Saturday’s have quickly become one of the premier days to train at Scranton MMA. While other martial arts schools in the Scranton area might use Saturdays as a day to rest, we like to view Saturdays as a warm up for the week to come.
Today started out with an awesome beginner’s class taught by lead jiu-jitsu instructor Jeff Reese. Once again, the class was well attended by men and women, teenagers and adults, and ranks from white to brown belt. The focus of the class was a triangle choke and armlock combination off of the “punch block” series, which is vital in the Gracie self defense system. Everyone did a fantastic job and the improvement made by students of every level has been nothing short of impressive.
After the beginner’s class, we transitioned into the advanced jiu-jitsu session. Today was a half hour of good hard sparring. During this time the advanced students have the opportunity to pick the brain of the instructors and their other training partners in effort to continuously refine their technique in a live sparring situation.
One of the hallmarks of Scranton MMA is we have talent on the mat and we use it. So, when it came time for judo, we used the previous sparring session as an opportunity to work our mat work technique along the same lines, the jiu-jitsu students who were in the previous class took the initiative to work on their standup skills in preparation for the upcoming freestyle judo competition July 23rd in Scranton.
Saturday’s have also become the day many practiotioners from other academies visit Scranton MMA to hone their skills! We want to thank Angelo Costa and Sam Oropeza fro hittin gthe mats with us this weekend. Angelo is a Scranton native that now lives in California and train with Kron Gracie, son of Rickson Gracie. It was great to have him on the mats to share a bit of that west coast flair with us. Sam Oropeza joined us from Philly where he trains at Balance Studios with Phil and Ric Migliarese. Sam is a great athlete that brings alot to the mats during sparring. You can find Sam and Angelo both on Facebook, be sure to add them!
Today was just another example that at Scranton MMA, we aim to build complete martial artists in every aspect whether it be in strength and conditioning in our full crossfit gym, on that mat, in our Gracie jiu-jitsu classes or standing up in our judo class, if you want to be a champion and live in Northeast Pennsylvania, Scranton MMA is the place to train!