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This is the first in a series of articles about the fledgling steps of sponsoring an amateur MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Fighter for the New Year 2011. Funny how these things come about. This isn’t Fox News, Glenn Beck worthy, but considering there are plenty of other fish in the sea, we seem to have lucked into finding an MMA training company in need of sponsors for its upcoming MMA Amateur bouts calendar of 2011. Or actually, they found us. It all started with a simple text message, not much else really, just an ominous text, GMMA- “ Interested in sponsoring fighters?” Me- “Maybe……………” My noncommittal and skeptical reply reflected my apprehension of being approached by a party as yet unknown. Scammer? Spammer? I came pretty close to just deleting and blocking his number. Who did I know with an area code in Texas, anyhow? Well, since that fortuitous text…………..this sponsor/fighter relationship has taken on a life of its own. I kind of felt like the cartoon character, Scooby Doo or maybe more appropriately, any Disney character that needed a boost in marketing from the promotions department. So, simple as it was, that introductory text and several phone calls have morphed our fledgling relationship into a full blown sponsorship of an up and comer Amateur Fighter- straight out of the heart of Central Texas. Jared Luna, Ast. Coach. Training out of Gillaspy Mixed Martial Arts (GMMA) through Central Texas Taekwondo studio. Under the tutelage of John-Michael “The Punisher” Gillaspy- Senior BJJ Instructor. Presented to you for the first time, Omegazone’s interview with John-Michael about GMMA, all things MMA, and his career as a very effective grappler, par excellence! OZ- How did Gillaspy Mixed Martial Arts (GMMA) come about? GMMA- GMMA came about because I love to teach, and it was a natural next step on my way to supporting my dream of being a full time martial artist. OZ- Why “The Punisher”? GMMA- I hate being shot on, and while watching me wrestle a friend made a comment that I “punish” people for taking shots, so I thought it'd be a great name. OZ- How are you structured for classes or individual training of potential contenders of the MMA sport ? GMMA- We have Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes which not only include BJJ but also Judo, Freestyle, Folkstyle, and Greco Roman wrestling. We also have kickboxing and taekwondo. I think that traditional martial arts are often over looked when training for MMA but look at Machida. There's a reason he's successful. OZ- Who are your instructors? Do they each specialize in a particular form of mixed martial arts? GMMA- Myself- I specialize in the ground aspect of MMA although I have rank in other stand up martial arts as well. I like to focus on takedowns, working for submissions, and looking for the TKO. I don't let my fighters try and lay and pray a decision. If you see a fighter from GMMA be ready for a show! Assistant Coach Jared Luna- Coach Luna is 22 and has trained in BJJ almost 3 years. He helps me teach the BJJ class. Master David Shadden- We work in conjunction with Central Texas Taekwondo, which is who our taekwondo and kickboxing programs are through. He's the owner and operator of CTT as well as the senior Taekwondo and Kickboxing instructor. OZ- Do all of the members of your coaching team have aspirations of MMA participation either at the level of Amateur or Professional? What’s the transition timeline from Ammy to Pro? GMMA- Master Shadden doesn't, his focus was always TKD and he is a US Open champion himself in 2006. Myself as well as Coach Luna though do plan to make a long career out of MMA. The timeline from Ammy to Pro I think has a lot to do with the fighter. I'm not going to force you to go Pro if you're not ready but if you're an amateur champion with a good record why not get paid for what you do? OZ- Will you eventually go Pro yourself? GMMA- Hell yeah! The only thing hindering me right now is a thyroid condition which I'm working hard to remedy at this point. I have aspirations to the big show and I get what I want! OZ- To achieve a professional level of participation in Mixed Martial Arts events, is there a clear cut path you or your team have to follow or are there several ways to gain the same goal? GMMA- There are definitely many different paths and like I said before it's all pretty situational and depends on your fighter. OZ- In reviewing your own background, you’ve studied several disciplines of mixed martial arts, what is your strong suit, and why? GMMA- Definitely my ground game. My stand up is ever improving but being on the ground is a totally different story. When I'm on my feet I have no doubt in my knockout ability but to put it bluntly I feel at home on the ground when you grapple all you need is your knowledge of grappling. You can close your eyes and it's a chess game come to life in a game of physics. On your feet there's so many different variables that come into play and with any KO there's always the talk of a lucky punch or kick. If a fighter taps out they consciously admitted that their opponent beat them. No one has to interpret a score or if a fighter is intelligently defending themselves. OZ- Any aspirations to sign with a big name like UFC? Are there others that appeal to you? GMMA- Yes definitely. There's no question in my mind I WILL fight for the UFC. Honestly on my way though I wouldn't turn down Strikeforce or Dream. No one would!!! It's not my main goal, but it's a fight in a large promotion! OZ- ) The televised MMA events have really helped to popularize not only mixed martial arts, but it seems to have the “halo” effect of spilling over to all martial art disciplines, have you seen a marked increase of interest in your gym for classes, training, etc.? GMMA- Not so much because now it's just a continuous trend not so much the MMA explosion of the 90's. The Karate Kid movie had more of an effect honestly. OZ- How difficult is it for you to coach or train another fighter and still have time to prepare yourself for your own bouts or events? Are you also training under another coach for your own skills enhancement? GMMA- Not at all I try to instead of just training my fighters I like to instead more “lead” the class. That way I can train with them and grow as a fighter myself. OZ- Most dedicated MMA fighters seem to have pretty strict regimens for diet, exercise, training and so forth, are you and your fighters following any particular training schedule or regimen? GMMA- Definitely, and wouldn't you like to know what it is! ; ] OZ- What MMA related events do you foresee you or your team participating in during 2011? What’s on the calendar for competitive events? GMMA- Coach Luna has a fight coming up January 15th as well as one in March so far. We will take a small team to NAGA in December, IBJJF in May, and everything else in between. 2011 will be a huge year for GMMA!!! OZ- How do you see Omegazone and GMMA mutually benefiting each other to enlarge awareness of our brands? GMMA- I think your partnership with GMMA will bring you to the MMA market, and bring you some great exposure!!! OZ- Any chance we’ll see you or your fighters on Pay Per View or the MGM Grand Garden Arena ring someday? GMMA- Both myself and Coach Luna as of right now and I'm sure many more as we grow!!! Thanks John-M, always great to find opportunities to spark awareness of MMA and training groups such as yours. You may very well be my best advocate and teacher about the nuances of the sport, gear selection and all the rest that we need for this launch of omegazone fightwear. A scary place to be for the uninitiated! Best of luck for 2011 fight season! Check back for the remainder of this interview and an update on our progress in the second article in this yearlong series.
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MMA, Mixed Martial Arts, BJJ, . Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Taekwondo, Grappling, UFC,
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