material covered ranged from basic hand-to-hand using the principals, angles and footwork found in Silat and Kali Tudo as well as the use and defense of weapons. We highly recommend Mr. Denny's seminars for anyone interested in learning reality based martial arts.

Jeremiah Houston Graduation

What a man does during turbulent times says more about his character than anything that can be said with words. Everyone associated with our family or THE TRAINING MAT knows how proud we are of our younger brother and we would like to recognize him for his dedication and hard work. On August 8, 2010, Jeremiah Houston graduated from basic training in the Air Force. He is currently going through advanced training and selection with a hard road still ahead of him. For those interested in joining us in writing campaign to keep his spirits up please do not hesitate to contact us at the school.

Kick Boxing

Mark Houston was recently awarded the Green Belt in Thai Kickboxing by Lorenzo "Coach" Rodriguez and one of his Black Belts "Smokin" Joe Sarkissian. Thai Kickboxing is a unique fighting form pioneered by Mr. Rodriguez over his extensive fighting and training career.

Advanced Belt Tests

THE TRAINING MAT is proud to announce the advancement of 14 students to the upper ranks. 
To read more click here. To see photos Click Here

Sparring, Spring of 2010

Sparring at THE TRAINING MAT is winding down.  To see the most recent training photos click here.

Dog Brother Group Leaders

On April 13, 2010 Mark O'Dell and Mark Houston became Group Leaders in the Dog Brothers organization. To learn more about the Dog Brothers click here. To see the post on the Dog Brothers forum Click Here

Update: Mr O'Dell and Mr Houston are now candidate Dogbrothers!

Grappling X

On Sunday, April 18th, THE TRAINING MAT competed at the Grappling X Tournament at Fight Lab, in Murrieta, Ca.
To learn more Click Here.

Catch-As-Catch-Can in the latest issue of Fight!

Catch Wrestling has been featured in numerous publications over the years. The most recent articles can be found in 'Real Fighter Magazine' (#17), 'Total MMA' (ECW Press), 'Sports Graphic Number','Weekly Gong' (Japan), and 'Fight!' magazine.
To read the article in 'Fight!' magazine Click Here.

Kali Tudo Seminar

On March 20th Guro Marc Denny made another trip to the Inland Empire to work on the finer points of Kali Tudo with the students of THE TRAINING MAT. To read more Click Here.

Our new commercial is up and running.

Kali Tudo

Guro Marc "Crafty Dog" Denny recently conducted a 2 day Kali Tudo Seminar in Hermosa Beach. THE TRAINING MAT Kali Tudo Team was there to participate. To read more Click Here.

Catch Wrestling Seminar

Jesse Marez is back from his Catch Certification in Utah. 
To read more Click Here

Josh Barnett Seminar

We recently received more photos of the Josh Barnett Seminar from students and have updated our gallery.
To see the photos Click Here

Assistant Instructors

THE TRAINING MAT is proud to announce the induction of 5 new Assistant Instructors.  To learn more click here.

Welcome Joe Sarkissian

We would like to publicly welcome "Smokin" Joe Sarkissian to THE TRAINING MAT instructor staff. His wealth of knowledge combined with his intense and thorough teaching style will be a great addition and asset to our school. His fighting experience spans over 13 years of competitive Kickboxing along with playing an instrumental role in the development of countless champions. With the addition of Mr. Sarkissian, THE TRAINING MAT continues along its path of developing and refining a complete martial art. To see Mr. Sarkissian's profile Click Here.

THE TRAINING MAT’S
ANNUAL AWARD CEREMONY AND DEMONSTRATION
To learn more click here.

Video Games and Martial Arts

Long time friend and former instructor Matt Fast was recently featured in an article by the Press Enterprise. Mr. Fast is using his masters degree in Computer Science and years of experience to develop a Simulation and Gaming program for RCC. The support and encouragement Mr. Fast has shown us over the years and in particular with the development and maintenance of this web site has been invaluable. To read the whole article click here.

The Training Mat in Soft Ball

Recently Brittany Minder was interviewed by the Stanford newspaper and was asked how a college soft ball catcher is known for her boxing. To read the whole article click here.