Search our site!

FREE • FREE • FREE! Doesn't the word FREE really make you want to sign up? Seriously, register here to receive our FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER. You'll be the first to find out about all of the cool happenings at our gym along with any great specials that we have on tap! Name: Email: By the way, we hate SPAMMERS more than anyone, so you are guaranteed that we will NEVER share your email info with anyone!!!

Learning to swim without water? Who would do that? Read this...

"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

Purchase top-quality gear locally at our store in Kingston.

LEATHER BOXING GLOVES

LEATHER THAI PADS

and much, much more!

Clicking on the images below will open to our Affiliate Page at Fitness Anywhere. Purchasing TRX products via this link will not only guarantee you Fitness Anywhere's lowest price but will also support Martial Arts Planet. All proceeds from Affiliate sales go towards new equipment additions at our gym. Thank you!

2007 NEWS

Crazy? Perhaps!

"A near-crippling snow storm with heavy snow and blowing snow... Copious amounts of snow as well as strong winds causing blowing snow are expected. Freezing rain is also possible... The public should be prepared to change plans accordingly to avoid unnecessary travel during this storm. This massive snow storm has the potential to cause near-paralyzing conditions as road travel on any unplowed streets may become next to impossible on Sunday." Those were excerpts from the weather warnings issued by Environment Canada for Sunday Dec. 16, 2007. Did that keep us from driving to Toronto to train with Eddie Bravo? Of course not. As expected the seminar was great and it was worth every bit of effort that it took us to get there. Thanks to Eddie for the great training and our friends at KimonoGirl for hosting the event! And thanks also to whoever invented the 4-wheel-drive truck!!!

Kids Kombat 2007

Check out some photos from our Dec. 1 Kids Kombat Fun Day on our Results page or view a Quicktime Slideshow of the days fun!

Visit Martial Arts Planet on Facebook!

Visit and join our new corporate Facebook Page and our Friends and Members Group!

Team MAP at the CIBC Run for the Cure!

For the 3rd year in a row Martial Arts Planet fielded a team to participate in the CIBC Run for the Cure on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2007. It was a great day. Thanks to Susan Tindal, Chris Wellstood and everyone who came out and/or supported us!

Fall registration in full swing!

It is that time of year again when many people look to take on new activities. In the case of martial arts training, it is often something that they have been dreaming about for years. I can honestly say that there is no better time than the present to begin. We already have an amazing group of new beginners who have started with us in the past week or two. Why not join them? We have spots available in our beginner classes for both kids and adults. Give us a call at 613-547-2822 to arrange a time for a free tour of our facility.

Muay Thai debut for Rob McArthur

On November 17th, Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts will be hosting an amateur Muay Thai event in Ottawa. MAP's Rob McArthur will take on Josh Macmillan (OAMA) in the first confirmed fight. This will be the first fight for both fighters. Let's try to get as many people as possible up to Ottawa on the day to cheer him on!

Click image above for a larger version of our new flyer.

Here are a couple of testimonials that we have received recently. Thanks guys... we sincerely appreciate the props!

Dear Mike and Rebecca,

I just wanted to thank you for some of the best training I've ever had and tell you that without a doubt, you have one of the best Martial Arts schools in the province if not the entire country!
I am really envious of my friend Brent for getting to come back to Kingston and train. He's certainly hit the MMA jackpot there.
It's funny how I saw you and Rebecca at King of the Cage in Calgary to watch my instructor fight, and ending watching my future instructors fight instead.
I have the highest respect for you both as people and instructors and I thank you for teaching me so much in such a small amount of time.
I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to train with you and will carry both technique and work ethic with me as far as I can.
Best of luck to you both and thank you for making my trip to Kingston so memorable.

Sincerely,
Sacha Cabezas

--- • ---

Dear Rebecca,
 
What a difference a year makes! Since I joined Martial Arts Planet's "UBfit Kickboxing" class last summer I feel better than I have in years. I have lost over 30 pounds and have a lot more energy. Having suffered with sleep apnea for several years has had a huge impact on my quality of life. Just getting those extra pounds off and exercise has really helped my sleep apnea.  
The quality of your instruction and training facility is top notch. I'm impressed with your professional accomplishments and your ability in training me. I look forward to each class and know that I will get a full physical workout.  
I will not be renewing my membership at another fitness facility as I know I've got the best trainer in Kingston. The benefits of my membership at Martial Arts Planet are priceless!

Sincerely,
Brock Fraser

On the road...

While on holidays we were happy to be able to do some Jiu-jitsu training with our friend Rowan at Abahya MMA. Now that we have returned though we have a lot of special things going on. Stay tuned...

Mike, Rowan Cunningham and Rebecca

Summer Holidays

Martial Arts Planet will be closed for our Summer Break commencing July 30. Our school will reopen for classes on Tuesday, August 7th. Enjoy your holidays everyone!

Special classes at MAP with Wagnney Fabiano

MAP students were fortunate to have our coach Wagnney visit our school to teach 2 special classes on July 23/24. Undefeated in the IFL, Wagnney's wrestling is "off the hook." Great classes -- great guy!

Check out the following highlight video which showcases a tiny bit of Wagnney's skills!

Barbeque, Volleyball, Awards and FUN!

On Saturday, July 21st the sun shone brightly for our 2nd annual Barbeque and Volleyball tournament. Over 40 students and family members joined to share the afternoon. In addition to the food and fun we also made use of this day to make a number of special presentations. As 2007 marks our 20th year of operation in Kingston (THAT"S A LONG TIME, ISN'T IT?) we decided to present special plaques to all students who have been training with us for more that a decade. As surprising as this may seem we were honored to present 15 plaques! In addition to this we were happy to present Phillip Brown with his senior Black Belt as he had met the age requirement last year. Phillip received his Junior Black Belt several years ago. As well, MAP Coach Eric Morrin was presented his BJJ Blue Belt (he was promoted to BJJ Green Belt a number of years ago) as he too had met the age requirement. Thanks to everyone for making this day special. Members may view lots of photos from the day's fun in our Member's Forum.

Mr. and Mrs. Drew!

Congratulations to MAP student Michael Drew and his new wife Deborah (nee Gray). The two recently "tied the knot" and we were honored to be invited to their wedding ceremony, and the great party afterwards. We wish you all the best!

And the winner is...

The winner of our Nintendo Wii game system giveaway was new MAP student Kyle Abrey! Congratulations Kyle. We heard that Kyle's friends and housemates are also very happy about Kyle's win.

Spring Cleaning +

We spent the entire day Friday giving the club a fresh coat of paint (or at least a portion of the club). We hope that you like it!

Download a copy of our latest Flyer!

Win a Nintendo Wii

Beginning on May 1st, we will be running a special referral contest in our school. The contest will end on June 15 where we will make the grand prize draw for a NINTENDO WII SYSTEM! I can't begin to tell you how hard it was for us to even get this prize!

The contest is simple:

Refer a friend (or relative) to our school who joins on any program and your name will be entered into the draw (be sure to tell them to inform us that it was you who referred them when they call or visit). YOU GET TWO BALLOTS FOR EVERY REFERRAL.

Join the school on any program and YOUR NAME will also be entered into the draw. (YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE BALLOT)

THIS MEANS THAT BOTH YOU AND THE FRIEND YOU REFERRED HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN!

Get busy and talk up our classes to your friends. We would love to have our classes filled up with people just like YOU!

Class trip to MAP!

On April 18th we enjoyed a visit by 42 enthusiastic high-school students who came to us for a BJJ lesson. Students were introduced to the great sport and were able to train both takedowns and ground grappling skills during the 1-hour workshop. It was a great class and we all had a lot of fun!

Download a LARGER VERSION of the class photo!

New Article / Interview

Check out the following article / interview conducted by Patrick Hutchinson of Loyalist College in Belleville. Patrick dropped into our school to view a class in action and then stuck around for a short time afterward to speak to students and instructors about MMA and training at our school.

Mike and Rebecca Sweeney wish everyone a
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door. - An Irish blessing

Construction Time

Although it took all day and a large mess was created, we completed construction of the new padded wall in our main training room on Sunday March 11th. This new area will allow our students to safely train effective takedowns off of the wall (cage). Huge thanks to Chris and Kristin for spending all day with us helping with the project!

Attaching the padding to the plywood. Note the cool shades!

The wood is then attached to the framework. As usual Chris does most of the work.

We had to test it out:)

It REALLY IS a Martial Arts PLANET!

Check out the photos below of MAP student Colton Bain taken during his recent trip to the SOUTH POLE!

The following pic shows how strong you can become by training at Martial Arts Planet. MAP student Thomas Kiriakou holds up the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

Thanks for the fun weekend!

Thanks to Andrew Carr-Locke of Man Alive Martial Arts in Toronto for being such a great host over the past weekend. Andrew hosted us for a small seminar where we were able to share some of the skills and training methods used at our gym and other SBGi gyms worldwide. There was good training and lots of laughter, which for us is a perfect combination.

On the road...

On March 3-4, 2007 Mike and Rebecca Sweeney will be teaching a special 2-day MMA seminar at Man Alive Martial Arts in Toronto.

Click on the image below to see a larger copy.

All regularly scheduled classes at MAP in Kingston will still be running on March 3, 2007.

Don't wait any longer... Get Involved NOW!

Click here to see a larger copy.

World Champion LEO SANTOS to teach at MAP!

Leonardo Santos, one of the top jiu-jitsu fighters in the world, will be teaching and training at MAP during the week of January 14-19. Leo originally made the trek from Brazil to Canada to compete along side Rebecca in the now defunct Apex Caged Inferno show. Although that is not happening we will be taking full advantage of his visit. Be sure you're in classes to train with him and register for the special members-only clinic on Tuesday at 8:20. Call us for more details!

Rebecca featured in new Revgear catalogue

From coach to fighter to model? We don't think so:)

Click on the image below to see a larger copy.

APEX: CAGED INFERNO POSTPONED

We received notice on Jan. 9th that the entire show Rebecca was to fight in on Jan. 13th has been cancelled. Below is the press release they issued:

"APEX Championship Fighting regrets to inform fans and fighters that the event scheduled for January 13th, 2007 has been postponed due to circumstances beyond our control. Full refunds will be available form the source where tickets were purchased. Unfortunately, the details cannot be discussed due to potential legal implications, but look forward to an announcement about a rescheduled date in the near future. APEX would like to thank the fans for their overwhelming support and apologizes for any inconvenience. "

Pre-fight interview with Rebecca Sweeney

Kingston, Ontario native Rebecca Sweeney (2-0) has been waiting a very long time to fight in front of friends and family. Living in Ontario, where MMA is still not sanctioned, Rebecca has had to practice her trade on the road, away from the hometown crowd. On Saturday, January 13th, Sweeney will finally get the chance to have her own fans cheer her on, as she takes on American Top Team standout Jessica Aguilar (2-1), for the APEX Women’s World Lightweight Title.
This world championship bout will be taking place at the much anticipated APEX: Caged Inferno event in Gatineau, Quebec. While this event may not be taking place in her hometown province, the 2 hour drive from Kingston to Gatineau is a much easier option for her fans than booking a flight to travel across the country to cheer her on.

Standing at 5’6” and weighing 120 lbs, Sweeney brings a full MMA style to the ring having an abundance of experience in both Muay Thai and BJJ. Representing Martial Arts Planet, Sweeney is trained by husband, Mike Sweeney, a pioneer in Canadian Mixed Martial Arts. The Sweeney martial arts culture has always been one of learning and growing in the arts, in hopes to better self defense skills and to spread this knowledge to their student base.

In preparing for this championship bout vs Aguilar, Sweeney boasts her keys to victory as ‘thorough preparation and excellent conditioning.’ Her strengths going into the fight are that she is ‘very well rounded and strong in all ranges’. When asked about her opponent, she stated ‘I don’t know much about her except that she is tough and comes from a strong team. I am taking this fight very seriously.’

Prior to becoming an MMA fighter, Sweeney attended dance academy after high school and practiced her trade for 17 years. The 38 year old has a 17 year old daughter and has one goal in mind for her MMA career: ‘To become the first UFC Female Champion’.

Tickets for APEX: Caged Inferno are available through all Ticketmaster outlets at www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling (613) 755-1111. Don’t miss this spectacular event where you are guaranteed to see some epic battles in the APEX cage, brought to you by the region’s top MMA event: APEX CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHTING.

Rebecca's next MMA fight is close to home!

Rebecca will be fighting ATT's Jessica Aguilar for the APEX Women’s World Lightweight Title on January 13, 2007. Here is an excerpt from the event's press release:

"The debut of the cage is not the only 'first' at APEX: Caged Inferno. For the first time in the organization's history, there will be a woman’s fight in the National Capital Region. Not since the days of MMA events on Indian reserves has there been a woman’s fight in Quebec. On this night, Kingston’s Rebecca Sweeney (2-0) brings her undefeated record to face the extremely tough and talented Jessica Aguilar (2-1) representing the much heralded American Top Team. This bout will be for the APEX Women’s World Lightweight Title."

Check out the News Archive links to the left to read up on past years' happenings! There are lots of cool photos to view too!