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"Martial Arts Planet owner Mike Sweeney's pursuit for excellence is evident not only in his training but also his teaching. His extreme dedication to martial arts can be seen through his continual desire to refine both his personal training and his training methods. While Mike's positive leadership has encouraged me to achieve new levels on the mat, it has also influenced me to attain new levels as a person." Adam Zugec - North American and Canadian Submission Champion

"Mike Sweeney is one of those rare Coaches who possesses the unique combination of personal skill, and teaching ability. Mike has a very high level of performance skill in all areas of fighting: stand up kickboxing, clinch, ground, and weapons. In addition, Mike has a great way of communicating, coaching, and helping others reach their own personal best within the field of functional Martial Arts. I would highly recommend his classes for anyone, of any skill level." Matt Thornton - SBG Founder and President

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2004 NEWS

Mike Sweeney appointed Regional Director for Straight Blast Gym Canada!

"Many of you know just how high our standards are organization wide for the staff at SBGi. When I consider these things it is true that for me no position demands more integrity and ability then that of a Regional Director. I have chosen all the RD's for SBGi very carefully because I know that they will determine the tone, growth, and future of the Gym in their area. They also have a huge influence on the students, and are truly the real leaders and mentors within SBGi. Having said that, due to the growth of SBGi in Canada over the recent two Years, and the interest there, it was obvious we needed to appoint a RD for Canada. The choice for that was self evident in picking Mike Sweeney. Not only was this my conclusion, and the conclusion of Luis, but also the unanimous conclusion of all the RD's, and the SBGi Admin Team. So I would really like to welcome Mike Sweeney on board as the official RD for SBGi Canada!" Matt Thornton

To check on the latest happening in the Straight Blast Gym organization, visit their brand-new website: SBG International

Also, for more local news, I have just created a new Web Log (Blog) which will focus on news for SBGi Canada!

Muay Thai seminar in Ottawa - October 2004

It was another busy weekend as Mike and Rebecca Sweeney traveled to Ottawa to participate in a Muay Thai seminar with Ajarn Surachai Sirisute. The seminar was hosted by Khru Bob Carver, owner of the Thai Boxing Academy in Ottawa, Ontario.

Toronto BJJ has a new home!

Professor Wagnney Fabiano has moved into a brand new BJJ academy. Although it is a different, much-improved facility, it still houses the same excellent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training. We encourage anyone is the GTA to get in there for great instruction with a great group of students!

1st ever SBGi Canadian Camp - September 2004!

The training continues, only this time it was at the SBGi Canadian Camp held in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Numerous martial arts enthusiasts gathered to train with SBG Coaches Matt Thornton (Oregon), Luis Gutierrez (Florida) and Karl Tanswell (Manchester, EN). A great time was had by all!

SBGi Fall Camp in Oregon

September 15-19 were the dates for the annual Straight Blast Gym Fall Camp in Oregon and our Chief instructor Mike Sweeney was there to participate. While in Oregon, he had the pleasure of assisting with the filming of Matt Thornton's 3rd martial arts instructional series which will include over 9 separate DVDs! Additionally, we are proud to announce that while at the Fall camp, Mike Sweeney was recognized as an SBGi Coach.

"Congrats due to Mike Sweeney, and Chris Connelly for joining the ranks of the few SBGi Instructor/ Coaches. They are the newest Coaches, along with Steve Whittier, to meet our high standards of performance (at least a competitive purple or brown BJJ, as well as great clinch, stand up, MMA, and the ability to teach the entire SBGi curriculum), and we are very proud of them." Matt Thornton

(Group photo of coaches in attendance at the SBGi Fall Camp
Portland, Oregon - Sept. 2004)

(SBG Coach Rodney King being filmed in the "Street" tape of
Matt Thornton's new DVD series)

Chris Brennan seminar

On Sunday, September 12, Mike and Rebecca Sweeney had the opportunity to train with UFC and PrideFC veteran Chris Brennan. Chris was in Mississauga, ON teaching a two-day seminar at the Kombat Arts Training Academy. Chris was super cool and showed a lot of details which I know will impact out grappling game. He was also kind enough to take the time to answer all of our training-related questions. Big thanks to the Kombat Arts crew for being such great hosts.

(Rebecca, Chris Brennan and Mike after a day of training in Mississauga, ON)

Huge Announcement!

We are extremely happy to announce that our school is now an official Affiliated Gym of Straight Blast Gym International. Founded by leading martial arts coach Matt Thornton, Straight Blast Gym International (SBGi) was created as a non-political organization in which freedom to use and discover what actually works in hand-to-hand combat could be expressed. It is an organization that brings individuals together to actually work against uncooperative partners in all ranges, without worry of ‘style’ or making what combat ‘is’ into what we think it should be. The training we are speaking of is not an exchange of techniques as such, but actual physical training… ALIVE training.

Matt Thornton explains SBGi and the requirements for this affiliation: "The SBGi is about people, and our goal is to offer the cutting edge in self-defense, combat athletics, fitness, and personal growth to every type of human body that walks through our door. Not just to 22 year-old athletes (although they will certainly find their niche here as well), but also to professional men and women who have to work 45-hour weeks or manage families. To older people looking to get into shape, have fun, and learn self-defense and to children of all ages, who can learn the Arts in a positive atmosphere of friendship and fun.

The core training approach at all Straight Blast Gyms, is the principle of Aliveness. This means that all of our training methods make use of progressive resistance, motion, and timing to build real, applicable skill in the primary areas of physical encounter: standing, in the clinch, and on the ground.

The qualification for becoming an SBG Instructor is simple and can be summed up in one word: PERFORMANCE. An SBG Instructor must be capable of being a good training partner in all aspects of the SBG curriculum (including stand up, clinch, and BJJ) to the other SBG Instructors and Coaches we already have. If he or she is not at a level where they can provide some sort of 'game' when sparring and drilling to the other SBG Instructors then they are simply not at the Instructor level yet. No amount of money, time, or political connections, can ever buy that. You simply must have that level of performance, or you are not an SBG Instructor. No Coach can 'give' you that. It must be earned in the Gym, and on the mat, through thousands of hours of ALIVE training. In addition to their own performance ability, and SBG Instructor must also be intelligent, and articulate enough to be able to pass that information along. For us this is done through a medium we call 'Coaching'. An SBG Instructor's job is to create an environment where the athlete and student can develop their own performance levels in the Gym. That is very different from having a written list of memorized material, or spoon feeding intellectually lazy people answer after answer. When you spoon feed the lazy answer after answer you are forever handicapping their own thinking and problem solving ability in the future.

As you can see, realizing the performance level of an SBG Instructor is not easy, and it's not for everybody. But if you are training at an Affiliated Gym you can rest assured that the person running those classes has met all that criteria."

Seminar in Cambridge, Ontario

On Saturday and Sunday, April 24 & 25, 2004, Mike and Rebecca Sweeney had the pleasure of participating in another two-day seminar taught by Matt Thornton. This seminar, which took place in Cambridge, Ontario, was hosted by Jim Grove of Real Combat Martial Arts. The seminar covered functional skills from all three primary fighting ranges: stand up, clinch and ground, and as expected, was all taught fully ALIVE. Thanks Matt. We had a great time and learned a lot!

(Rebecca works a 2 on 1 at Matt Thornton's seminar.)

(Matt Thornton coaching in Cambridge, ON.)

Spring Camp 2004

Most of our students are probably aware that both Rebecca and Mike Sweeney traveled to Oregon to participate in Matt Thornton's Spring Training Camp. There were students and instructors attending the camp from Ireland, England and all over North America. A great training environment is created when so many talented and friendly athletes/martial artists get together. Rest assured that they came back with plenty of new "tricks" to share with all of our students. Be sure to get to classes so you don't miss out!

(Group photo at the Straight Blast Gym)