Search our site!

"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

2006 PROMOTIONS

More BJJ Promotions...

Congratulations to the following students who were promoted during the final BJJ class of 2006:

• Chris Wellstood - Blue Belt - 1st Stripe
• Ken Thompson - Blue Belt
• Brian Larmon - White Belt - 2 stripes
• Alec Charlebois - White Belt - 2 stripes

As is typical, these guys had a marathon session before the promotions were handed out. They, along with the other students present in the class, showed excellent heart and skill. Keep up the great work guys!

BJJ Promotions!

Congratulations to Tim Baker and Kyle Norton who were both awarded their Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Blue Belts during the October 4, 2006 BJJ class. It was a tough class and both guys had to iron-man the entire group. Way to go!

Kyle Norton receives his BJJ Blue Belt

Tim Baker receives his BJJ Blue Belt

September 2006 Promotions:

Congratulations to the following students who advanced to new ranks this month:

• Marissa Jensen - White/Gold Belt
• Ariana Jones - White/Gold Belt
• Ryan Blackwood - Gold Belt
• Alec Charlebois - Gold Belt
• Kyle Norton - Orange Belt
• Cary Reed - Red Belt
• Ryan Young - Green Belt
• Rob McArthur - Purple Belt
• Lyndsay Hull - Blue Belt
• Symeon Bellousis - Brown Belt Sho
• Chris Wellstood - Brown Belt Sho
• Ken Thompson - Brown Belt Sho
• Anthony Beaulieu - Brown Belt Ni

August 2006 Promotions:

Congratulations to the following students who successfully completed exam week in August:

• Maxim Busatta - White/Gold Belt
• Devon Jenson - Red Belt
• Matteo Circelli - Red Belt

Devon and Sam in one of our previous Kidz Kombat™ competitions

July 2006 Promotions:

Congratulations to the following students who successfully completed exam week in July:

• Cody Williams - White/Gold Belt
• Connor Williams - Gold Belt
• Beau Conley - Gold Belt
• Brian Larman - Gold Belt
• Tim Baker - Orange Belt
• Ethan Horbay - Orange Belt
• Ryan Horbay - Orange Belt
• Justin Rodrigues - Orange Belt
• Tara Shaikh - Orange Belt
• Toban Bradlynn - Red Belt
• Zak Fox - Red Belt
• Justus Saxton - Red Belt
• Connor Curran - Blue Belt
• Madison Wright - Blue Belt

Ryan working his clinch with Liam.

June 2006 promotions:

Congratulations to the following students who advanced to new ranks this month:

• Tyson Baker - Gold Belt
• John Huang - Gold Belt
• Brendan Hulme - Gold Belt
• Alex Stonehouse - Gold Belt
• David Anderson - Purple Belt
• Bob Bush - Blue Belt
• Matthew Thomas - Brown Belt

Bob working for a single-leg takedown.

May 2006 promotions:

Congratulations to the following students who successfully completed exam week in May:

• Ryan Blackwood - White/Gold Belt
• Chase Bain - White/Gold Belt
• Nic Brennan - White/Gold Belt
• Ty Durham - White/Gold Belt
• Alex Robertson - White/Gold Belt
• Liam Donovan-Bresee - Gold Belt
• Liam Strong - Gold Belt
• Sergey Vorozhtsov - Gold Belt
• Taylor Fox - Red Belt
• Thomas Kiriakou - Red Belt
• Leslie Mc Pherson - Red Belt
• Ken Thompson - Blue Belt

Taylor holds mount during a training session.

Also promoted during the month of May was Tim Baker who received two stripes on his white belt in the BJJ class. His grappling game is rapidly developing. Keep on improving Tim!

February 2006 promotions:

Congratulations to the following students who advanced to new ranks this month:

• Alex Cowan - White/Gold Belt
• Willa Cowie - White/Gold Belt
• Alex Stonehouse - White/Gold Belt
• Justin Rodrigues - Gold Belt
• Tara Shaikh - Gold Belt

Also, in a surprise promotion, Colton Bain advanced to 2nd yellow stripe in BJJ this past Friday. Colton has attended almost ALL of the special training sessions with BJJ Black Belt Wendell Alexander and has progressed immensely.

Congratulations to everyone! Keep up the GREAT work.

Lots of BJJ Promotions!

Feb. 1, 2006: I am very happy to announce that several of our students were promoted tonight during our Brazilian Jiu-jitsu class:

New Blue Belts:

Chris Wellstood - Chris is one of our keenest students, who is active in our MMA program as well as our Grappling classes. He can frequently be found training outside of classes as well.
Andre Grandbois - Andre is one of our newer students but comes to us with a solid BJJ and wrestling back ground, having trained with other instructors, including Nova Uniao's Mark Bocek.
Rob McArthur - Another one of our "big boys", Rob has been training BJJ with us for 2+ years now and has tested himself in competition on numerous occasions.

Blue Belt - 2 stripes:

Shawn Hartwig - Long-time student Shawn Hartwig continues to put in time on the mat, balancing his training with work and family commitments. Look for good things from Shawn in the future.

Green Belt:

Eric Morrin - As is tradition in many academies, students must be 18 years old to receive a BJJ Blue Belt. 16 yr. old Eric trains consistently in our MMA and grappling classes and has developed a solid ground game. Look for great things to come from Eric as well!

Purple Belt:

Rebecca Sweeney - For those who know her, this promotion comes as no surprise. Rebecca simply "kicks ass" on the mat! In addition to this, she is an awesome coach who lives and breathes martial arts.

Brown Belt:

Mike Sweeney - I will not "blow my own horn" on this page. In spite of arguing against this promotion, Professor Alexander assures me that I am ready for this huge step. I respect his opinion and will do my best to live up to this very important BJJ rank.

New BJJ Blue Belt!

Jan. 20, 2006: Today in class Dan Cunningham received his BJJ Blue Belt from Nova Uniao Co-founder Wendell Alexander. Dan trained BJJ with us for close to 3 years. Unfortunately he moved away a little while ago but he continues to train and improve himself. Good job Dan. You wholeheartedly deserved the promotion.

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