GriffonRawl Combat Sports & Fitness, a combined martial arts fitness center in Mentor, not too long ago marked its 25th anniversary of providing a wide selection of choices for folks of varied ages, talent ranges and aspirations.
Owner Jason Dent placed on a three-day celebration earlier this month to commemorate the milestone.
The occasion showcased sold-out personal classes; appearances by former proprietor Dan Rawlings and Master Jorge Pereira, a seventh diploma Coral Belt and head of Jiu Jitsu; seminars and workforce exhibitions and a picnic within the Lake Metroparks.
“I actually suppose the entire weekend was nicely attended and nicely acquired and the whole lot we did was an A or A-,” Dent mentioned.
Pereira, who skilled below legendary Rickson Gracie, and Rawlings got here in from Florida for the occasion. They led back-to-back seminars adopted by pubic sparring exhibition.
“(Sept. 10) we mentioned we had been going to have a good time with blood and sweat to honor the 25th yr anniversary,” Dent mentioned. “It is vital to notice the exhibitions at evening had no winners or losers, solely warriors.”
Dent mentioned the longevity and recognition of GriffonRawl is immediately correlated to taking a wider perspective on clientele.
It shouldn’t be a facility steered towards solely coaching future black belts or UFC fighters. Dent mentioned they welcome youth teams, ladies, seniors, individuals who simply need to get in higher form and anyone and everyone in between. He mentioned they’ve had rape victims are available to be taught self protection. There have been legislation enforcement come to coach as nicely.
All of the applications supplied at GriffonRawl should not solely designed to learn those that intend to compete, however are additionally designed to show self-defense whereas offering precious train and cardiovascular work.
Competing shouldn’t be a compulsory requirement for attending any of the courses. Competitions at the moment are in Muay Thai, boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & MMA.
“We needed to widen our attain and I really feel over time we now have performed a terrific job attracting all kinds of individuals and provide all kinds of applications to suit all completely different sorts of targets that they’ve,” Dent mentioned.
In 1993, Dent — a Ledgemont High School graduate — grew to become all in favour of karate at Richard Fike’s Madison Combined Martial Arts faculty and ultimately earned his black belt there. In 1997, he entered the newbie Muay Thai ring with Rawlings, the one-time proprietor of GriffonRawl, in his nook. In 2002, a then 20-year-old Dent took over possession and operations tasks at GriffonRawl.
“When I first took over I used to be preventing and managing the fitness center and coaching. It was loads, however I survived,” he mentioned.
Dent entered the MMA cage as knowledgeable in 2003 and received the primary of his 5 skilled championships a bit of later that yr, kicking off a profession that may ship him to Canada, Mexico and Las Vegas, the place he would compete within the UFC. He was featured within the UFC’s 2009 The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom. To date, he’s racked up 22 skilled MMA victories.
Along the best way, Dent invested the cash he earned prizefighting into the GriffonRawl, updating and upgrading the services, hiring skilled employees and providing his providers to a wider neighborhood. He additionally personally devoted himself to displaying others what he’d discovered within the cage, within the ring and on the mat. He’s had a hand in serving to his workforce rack up over 300 newbie and skilled wins.
A 20-foot by 20-foot MMA cage is the point of interest of the fitness center and it’s used primarily for MMA sparring, takedown and takedown protection observe and grappling classes.
There is a everlasting boxing ring. Used for Muay Thai and Boxing, this official-sized ring is used for drilling and sparring. Speed baggage, heavy baggage, slip baggage and a double-end bag complement the hanging portion of the academy.
https://www.news-herald.com/2022/09/20/griffonrawl-combat-sports-and-fitness-in-mentor-celebrates-25th-anniversary
