Category: BJJ Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Getting Over the MMA Gym Stereotype/DWMMA

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“I am not the type of person who could do Martial Arts…”

“I am not a fighter; I just want to get in shape…”

“All the people at MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) gyms are muscle-heads who just like to punch things…”

Have you ever thought these things when asked about taking a program at an Mixed Martial Arts gym?  If so, then you are one of MANY people who have been plagued my MMA stereotyping.  Now, I am not saying that ALL Mixed Martial Arts gyms are right for everybody, because some aren’t.  The key is knowing how to choose the correct academy.

When you walk in…take a deep breath.  Look around and get a feel for the atmosphere.  Are the people there friendly?  Are they ALL big muscle heads screaming and punching things?  If they aren’t then take a deep breath out and let yourself relax; unless, of course, that is the kind of place you are looking for.

A lot of martial arts gyms get branded with a bad name because of the stereotypes.  Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, Salem MA, is a place that is nothing like what you probably have heard.  We offer a friend atmosphere and environment where people of any background and fitness level can train.  Our programs we offer such as: Thai Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu(BJJ), Filipino Jiu-Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts(MMA) and Children’s Programs, are all taught in a safe, fun and ego-free environment.

Here are some of the testimonials from people who, at one point, thought the same thing about Martial Arts:

I met Dennis in 2002 when he opened Curves for Woman in Salem. I stopped going after a while.

I unexpectedly ran into Dennis in 2006 and was excited to hear that he had opened a new gym called DWMMA. He spoke to me about his Boxing, Thai Kickboxing, MMA, and Self Defense classes that were being offered through his gym. Because of my past experience with Dennis I knew it would be a great workout and excellent opportunity to learn self-defense.

Dennis immediately made me feel comfortable and increased my confidence and motivation level. He pushed me to do my best and always stressed the importance of proper technique. I definitely feel like I have accomplished something for myself by attending DWMMA and my motivation hasn’t wavered. He continuously makes the classes interesting, fun and routines constantly vary. He truly pushes me to believe in myself and to do things that I never thought would be possible. I have been seeing amazing results, increased strength, energy and confidence in myself.

I not only feel better about my physical self but with his help I truly feel better in mind, body, and spirit.

-Ann Blouin

When I started looking at MMA schools to train at it was a little intimidating, as I didn’t know what to expect. What I found at DWMMA was a world-class gym with a staff to match. The students/instructors are all very helpful and make you feel welcomed. It’s an environment where there are no egos. You can challenge yourself while getting a great workout in a safe and friendly environment.

-Jay Sartori

I have been training Thai Kickboxing at DWMMA for a little over two years. I initially signed up because I was bored with the typical workout routines that I was limited to at standard gyms and wanted to try something new and challenging. What I found was a great, intense workout in a fun and supportive environment.

Dennis and the other instructors are great. They really push you to get as much out of each class as possible. At the same breaking down all of the techniques and making sure that you have proper form. They stress the importance of taking drills “alive”, so it’s more than just about memorizing a 15 count or a boxing feed but being able to defend or attack when an opponent is resisting.

Aside from the Thai Kickboxing I also participate in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA classes at DWMMA. I have found that all of the classes really compliment each other and help to make you more well-rounded when it comes to self-defense.

If you are looking for a great workout and a way to get in shape and relieve stress all while learning self-defense techniques at the same time I would highly recommend coming in and checking out a class at DWMMA.

-Keith Doty

So, if you’re not sure if Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, Salem MA, is the right choice for you; call, email or stop by and relieve that stigma of what you thought Mixed Martial Arts was and experience what a great Martial Arts academy can offer you!

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

WWW.DWMMA.COM

Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, Salem MA, provides the most realistic and practical self-defense programs for Massachusetts and North Shore Area including:

Peabody MA, Salem MA, Beverly MA, Lynn MA, Marblehead MA, Danvers MA

The Importance of Warming Up and Stretching/@ DWMMA

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If you are one of the people who skip warming up before starting class; here are a few reasons why warming up before strenuous workouts is so important.

When you warm up for at least 10 minutes before doing any activity such as: Thai Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), Filipino Jiu-Jitsu or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), there are at least four key benefits to a more product-full workout.

Improve Elasticity-  When you warm up your muscles, you are improving their flexibility.  It will reduce your risk of injuring or pulling a muscle if they have enough elasticity to move about during your workout.

Increase Circulation-  When you warm up, your body sends more oxygenated blood to your muscles.  This will help your blood pressure stay consistent and improves the movement of your limbs.

Reduces Fatigue During Workout-  You will get you through a workout whether you warm up or not, but you probably won’t get as far, run as fast or be able to push through that intense workout video as easily if you aren’t warming up before your workout. Indeed, you can get through a longer, more intense workout without feeling the pain if you get your body ready for it.

Gain More Muscle Control- You might find it hard to perform some kicks in Thai Kickboxing, or roll as effectively in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu(BJJ).  This could be due to muscle control, and getting your body to do what your mind tells it to do. When your muscles aren’t warmed up, they’re rusty and therefore cannot perform the tasks you are telling them to easily. This is yet another huge benefit of warming up before any physical activity.

Warm ups are meant to do exactly that-they warm up your muscles by increasing muscle temperature.  This increases the speed of muscle contraction, blood and nutrient flow to the muscles.   All of which increase the performance of your muscles giving you a much more intense and effective workout.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

WWW.DWMMA.COM

Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, Salem MA, provides the most realistic and practical self-defense programs for Massachusetts and North Shore Area including:

Peabody MA, Salem MA, Beverly MA, Lynn MA, Marblehead MA, Danvers MA

Health, Fitness and Community: DWMMA Offers More than Just Martial Arts

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Bored of the same old, tired, workouts?  Thinking about cancelling your gym membership to try something new?  Why not try martial arts?

 

With many of the same benefits as a gym membership (e.g., strength and cardio programs, weigh loss, stress relief and personalized instruction), Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts offers so much more.

Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, Salem MA, offers safe, fun and intense workouts designed to push you to exceed your own expectations.  Our team of certified instructors will give you personalized, one-on-one, instruction in a highly collaborative and supportive setting.  Before even joining Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, one of our senior instructors will give you a personalized, private and free introductory lesson to familiarize you with core concepts, assess your fitness goals and answer any questions you may have about any of the programs we offer, such as:  Thai Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), Filipino Jiu-Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and Children’s Programs.  Once you decide which program best fits your needs, you’ll be introduced to a rigorous and challenging workout environment at a pace that is right for you.  With a structured curriculum in each of our programs, every time you step into the academy,  be prepared for a new, exciting and personally challenging workout.  A supportive community of fellow martial artists, from novice to expert, will encourage and motivate you to push yourself further than you’d likely go on your own.

 

With certified personal trainers on staff and a fully equipped strength and cardio facility, as well as world-class martial arts instruction; DWMMA offers the best option for anybody looking for a new and exciting workout regime.

 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

WWW.DWMMA.COM

Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, Salem MA, provides the most realistic and practical self-defense programs for Massachusetts and North Shore Area including:

Peabody MA, Salem MA, Beverly MA, Lynn MA, Marblehead MA, Danvers MA

BJJ Belt Blues/@DWMMA

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is an extremely technical martial art.   The belt requirements for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tend to be a lot stricter than other forms of martial arts and takes more time to progress to the next belt.  This can be frustrating to students because in such a fast-paced environment; people don’t have the patience to take the time needed to go from a white belt to a blue; blue belt to a purple and so on…and so on…  Some students either quit prematurely, or they will stay but never feel as if they will ever achieve a black belt.

This is a reminder to not be discouraged if it is taking a lot longer than you want to get your next belt.  You must continue to move forward in your studies. You should always aim to be the best White, Blue, Purple, Brown and Black belt that you can be.    With time and patience; you will grow and evolve.  To be a blue belt is very different than having a blue belt; however, its a sad thing when you see a blue belt get the “belt blues” and start slacking off or quit all together because it takes a great deal of time and commitment to reach purple belt status.  It is a great loss when this happens.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu isn’t based on belts.  It’s based on the art; belts are your reward for your dedication and are there to mark your progress in BJJ but they do not define you as a martial artist.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

www.DWMMA.COM

Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, Salem MA, provides the most realistic and practical self-defense programs for Massachusetts including:

Peabody MA, Salem MA, Beverly MA, Lynn MA, Marblehead MA, Danvers MA

 

Self Defense: Knowledge is Key/ @DWMMA

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In a “perfect world”  the best way to defend yourself would be to avoid dangerous situations all together.  Unfortunately, that will only work to a certain point.  It’s almost impossible to avoid risk all together; since dangerous situations can develop with little to no warning and could be from the people whom you would least likely expect.  I know the facts are scary: but they are true.   Knowledge on how to protect you, and your loved ones, in virtually any situation is key to feeling safe-no matter where you go.

When looking for the correct program to learn self-defense; tradition martial arts won’t work as well as combative martial arts.  At Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, Salem MA,  our Filipino Jiu-Jitsu program is our most practical and realistic form of self-defense.  In Filipino Jiu-Jitsu, we teach a reality based self-defense curriculum, incorporating an extensive variety of strikes, low line kicks, joint locks, trapping, clinch fighting, take downs, grappling/ground fighting and weapons training; making it a realistic form of self-defense.  A lot of the concepts are similar to those in Krav Maga, in regards to the realistic and street based form of street self-defense.

Filipino Jiu-Jitsu is well suited for men, and women of all ages, fitness and experience levels because physical strength and athletic abilities are not essential. Only the core techniques have been taken from these combative arts and organized into an easy to learn curriculum that can benefit the beginner as well as the advanced practitioner.

In addition to learning effective self-defense, Filipino Jiu-Jitsu also provides the student with the means to improve their physical fitness, awareness, flexibility and self-confidence. Combining the best of many styles into a blended system gives our students the advantage they need to protect themselves in virtually any situation.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

www.DWMMA.com

Dragon Within Mixed Martial Arts, Salem MA, provides the most realistic and practical self-defense programs for the North Shore Area including, Peabody, Salem, Beverly, Lynn, Marblehead, Danvers

Happy Holidays

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Have you brought in your  toys for the Toys for Tots Drive?

Please help DWMMA bring a smile to a child’s face this Holiday season.  Toys for Tots Drive will be ending this Friday, Dec.17th.

Just a reminder about closings for DWMMA:

CLOSED Thursday, Dec.23rd until Saturday, Dec.25th. Classes will resume as schuduled Monday, Dec.27th

CLOSED Thursday, Dec.30th until Saturday, Jan.1st. Classes will resume as scheduled Monday, Jan.3rd

Check out the results written in youth1.com about Juan Lopez’s Naga results

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Teens No Gi Expert: 14&15 yr old Middleweight
Juan Lopez’s armbar secured victory for the DWMMA teen fighter in the finale of the 14&15 yr old Middleweight no Gi division. Lenny Guerrero Baez of Kimura BJJ put up a great fight, but in the end he had no answer for Lopez’s submission attempt and ultimately had to tapout.

Teens No Gi Expert: 16&17 yr old Middleweight
Gracie Berra represented as their fighter Cody Anderson, took on and beat Juan Lopez of DWMMA in an extremely hard fought match. With both grapplers leaving everything on the mat, it was Anderson’s one last effort that earned him the 10-8 victory and 1st place title.

http://www.youth1.com/teens-no-gi-expert-division-northeast-championships.html

Jean DePlacido column: Cregier trains all from MMA fighters to youngsters

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Learning Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) was a good way to survive for Dennis Cregier, who grew up in a tough neighborhood in Mount Kisko, N.Y.

Now 27 years later, the 41-year-old owns his own mixed martial arts school called Dragon Within and is about to celebrate the first anniversary at its current location of 11 Franklin Street, just off Route 114 in Salem.

“When I was growing up it was a tough place, but my hometown has changed a lot since then,” said Cregier, who holds a black belt in kickboxing/jujitsu blend and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. “My wife is from Marblehead, which is how I ended up here.”

Cregier has been in business for six years, first in Salem and then Peabody before moving back to the Witch City. He has spent the last 12 months at his current location.

“We have classes for ordinary people looking for a different way to get in shape, and I also train people wanting to fight,” he said. “We have a lot of kids as well as women and men of all ages. We can design a program to fit any goal.

“This is something you can do your whole life with good coaching and safe training. Quite a few women do it not only for fitness but also self defense, so our kickboxing classes are very popular.”

The ordinary person, he said, is mainly looking for a different way to exercise. “We give people a schedule to follow; some are here every day and others twice a week. Many add yoga or something else into their routine,” said Cregier. “We can accommodate whatever a person’s needs are.”

Cregier, who competed in both kickboxing and boxing in his home state, also trains the most serious MMA athletes who are preparing for a fight. Currently there are five in this special group of serious fighters training at Dragon Within, including one young woman.

“That’s not the majority of my population. Out of 50 people, I’ll have one or possibly two fighters,” said Cregier. “They may do some workout sessions with our regular groups, but they mostly train separately from everybody else. We’re not going to let them go up against the average person taking a class.

“(Lynn’s) Shannon Harney is getting ready for her fourth fight Oct. 30 at the Combat Zone in Salem, N.H. She only goes around 120 pounds, but she’s a little dynamo.”

Cregier said his most famous fighter is Salem’s own Greg Jackson. “He’s done quite well,” he said. “He hasn’t fought in about a year and is now helping me run our kids’ program. Another up-and-coming guy is Peter Wellman, who is from Arlington.”

Cregier said he uses the same training as the fighters do in his classes for the general population, but it is not as strenuous. In order to succeed in MMA fighting, Cregier stressed that fighters need to be adept at all facets of the sport.

“It’s part kickboxing, wrestling and clinching as well as grappling, which is like Brazilian ground fighting,” said Cregier. “You start out standing then take your opponent down, which is where the ground fighting takes over. The sport is growing in leaps and bounds. In five to 10 years they are predicting it will be one of the biggest around.

“I think the reason why (the sport) has taken so long to get big is because some people look at MMA as barbaric, but in fact it is very safe. You have to put in rigorous training sessions for seven weeks to get ready for a fight. Amateurs go three 3-minute rounds while pros have five 3-minute rounds. You have to be in great shape to do it because you go all out every second.”

DWMMA offers all kinds of martial arts with classes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Thai kickboxing, kids karate, adult karate, cardio and circuit training, strength and conditioning for people of all ages and every fitness level.

• • •

Jean DePlacido is a part-time writer and columnist for The Salem News. Contact her at jmdeplacido@aol.com.

Tim Burrill Workshop: Leg Locks

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Tim Burrill is one of the first Americans to receive a black belt from Carlos Machado. Tim not only brings the philosophy and technique of Machado BJJ, but also other talents and his own personal way of teaching, making his style of BJJ unique from all others. Tim is also an accomplished Sport BJJ fighter with 7+ years of competition experience.

Reserve your space at the front desk.

Cost: $55