In addition to the inclusion of 5 new Assistant Instructors to increase our student to teacher ratio and our scheduling flexibility we have also expanded our school hours and groups classes to give our students unparalleled instruction and service.

Three students from the Training Mat captured medals.

Ana Murcia won gold in the woman's 150 division.  She won her matches via Double Wrist Lock and Front Choke while standing.  Her highlights included a high single transition to a high crotch were she got her opponent horizontal.  Also, she had the only standing submission we saw at the event.

Cody Ross won the Teens 160 pound division.  He won his matches via TWL and DWL, two staples of catch wrestling.  Cody showed great take down defense, defending shot after shot in both of his matches until he was able to Half Halch his opponents over into side control and secure submissions.  His highlights included escaping a nasty arm bar and triangle choke.

Eric Norris captured 3rd place and the bronze in the men's novice heavy weight division.  He used great takedowns and side control to win his matches 3-0 and 5-0.  His only loss was to the eventual champion in overtime by a score of 2-0.

The highlight of the day was Josh "the Baby Faced Assassin" Barnett capturing both the advanced Heavy Weight and Absolute Advanced championships.  Josh won six matches, all via tapout, all in under 1 minute!  His tapouts included Straight Ankle Lock, Outside Toe Hold, V-1 Pillow Armlock, Knee Bar and Figure 4 Neck Crank.

Josh was a big help to my students and a true gentleman with the fans!
To see more photos Click Here.

As part our effort to provide our students with the opportunity to develop leadership skills and confidence several of our students participated in a forms competition at the USKO of Chino.  Despite having very limited time to prepare all our students did an outstanding job.  To see the pictures Click Here.

Catch Wrestling Seminar

On January 23 and 24 Jesse Marez travelled to Salt Lake City, Utah, to train in Catch Wrestling with Jake Shannon and Billy Robinson.  Billy Robinson is a British professional wrestler and catch wrestling instructor who is well known in Japan where he has trained mixed martial arts fighters in catch wrestling. Robinson is also an outstanding amateur wrestler: he was the British National Wrestling Champion in 1957, and in 1958 he was the European Open Wrestling Champion in the light heavyweight class, beating an Olympic bronze medal winner in the finals.  Mr. Robinson has contributed immensely to the training of several mixed martial arts legends including Kazushi Sakuraba and Josh Barnett.

Jake Shannon is the founder of Scientific Wrestling and a leader in the movement to bring authentic Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling back to the fore front of grappling arts.  The training was an overwhelming success, as a group of 14 talented grapplers got together for 18 hours of training over two days.  There were Brazilian Ji Jitsu Black Belts, Nationally Ranked Greco Roman Wrestlers, Professional Wrestlers, Professional MMA Fighters and Professional MMA Trainers present.  TTM is proud to share the valuable lessons and experience with our students.

Advanced Belt Test

On Saturday December 19 Ana Murcia and Regina Hoskins tested successfully for their Blue Belt.  The Blue Belt is a mid-level rank in our system and one of our most critical transition points.  Material at this point must be expressed with speed, power and control as well as a level of intensity that rivals a physical conflict.  The level of development required for this belt is a hallmark of THE TRAINING MAT and is crucial in setting the stage for how the rest of the system must be approached.
 

We would like to thank all of those in attendance for donating their time to participate in Ana’s and Regina’s test.
To see the photos click here.

End of the Year Seminars

On Saturday November 21st students of THE TRAINING MAT and USKO of Chino where given the opportunity to explore various aspects of their martial art in more depth.  In 3 distinctly different seminars Jesse Marez, Mark Houston, Mark O’Dell and Elaine Yamano offered our students over 6 hours of instruction . 

Jesse Marez taught the training methods and material he learned from his recent trip to Tennessee to train with Mark Hatrmaker.  Mark O’Dell and Mark Houston introduced the advanced training methods used in traditional kenpo schools to connect training to its application.  Elaine Yamano used a hard style Okinawain Form to teach the form, technique, and attention to detail that made her win national championships. To see the photos click here.

24 Hour Fitness Seminar

Instructors and students of THE TRAINING MAT were invited back to the 24HR FITNESS of Moreno Valley to participate in a joint SELF DEFENSE/PHYSICAL FITNESS seminar for the members of 24HR FITNESS. We would like to thank Kelly Johnson for the invitation and the staff of 24HR FITNESS for their support and professional conduct. We would also like to thank all our students who donated their time to help out. Special thanks to Mike Parr for all his behind the scenes organizing and footwork. Without the time and effort by Mr. Parr and Mrs. Johnson the seminar would not have worked out so well. We thank you.

To see the photos click here.

Long Beach Grappling X Tournament

On October 25th The Training Mat competed in a submission grappling tournament in Long Beach. Taking home 3 gold and 2 sliver, the students of The Training Mat have continued to demonstrated an increasing proficiency in their ground game.

Being the only school there with a Catch Wrestling background we were pleasantly surprised to cross paths with Josh Barnett, an international competitor and huge advocate of Catch Wrestling. We were given the opportunity to sit and talk to him before his matches. Some of our heavy weights even had the chance to help him warm up. The Training Mat is proud to be the sole member of the "Toe Hold Club" in the Inland Empire and part of the legacy that is Catch Wrestling. To see more photos click here.

We would also Like to thank Lawrence De Coud for wearing his patented lucky socks.

Sparring, Fall of 2009

Sparring at THE TRAINING MAT plays a very important developmental role for our intermediate and advanced students.  The interaction that takes place gives our students the opportunity to connect their training with its application through controlled contact in a positive learning environment.  In this way our students gain the confidence they need to handle a hostile assault. 

The additional instruction provided by Joe Sarkissian has proved to be invaluable. To see the kids in action click here.  To see the women, click here.  To see the men, click here.  To see Joe’s class, click here.

Marc Denny and Kali Tudo at THE TRAINING MAT

On Saturday October 10, 2009 Marc Denny was at THE TRAINING MAT and conducted the first class of what is to be an ongoing instruction in the art of Kali Tudo.  In 2007 Marc Denny and the organization he co-founded called THE DOG BROTHERS was featured by NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.

To see a clip of the episode click here.  To learn more about THE DOG BROTHERS click here.  To learn more about Kali Tudo contact THE TRAINING MAT or contact Marc Denny directly on THE DOG BROTHER’S web site.

Congratulations to Mike Parr and Jamie Sheldon

In the growing sport of Armwrestling there are those who have been pioneering the sport since the early 80’s and played a large supporting role in the movie “Over the Top” starring Sylvester Stallone and then there are the up and coming generation aspiring to leave their mark on the sport.  Jamie Sheldon has been featured in the Press Enterprise and has mentored Mike Parr to several State Championships. 

Advanced Armwrestling competitors travel throughout the U.S. and internationally to compete against the best the world has to offer.  To See the photos click here. To learn more about Armwrestling and see footage of their competition click here.

"Gathering of the Pack" Fall of 2009

The "Gathering of the Pack” is an outgrowth of an organization called the Dogbrothers.  The Dogbrothers were founded over 25 years ago by Marc“Crafty Dog” Denny (also known as the guiding force of the organization), Eric “Top Dog” Knaus (the fighting force) and Arlin “Salty Dog” Sanford (the silent force). It was their desire to develop a way to test their ability in a reality based setting that was to eventually become the event called “The Gathering of the Pack”.  Full contact stick-fighting, knife-fighting and various combinations of the two are the primary focus of the event but, exploration and experimentation into other forms of weapon based combat is encouraged.  The event brought together 38 participants from throughout the U.S. and worldwide to provided them opportunity to test their skills against like minded individuals.  To keep the focus of the event on the development and tempering of the individual Marc Denny has deliberately stressed the importance fighting for personal achievement and not for awards or trophies.





The Dogbrothers have been featured in numerous martial art based magazines throughout the years with Marc Denny appearing more than once on the cover of Black Belt magazine and/or Inside Kung Fu.  Recently National Geographic devoted an episode on the Dogbrothers with a focus on what “The Gathering of the Pack” was all about.





This is the third gathering for both Mark Houston and Mark O’Dell and both were fortunate enough to be recognized by Marc Denny as “Dogs” (entry level participants of the Dogbrothers).  To see the latest photos of their participation click here.
There is more in the works with The Training Mat and the Dogbrothers so check back soon to learn the details.

On Friday June 12, 2009 THE TRAINING MAT honored its outstanding students with a demonstration and banquet.  Over 240 friends, family and students turned out to help us recognize 25 outstanding students, 1 outstanding parent as well as our youngest students. To see the photos Click Here. Our Outstanding Students represent the character, loyalty, camaraderie and work ethic we wish to promote in all our students.  This is our way to acknowledge their hard work and hold them up as examples for others to follow.

Listed below are the names of our Outstanding Students from 2005 to 2009.  They are as follows;

Outstanding Students of 2005
Kirsten O’Dell 
Katrina Collins
James O’Dell
Don Hudson
David Dayeen

Outstanding Students of 2006
Bill Simpson
Arturo Madrid
Peggy Ninneman
Joseph Knotts
Steve Dayeen III

Outstanding Students of 2007
Michael Simpson
Jonathan Patterson
Troy Castro
Deion Doan
Charles Caballero

Outstanding Students of 2008
David Aranda
Regina Marie Hoskins
Michael Parr
Sean Quinn
Ana Murcia

Outstanding Students of 2009
Cole McKenney
Alexander O’Dell
Rodrick Bush
Judy Moore
Robert Nolan

Outstanding Parent of 2009
David Aranda

The staff of THE TRAINING MAT would like to thank all those who donated their time and energy to participate in our demonstration.  They are as follows;

Rodrick Bush                                  Troy Castro
Katrina Collins                                Deion Doan
Steve Dayeen III                      Regina Marie Hoskins
Ana Murcia                                     Jordan Marez
Robert Nolan                                   Kirsten O’Dell   
Jonathan Patterson                          Mike Parr
Michael Simpson                            Bill Simpson
Skyler Reider

Special thanks to Cynthia Marez, Kirsten O’Dell, Katrina Collins and David & Peggy Ninneman.  Without the encouragement, support and behind-the-scenes assistances from all of you the banquet would have not gone off nearly as well.  All of you have my most sincere gratitude.

Additions to the Upper Ranks

On Saturday May 16th five students successfully tested for advanced belts.  Steve Dayeen III attained his Green Belt.  Deion Doan, Jonathan Patterson and Troy Castro attained their Blue Belts.  And Cole McKenney attained his Jr. Blue. 
The Blue Belt is one of the most critical transition points in our system.  The basic skills emphasized in earlier belts must be expressed with a level of  intensity that rivals an actual conflict.  The speed, power and control required for the Blue Belt sets the standard for how the rest of the system must be approached.  The Green Belt builds on this by requiring more refinement and a greater attention to detail while learning more advanced applications.  Don't let the "Jr." that sits in front of the Jr. Blue Belt fool you into thinking this belt is any less demanding than the Blue Belt.  Even though the Jr. Blue Belt is a scaled down version of a Blue Belt test it still requires the student to demonstrate over 60 self defense techniques, 5 forms, 34 kicks and a cross section of techniques against a training partner.
To appreciate what these students accomplished it helps to know what they had to overcome.  To read their individual stories click here

Participating in competitions is only a small part of what we do. All students of THE TRAINING MAT train in grappling, striking and street application.  This is so every student learns how to adapt to any situation.  Training for competition is an option available for those interested in testing and refining their technique against a resisting opponent.  In this way our students are able to explore aspects of their martial art in more depth than otherwise possible.

On April 18 our students competed in grappling and Pankration matches at the National Guard Armory in San Bernardino.  Despite competing against some of the most talented grapplers the Inland Empire has to offer our students still brought home 4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze & 2 forth places.  Two highlights of the event occurred when Ana Murcia won the all-around grappling by defeating an opponent 50lbs. heavier and half a foot taller and then when Mr. Houston won his Pankration match with a devastating body kick to his opponent’s midsection. To see more photos click here. Video coming soon. Special thanks to Cory Cass and his team for running a very professional and organized event.

Recent video added to the Media section

Looking back into the archives we found a boxing match with Brittany Minder in 2007. We cleaned it up and added some detail. Check it out here.

New format for schedules

Due to the growing student body we have added a new kid's grappling class at 6:30 on Thursday. Plans for more classes are in the works so check back soon or talk to your instructor.

We have also changed the schedule to make it more user friendly. Find the class you want (basic, striking, or grappling) and find the time you want. Click on the class to get a description of the class, belt requirement, and equipment needed, if any.