MMA Business October 2012

OCTOBER 2012 • $5.99

Investin spaceEnvironmental Psychology

Means Business P.22

Feature:Injury Prevention 101

Profile:Revgear

Special: MMA Business Awards

of Excellence

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CENTER RING: SAVANT YOUNG ANd ThE MMfU

W W W. M M A B U S I N E S S . C O M I OCTOBER 2012 3

CONTENTS

FEATURES

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2 • V O LU M E 3 N o . 5

28IThe Marine Corps like to say, “Pain is weakness leaving your body.” for MMA gym owners, trainers and product marketers, we say, “Pain is money leaving your business.”

INJURY PREVENTION 101

22IENVIRONMENTAL PYSCHOLOGY

Even as recently as a few years ago, the design men-tality of many MMA gym owners was “toughness.” Being hard core simply doesn’t cut it anymore. Busi-ness owners need to consider the look, and more.

DEPARTMENTS4 I MIXED THOUGHTS

American Exceptionalism

6 I BUSINESS PLANCompetitive Edge

8 I BUSINESS SOLUTIONSCredit Card Processing Makes Sense

10 I THE BEATUFC Gym to Build in NYC, New Magazines, Fight Summit is Free, LA Boxing Beats Bullying, Gleason’s Adds MMA

14 I EVENT REPORTXyience XenArt Show

15 I PROFILERevgear

18 I CENTER RINGSavant Young and the MMFU

38 I THE FIGHT BUSINESSBAMMA USA, MMA World Expo Fights

42 I WIDE WORLD OF MMAFILA’s Amateur MMA Comes to NYC

36 I AWARDS OF EXCELLENCEMMA Business is ready to honor industry leaders

44 IYOUR GYMRise Combat, Tucson, Ariz.

46 ION THE MATStrength Training Builds Business

46 IPRO SHOPNew Products and Services

48 IOUTSIDE THE OCTAGONLeadership Advice that Wins Medals

KEEPINGCUSTOMERS32I

Customer retention, for both gym owners and product professionals, starts with providing excel-lent products and services, and then takes a whole lot more.

10 15

3818

Cover photo by Glenn Hansen at UFC Gym, Torrance, Calif.

4 OCTOBER 2012 I W W W. M M A B U S I N E S S . C O M

American Exceptionalism

MIXED THOUGHTS from the Editor

www.MMABusiness.comVol. 3, No. 5, October 2012

MAGAZINE STAFF

PublisherRichard Hendricks

[email protected]

EditorGlenn Hansen

[email protected]

Editorial ContributorsTed Czech,

Dale Shirley (Photographer)Nick Roach, Raphael Garcia

Art DirectorBrett Link, [email protected]

612-741-3048

Advertising Sales RepresentativesWhite Chocolate Management

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Erick [email protected]

952-388-4191

Mike [email protected]

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MMA ADVISORY BOARDJohn Bostick, Amber Galvanosi,

Jamie Gudell, Jeff and Barry Meyer, Hans Molenkamp, Greg Nelson,

Pascal Pakter, Erik Paulson, Steve Pinado, Kekoa Quipotla

CIRCULATION FULFILLMENTKnowledge Marketing Publishing Services

MMA Business is published 6 times annually by MMA Business LLC, 9444 Deerwood Lane North, Maple Grove, MN 55369.

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PresidentChuck Blanski

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Subscription Information: Free to qualified members of the mixed martial arts industry. To subscribe or renew your free subscription, go to: MMABusiness.com, Customer Service: contact MMA Business, 9444 Deerwood Lane North, Maple Grove, MN 55369. Call 800-869-6882, Fax 866-658-6156, or e-mail [email protected]

Editorial Submissions: return postage must accompany all manuscripts and photographs submitted to MMA Business if they are to bereturned. MMA Business is not responsible for unsolicited materials. MMA Business makes no endorsements, representations, guaran-tees or warranties regarding products and services presented or advertised within the publication. © 2012 by MMA Business LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Printed in U.S.A.

GlennGLENN [email protected]

A good history book – and I think they’re rare – teaches me something by introducing me to interesting people, and by telling me good stories. Stephen Ambrose wrote one called “Nothing Like it In The World,” documenting the building of the transcontinental railroad. It’s the only history book I have ever recommended to anyone. Until now. I’ve been reading “Rough And Tumble, The History of American Submission Wrestling,” the 2010 book by Erik Paulson, Matt Granahan, and J.D. Dwyer. This 150-plus page book is, first, filled with interest-ing people. Did you know several U.S. Presidents were accomplished

wrestlers, including George Washington and Abraham Lincoln? Second, the book tells great true stories about these interesting people. “Rough And Tumble” gives readers something more important to grapple with. Paulson and his crew (he gets first billing from me because he’s the one I know, and he autographed my book!) makes an important argument that Americans deserve a bigger share of credit for the birth of Mixed Martial Arts. “We as Americans are a hard working, hard drinking and hard fighting nation of immigrants,” the book begins. “Those immigrants were instrumental in creating a style of grappling that has been proven repeatedly to be the most effective the world has ever seen.” I’m not writing a book review. (But if I were, I’d say, “Great read.”) What I am doing is documenting my surprise at the things I learned. Not just names and places, but ideas.

Ideas that challenge the way I thought about the origins of MMA. Ideas that expand my thinking about the impact of wrestling, and the impor-tance of a wider variety of wrestling than I would have considered before. Here’s why I think this is important. Many people think about MMA as a sport that dates back a couple dozen years. Sure, a few fans can talk about Vale Tudo or even Pankration, and they understand the world’s influence on this mix of arts. But even that makes it all too fluid and somewhat foreign to be a solid and reliable part of Americana. We like Americana, and we know it’s good for business. Yes, globaliza-tion changed all that and I am a globalist. But if we can celebrate the deep American historical connection to MMA, we will build a sport with even deeper roots here. And that makes it more appealing to more generations, younger and older. If you’re watching UFC with your uncle, tell him about American carnival wrestling in the early 20th century, and how grapplers then helped form the sport we love today.

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Why Carry Gameness


Planning For Change – Your Competitive Edge

BUSINESS PLAN

Create your business plan and stick with it. That’s the message from many business consultants, right? Those of you who wrote a business plan did so to record your business goals and your plans to reach them. And you were right to do so. But how many of you can accurately predict the future? To keep a competitive edge, your business plan should evolve – some say monthly – so you can adapt to changing mar-kets and new opportunities. What’s the point of planning if you’re going to change the plan? Good question. It depends primarily on your marketplace, its evolution, and the competition there. Individual busi-nesses have to answer that for them-selves, but we spent some time talking with Zach Lipari, president and founder of East Coast MMA, a clothing and gear retailer with two stores in the New York City area, and an online presence. Hello Plan? Opportunity Here East Coast MMA launched its Facebook page in October 2010, working to build hype for the March 2011 opening of its Long Island, New York store. “We opened our doors,” said Lipari, “and we had a few customers waiting to get in. That was great. Still, we’ve had days like, ‘Where is every-body?’ and other days that were crazy busy. Now we’re steadier.” The Long Island store is in Rockville Center on the Sunrise Highway, “a popular main thor-oughfare,” said Lipari, “and we’re right near a Long Island Railroad station. We’re very accessible from other Burroughs. Still, we don’t get a lot of random foot traffic. People come here because they want to come here.” Looking at the marketplace and his opportunities for growth, Lipari knew he needed to broaden his base. And he has always wanted to open a retail store in Manhattan. But he knew that would take some time. Then Brooklyn happened. “I saw that Renzo Gracie was opening this tremendous MMA facility in Brooklyn, the Renzo Gracie Fight Academy, and they

said they were going to have a retail store. I always think, if someone is selling something, it should be me. So I contacted them, and we began discussions.” “The opportunity to work with Renzo was exciting, a good connection and good recognition for our brand,” said Lipari. There is no way, back in the fall of 2010, that Lipari could have known in just 18 months his business plan might include a marketing partnership with Renzo Gracie. So he shifted a bit. He took advantage of an opportunity that wasn’t in his original plan. East Coast MMA opened its satellite store in April within the Gracie Academy in Brooklyn. “Af-ter the deal with Renzo Gracie,” said Lipari, “some bigger gyms contacted me with interest in doing similar retail spaces. I take this as a compliment, because I’ve only been doing this two years.” But East Coast MMA is in no hurry to become the retail-outlet provider for MMA gyms along the eastern seaboard. “I still want to have a store in Manhattan some day,” said Lipari, “but no immedi-ate plans for that.”

Thanks Opportunity. Welcome to the Plan“My goal is always to get better,” said Lipari. “I’m never satisfied. I always want to try and make improvements.” The Gracie retail store opportunity helped East Coast MMA learn a lot about business,


GlennGLENN HANSEN

and it got the brand a few miles closer to Manhattan. It’s important to have a plan, and to be ready, willing and able to adjust that plan for a good opportunity. “I saw a quote the other day,” said Lipari, “something like, ‘If you try to please ev-erybody, you’ll please nobody.’ So I have stick to my plans but also evolve to be smarter, and more forward thinking.” Lipari knows that a great deal of shopping for MMA gear and apparel is done online. And his business is equipped for that, too, at eastcoastmma.net. He also knows that online shopping presents limits to customers. He is working to provide the best customer service he can in-store with a vari-ety of inventory and more. “Trying on stuff is huge,” he said. “You can’t do that online. People come in all the time to try on gloves. We have a heavy bag. Plus I’ll hold a kick shield and have people kick me. And different shorts fit differently, too.” Yet he’s no Luddite. He knows a retail plan today must include online shopping. “I’m working now on our website. I want to bring a higher level

of customer service to online shopping.” There are scores of MMA gym owners and in-dustry business leaders who share Lipari’s always-improve attitude and business planning style. At the same time, in an industry built on traditions, many business owners don’t know when to say “Change.” Your business plan – written or un – is only as good as the person managing it. Even the most rigid plan should include a plan to take advantage of opportunities. Lipari recently learned about the plans for a new UFC Gym to be built in a Long Island neigh-borhood not far from his store. That could change things, again.

JUNE 22, 2012BOSTON, MA

JUNE 30, 2012LAS VEGAS, NV

JULY 28, 2012WASHINGTON, D.C.

AUGUST 11, 2012NEW HAMPSHIRE

AUGUST 18, 2012DALLAS, TX

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012BUFFALO, NY

SEPTEMBER 20-21, 2012LONDON & BIRMINGHAM

SEPTEMBER 22-23, 2012SCOTLAND

OCTOBER 18-19, 2012OKINAWA, JAPAN

OCTOBER 28, 2012MONTREAL

NOVEMBER 3, 2012LAS VEGAS, NV

DECEMBER 1, 2012DANIA BEACH, FL

TrAIning.COmTM

To register visit burnwithkearns.com or call 508-541-3281

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Train Hard Fight Easy magazine is taking its cutting-edge MMA strength and conditioning philosophy into gym’s across the WORLD by supporting resident S&C guru Kevin Kearns’ World Tour. ‘Dr Evil’ is flying across the world to present his series of seminars and certification events around the globe – bringing the very latest MMA training techniques.

Train Hard Fight Easy is the world’s only fitness magazine centred around the sport of mixed martial arts. It was launched in 2011 to widespread acclaim and now retails in 26 countries worldwide, alongside sparring partner publication Fighters Only.

Boston-based Kevin Kearns is one of the leading strength and conditioning experts in the United States. His work with combat sports athletes is second to none, having helped condition no less than 15 UFC fighters by utilising 25 years of martial arts training. His MMA conditioning DVD series remains a best seller, while his ‘Burn with Kearns’ philosophy has gone global with certification events being staged around the world.

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Why Credit Card Processing Makes Good Business Sense

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

Imagine a brand-new student anxiously walks into your gym, eager to buy whatever is in sight. As he stocks up on gear, ready to make his purchase, and you tell him, “Sorry, we only accept cash.” The student races to find some money, but can’t locate an ATM nearby. He has a credit card on hand, but you don’t take plastic. The student leaves disap-pointed and you lose a sale. Is this you? Are you missing out on opportuni-ties to grow your business? People rarely carry cash anymore; and when is the last time you saw someone with a checkbook? To stay competitive in today’s marketplace, you have to provide what cus-tomers demand, and that includes the convenience of paying by credit card. In fact, many people pre-fer to pay with credit cards to accumulate reward points and miles. Credit cards also help custom-ers organize their transactions and provide buyer protection services; they’re a preferred payment method in many cases.

Good For You, TooBusinesses also get benefits when accepting credit cards. Cash flow typically improves, regardless of whether there’s an increase in sales. Rather than sending an invoice and waiting for that invoice to be paid (or a check to clear), money from a sale goes directly to your bank account. You also decrease the likelihood that you won’t receive pay-ment by capturing the funds as close to the time of sale as possible. Many small businesses shy away from credit card processing because of the fees involved. However, numerous studies have shown that the average size of credit card orders can be as much as three times greater than those paid by cash or check. All said, the increase in sales heavily out-weighs any expense incurred. Also, your competi-tors may be allowing credit cards and providing an advantage that you’re not.

Start With A Merchant Account A merchant account is a special type of bank ac-count that allows your business to accept payments by credit or debit card. Merchant accounts also

provide the ability for you to receive monthly statements detailing your business’ processing vol-ume. You apply under a merchant agreement with a reseller or bank. The application process is fairly simple and requires that you provide some back-ground information about you and your business, along with some supporting documentation. As a merchant, you can expect to pay process-ing fees which usually represent a small percent-age of the transaction, plus a set amount. When shopping for a merchant account, you will often see rates advertised that try to lure you in with a cheap transaction fee. Look closely at ALL of the fees you’ll pay. Many times, in addition to the low-cost fee advertised, you can expect to pay different rates depending on whether you swipe or key in the customer’s credit card number. It’s important to look at processing security as well. Specifically, you want to make sure to work with a Level One Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliant provider. The PCI Compliance standard was created by the credit card industry in 2006 as a way to prevent sensitive credit card information from being compromised to avoid credit card fraud. To comply with the requirements, you need to make

Sp o n S o r e d b y M e M b e r So l u t i o n S


sure you work with a secure, certified processor to ensure the credit card information is securely stored and that the payment requests are processed in a secure manner. The processor, who provides you with your merchant account, will be able to explain this more fully and educate you on best practices when accepting credit cards at your business. In addition to your merchant account you will need a way to capture the transactions, such as a credit card terminal or reader. The reader can be con-figured to work with other software solutions, such as a front-desk system to help manage your gym. Once you start processing credit card transactions, the transaction amount will be sent to your bank account minus the transaction fees that are withheld. Card processing fees will actually change de-pending on the manner in which you capture the credit card transaction. You should try and swipe the actual credit card whenever possible since that

will help provide the cheapest processing rates for your transaction. Getting started with credit card processing may seem a bit daunting. Don’t worry, it’s easier than you think. There are many great resources out there to help you get started. Make sure you pick a reliable, dependable partner; and in no time at all, you’ll realize the many benefits credit card process-ing can bring to your business.

Steven Pinado is the CEO for Member Solutions, a leading pro-vider of billing, servicing and business support for membership-based businesses. Recently, Member Solutions launched a new affiliate business, Constellation Payments, to deliver secure and reliable payment processing for merchants. For more information, call 267.287.1000 or send an email to [email protected].

STEVEN PINADO Steven


TheBEATF I G H T S + N E W S + H A P P E N I N G S + E V E N T S + L E A D E R S

Fight Summit promoter Mike Hauben an-nounced that the 2012 Fight Summit, sched-uled Nov. 3 and 4 in Las Vegas, will no longer charge admission, but will be free to attend for MMA professionals. “Despite the value that most brands get from coming to Fight Summit each year, it’s hard for young brands to afford airfare, hotel, and then also a pass to our event,” said Hauben in a press release. “The fight industry is still only in its infancy and many businesses in the market are still trying to find their footing. We realized that if our goal is to truly help grow the combat sports industry, the best thing we could do is to make Fight Summit a free event for attendees.” Hauben said his event has other methods for generating revenue, and that his goal remains to grow the entire MMA industry, along with growing this event. “All you need to do now is register in advance,” said Hauben. There will be a small fee charged for registering on-site the day of the event. Attendees who have purchased tickets will be refunded and will be allowed free admission as well. To register, or for more information, visit fightsummit.com.

LA Boxing, the kickboxing and MMA franchise based in Santa Ana, Calif., has launched a nationwide anti-bullying campaign that will fea-ture professional boxers and Mixed Martial Arts fighters interacting with school groups nationwide. “October is anti-bullying month, and that has helped us draw a lot of attention to this important issue. We’ve received good feedback from CNN, plus the Steve Harvey show, and Ellen Degeneres, too,” said Keith Williams, LA Boxing market-ing director. “It started with Rob McCullough, former fighter who has trained Dana White’s kids, among others. Now every fighter we’ve talked with wants to get involved.” “We have 75 gyms across the country,” said Williams, “and all of them are reaching out to schools in their communities. And then we put together a participatory educational

program with them. We go to the school, meet with teachers, and then we work with the kids and teachers to share personal stories about the impact of bullying on lives.” LA Boxing is keen on making sure this is not a commercial for their busi-ness. Nor are the schools charged for this, of course. UFC fighter Tito Ortiz will make an appearance at Huntington Beach High School in his hometown as part of this anti-bullying outreach. As part of the campaign, LA Boxing gyms across the country will open their doors to kids who want to take a free class or just to talk to someone about bullying. LA Boxing has sponsored the website www.BullyFight.com, in which kids can submit their own videos about how bullying has affected them. Featured on the site is a video featuring many of the fighters involved in the cam-paign, as well as UFC President Dana White. The video will be shown at all LA Boxing anti-bullying assemblies.

LABoxingFIGHT SUMMITNOW FREE!

The MMA section of your local newsstand gets even more crowded this month with the premier of MMA Fitness. To be fair, this new title is one of just a few MMA magazines devoted to training and not just the MMA celebrities. The Septem-ber issue featured a cover story on Ryan Bader, a behind the scenes look at Big John McCarthy’s ultimate train-ing academy and Mac Danzig’s unique dietary regiment. The publisher said it distributed more than 130,000 copies of the first issue, with 100,000 copies going directly into 10,000 participating MMA gyms, “making MMA Fitness the largest circulated magazine in this growing category.”

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F I G H T S + N E W S + H A P P E N I N G S + E V E N T S + L E A D E R S

TheBEAT

Active Interest Media, the pub-lishers of Black Belt Magazine, Yoga Journal, and others, launched The Box, a bi-monthly magazine devoted to CrossFit enthusiasts. “Where other fitness magazines devote an article here or occasional column there to CrossFit, we delve deep into the ethos to offer training and nutrition advice from the best minds in the community …” wrote Jordana Brown in the premier issue’s Editor’s Note. Sold on newsstands nationwide, The Box is all CrossFit, all the time.

When Gleason’s Boxing Gym opened in New York City in 1937, a membership cost $2 per month. Times were tough, and owner Bobby Gleason was forced to drive a cab much of the day to make rent on the gym. Seventy-five years later, Gleason’s remains as the city’s oldest and proudest boxing gym. Starting later this year, Gleason’s will be one of New York’s newest MMA gyms, too. “Boxing is still my love,” said Bruce Sil-verglade, who has owned Gleason’s for 31 years. “If I had my choice to watch boxing or MMA, I’m going to watch boxing. But I know that the younger generation chooses

MMA. And I think that MMA will be approved and legalized in New York. When that happens, I want to take advantage of this opportunity.” Rodrigo Galvanosi, owner of Fearless Fighting in Greenville, North Carolina, and MMA Business advisory board member, will manage the MMA training operation inside Gleason’s Gym. A native New Yorker, Galvanosi trained at Gleason’s before moving to North Carolina. Though Silverglade says Gleason’s is “just a training facility,” fans of boxing

know it’s much more than that, having trained many of the nation’s best boxers in its 75 years. Gleason’s is a 15,000-square foot facility, with four boxing rings and a new MMA cage on the way. “I also have the largest training center in the country for professional wrestling,” said Silver-glade, “and we do jiu-jitsu as well.”

Gleason’s in Brooklyn adds MMA

ThE BOx Carano Back On Big ScreenMMA fighter and actress Gina Carano is set to star in a female action film based off of the popular Expendables franchise. The film, to be produced by Adi Shankar (The Grey) and his production company 1984 Private Defense Contractors, has not been given a title yet. Shankar says Carano is com-pletely vital for the movie. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to make a movie that is supposed to be the female version of The Expend-ables without Gina Carano in it. It would be like making Twix without caramel or Jamba Juice without jamba.” Carano can be seen in two new movies next year, The Fast and the Furious 6 and In the Blood.

TUFMED Launch With an official launch now scheduled for early December, TUFMED will soon deliver its first prod-ucts to the martial arts and MMA industries. Called TUFwound, that first product will be a topical cream intended for use on skin which has sustained cuts, scrapes, mat burns, or other damage common to combat sports. The company will introduce approximately six products in its first year, all of which address particular injury treatment and recovery needs of fighters and seri-ous athletes. A company spokesperson has confirmed that a change in manufactur-er delayed the brand launch three months, during which time company scientists were able to further improve their formulations, making the already revolution-ary combat sports injury treatment products even more effective. The company spokesperson also confirmed that all manufacturing is being kept in the US. Dan Greene, TUFMED’s CEO and Founder, is scheduled to attend Fight Sum-mit in Las Vegas in November to meet with retail distribution partners, fight train-ers, and gym owners to complete pre-orders and execute distribution agreements.

Just months after opening UFC Gym BJ Penn in Honolulu, Hawaii, its first non-California location, UFC Gym announces plans to open a 24-hour facility in the Long Island, New York neighborhood of New Hyde Park. Slated to open in early 2013, this will be the sixth UFC Gym operation, and the first outside of the Pacific Coast region. The facility will occupy a former grocery store, and will encompass 37,000 square feet . Adam Sedlack, UFC Gym senior vice president told MMABusiness the company is thrilled to enter New York State with this Long Island facility, and it also keeps an eye on opening a gym in Manhattan, too.

CAN’T BEAT ‘EM? JOIN ‘EM. UFC IN NYC

W W W. M M A B U S I N E S S . C O M I AUGUST 2012 13


Bringing MMA and Art Closer Together

+ (LEFT) UFC fighter Dan Hardy and Elizabeth Holloway attended the show.

+ (Center) The grand-prize winning entry was created by Adam Doyle of Massachusetts. His “Xenergy World” mixed media piece is a modern version of “Where’s Waldo?” Doyle won $1,000 and a one-year supply of Xyience Xenergy.

The “Energy of Art” outperformed the energy of MMA, at least on August 31 in Las Vegas. This art contest and show, created by Xyience energy drinks, was scheduled to capi-talize on the crowd that would be in town for UFC 151. When the UFC cancelled that fight scheduled for Sept. 1, Xyience maintained its focus on bringing MMA to the world of art, and the company carried on with its art show final event

and showcase. A few hundred people attended the show, held at the Amanda Harris Gallery of Contemporary Art. The focus of the show was announcing the winner of the XenArt contest, a juried art competition open to anyone with a creative flair and an empty can of Xyience Xenergy drink. Here are the visual highlights of the event.

P H O T O S B y d a l e S h i r l e y

XenArt


Frustrated that he had trouble finding high-quality training equipment when he was training in martial arts, Paul Reavlin started Revgear. That was 1996. And the company has expanded a few times, with a recent move to a larger warehouse and office space in the suburbs of Los Angeles. But what is Revgear? A product marketer or a service provider? We sat down with Reavlin and with marketing director Shelley Goldstein to ask that and other questions. MMA Business: Congratulations on your move. What’s different about this new office?

Paul Reavlin: This building is 17,000 square feet, combining the office and warehouse space, nearly double the size of our previous office.

MMA: How much of the growth of your business is due to Mixed Martial Arts?

Reavlin: Clearly the addition of MMA has changed the martial arts industry. Now there are punchers, kickers and fans. MMA opened up the industry to a lot of new companies, and new retail-ers. Plus, there was an explosion of MMA gyms. But lately we’ve seen a lot

of clients go out of business. MMA has been a significant part of the growth, but many traditional martial arts are still strong, even with MMA businesses.

MMA: Why do you believe so many are going out of business?

Reavlin: We generally have a good idea of who is going to make it. The fashion-ori-ented retail shop cannot survive, if you’re just selling shirts and hats. But if you’re connected to a gym, you can do well.

Shelley Goldstein: The companies must have to be a good brand, too. This gives real fans and lifestyle-people something to rely on and support.

MMA: Who are Revgear’s customers?

Reavlin: Seventy percent are martial arts schools and gyms, and 30 percent are retailers such as OTM (On The Mat) and others. We have a very large “ambassador” community. These are non-UFC fight-ers, competitors, and athletes in MMA, grappling, taekwondo, etc. We use social media to communicate with them and to facilitate the promotion. There are four levels of “ambassadors” – some start at the lowest level, and they compete for us and build a relationship that way. We do this for tournament organizers as well. This is mostly ama-teur events and athletes at the local level. This is not for UFC fighters.

MMA: What are Revgear’s best-selling products?

Reavlin: To the gyms, we sell a lot of box-ing gloves, shin guards and hand wraps. These are items used everyday and active amateurs need a lot of this. To retailers, we sell mostly t-shirts and shorts. This could be training apparel but is also just lifestyle wear for fans. Earlier this year we launched our new Revgear Combat Series, a line of equipment designed for people who want the real fighter’s gear, high-quality product like a pro fighter would use, but without breaking the bank to do it. Combat Series products are designed to be state-of-the-art, and at the same time

RevgearPROFILE:

+ Revgear staff preps its booth for the UFC Expo in Las Vegas in July. The 16-year-old company has grown to become a leading product supplier to the MMA industry. Or is that a leading service provider?

+ Freshly painted and still in move-in stage when photographed, this lobby area showcases the new Revgear logo, as well as product displays.


be affordable. The line includes a variety of MMA and boxing gloves, plus shin guards, focus mitts and training pads. Our customers have been asking for this. They want things that are technologically advanced. The sport is growing fast, and the athletes are well-known worldwide, so people want the same stuff these athletes use.

Goldstein: We’ve been releasing these Combat Series products over the year, and it’s been very well received. The kids’ collection is included in that, and that’s been received well, too. Gyms are adding kids programs at a rapid pace, and they need this gear. It’s sized specifically for kids. And it’s still high-quality gear, because young people should be protected, too. A lot of people are excited about the bold new graphics. The new Revgear logo reflects this more aggressive and more authoritative product offering.

MMA: What other trends are you watching in MMA gear?

Reavlin: Fight short technology is changing. These used to be just board shorts, and now they can be much more advanced. Shin guard and boxing glove technology is changing, too, with different foam technologies. And we have to be ahead of all this; it’s how we do what we do. Like our brand says, “Pro Gear for Pro Fighters.”

I spend time working with coaches, and we have The Revgear Corner Team – Rafael Cordero, Erik Paulson, Mark Dellagrotte, and Cesar Gracie. They work with us very closely to help make our products even better. This team helps us with all Revgear products.

Goldstein: It’s not easy to get these four guys. They need to test the gear, and give us feedback. They’re not just giving us their names. These are four pretty well-known guys who have good ideas of developing this sport. It also helps them when they’re involved in gear companies. Having these guys work with us helps us develop gear to fill the high demands of this growing market. We want every practitioner to be happy and to find what they want.

MMA: What is the biggest obstacle you face?

Reavlin: The biggest obstacle to us as a business is a gym owner’s fear and hesitation, their opinion of what the customer will or won’t pay for. And in many cases, it’s not true. “I don’t like that t-shirt design” so they don’t buy it. Or “the gloves are too expensive” but they sell elsewhere.

We’ve been in this business for 16 years. I started this company with stuff I wanted to train with. Now we have 60 pages of products, some of which I would train with, and some I personally would not want to use, but it all works. It’s true even for a pair of shin guards. Some people like different shin guards. But we know what works and can help businesses learn the same.

MMA: You’ve provided this magazine with tips for gym owners on selling products. I know that topic is impor-tant to you. But what is one easy thing a gym owner can do to increase Pro Shop opportunities?

Reavlin: The easiest thing for a gym owner to do is have a fitness kick box-ing class, and sell gloves and hand-wraps. Then there is a wide range of products that go with that. Deodor-izers, handwrap wash bags, and more. And fitness is a way to feed the other martial arts classes and programs. It’s why we teach owners to sell this stuff immediately at the time of sign up, there is so much excitement then for new members. That excitement falls off right away if you don’t sell them then. It will be much harder to sell something later.

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MMA: You’re not the only company doing what you do. So what makes Revgear different?

Reavlin: What makes us different than other suppliers is we spend a lot of time teaching customers how to sell products. A lot of the people here have been with me for a long time, and have traveled with me and heard me speak. We teach our customers how to sell products first within their existing program.

Goldstein: We train all our staff, too. We take great pride in selling the right products to our customers, the products that are right for their businesses. Our sales team is also in touch with the gyms, dojos and online retailers.

Reavlin: It is a lot of work with each cli-ent, and some aren’t willing to listen to what we have to say, and that’s fine. We ship to 1500 different locations every month. And we have a list of 5000 cus-tomers we can call regularly. We’re no different than the gym owner. We have to constantly put new customers in the funnel. And this is harder now than ever.

Goldstein: We build relationships. And that’s within the culture of our company. We listen, we investigate and resolve is-sues, and we work hard to maintain rela-tionships. We meet a variety of custom-ers at industry events and discuss with them what’s working and what’s not.

MMA: So is Revgear a product company or a service company?

Reavlin: That’s a trick question (laugh-ing). We’re more than just a gear com-pany, and we want our companies to understand that if we can help our cus-tomers, we’ll all grow together. We’re not in this just to sell products, but to help businesses grow.


Somebody needs to change this. Savant Young may be that guy. Owner of Fight Academy MMA in Pasadena, Calif., Young coaches MMA enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels. He’s also a fighter, a manager, and has promoted several fights under the “Proving Grounds” name at his gym. Now, he’s launching a new plan.

MMA Business: What is the Mixed Martial Fighters Union?

Savant Young: At first, when you hear “union,” you might think I’m trying to organize fighters to go against the es-tablishment, but this is different. Yes, it’s a union, but I’m taking a different approach. I’m getting some local gyms involved – you might call this a co-op – because we’re the ones who get this fight business started. We, as gym owners, need some-thing that we own. We need something that stands for our interests. It is time for the gym owners and fighters to take control of the amateur and pro-am fight promotion business. We’re not organiz-ing to go against the UFC; we’re not say-ing they’re doing something wrong. Our goal is to support the up-and-coming

fighters, especially those who will never make it to the UFC.

MMA: What problem will this union solve?

Young: First of all, we’re focus-ing on our region in Southern California. In this area – in-cluding Los Angeles, Orange County, and the San Bernardi-no area – there are too many amateur shows, with a lot of former pro-fight promoters doing amateur events now be-cause they don’t have to pay fighters. This is an unaccept-able exploitation of fighters and the gyms who support them. It takes money to do these shows. I know because we’ve done several at Fight Academy. And I take my fighters to other promoter’s fights. I could continue to do my own shows and try to make money on those. And so could a gym in L.A., or in Orange County, and it might present some opportunity for their fighters. Or we could come together and help each other. The most valuable part of this whole sport is the fighters

and the gyms who train them. Mean-while, some of these promoters want the fighters to do all the work promot-ing an event, while the event promoter makes the profit. If gyms and fighters work together, we can create fair, en-tertaining shows that will build oppor-tunity for even more fighters. The MMFU will promote amateur and pro-am fights. The fighters are the ones who make the show; they make the event happen; they draw in the crowd of fans.

CENTERRINGSOME OF THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT FIGHTING IN MMA RECENTLY HAPPENED NOT IN A CAGE OR A RING. IT HAPPENED ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND IN OTHER DIGITAL ARENAS. WHEN A WIDE VARIETY OF UFC FIGHTERS ATTACKED JON JONES, BLAMING HIM FOR THE UNDOING OF UFC 151, IT TURNED INTO AS BIG A BRAWL AS WE’VE SEEN IN THE CAGE. SAY WHAT YOU WILL ABOUT JONES’ DECISION TO FOREGO A LAST-MINUTE CARD CHANGE, BUT THE RESPONSE FROM HIS FELLOW FIGHTERS SHOWED THAT – AT LEAST FOR NOW – FIGHTERS ARE JUST LIKE PROMOTERS. THEY ARE IN THIS FOR THEMSELVES. BY GLENN HANSEN

Q&A WITH

SAVANT YOUNG

CENTERRING


CENTERRING

MMA: Do you have support from oth-er gyms?

Young: Initially, we want to get it started with five gyms, and I have three commit-ted so far. My own Fight Academy Pasa-dena, plus Sityodtong L.A., and Sparta MMA in Gardena, Calif. And we’re talk-ing to others in L.A., Orange County and farther east as well.

(We spoke with Walter Micha-lowski, owner of Sityodtong LA, about the MMFU)MMA: Why are you interested in the Mixed Martial Fighters Union?

Walter Michalowski: A lot of promot-ers want to take advantage of fighters. And I’m a retired fighter now owning a gym. We just want to make sure fight-ers get a fair chance to do their best, and to build this sport for a long and successful future.

(To Savant Young)MMA: What will promoters think?

Young: Promoters aren’t going to like this. They know they won’t be able to

just go to a gym and get fight-ers on the cheap. We’ll have our own shows, and we’ll pay the fighters more, plus the trainers and gym professionals will benefit from this, too. I don’t like some of these pro-moters, and it’s not necessar-ily personal. But they don’t have a vested interest in the

sport. They throw a little bit of money around, and they know we, the fighters, need them. They don’t really respect our place in the sport. They make fight-ers sell tickets to their own shows, and if they can’t sell the tickets, the money comes out of the fighter’s purse. We’re working to grow the local fighter’s market. We’ll also establish a youth MMA and youth fighting mar-ket, because we are going to grow op-portunities there, too. Here’s what will end up happen-ing: We’ll be able to get a blanket in-surance policy. Once we start filling up big shows, we’ll get some spon-sors. And then we’ll be able to offer more benefits for our fighters. Until then, our goal is to make money for ourselves and our fighters. For the fighter, we will pay for medi-cals (for both amateur and pro fighters). When an amateur fighter turns pro, there are higher costs involved and we’ll cover that. Each of the member gyms will host fights, and we’ll create pro and amateur leagues.

MMA: So is this just about the money?

Young: It’s not about us making money,

though I think we will. It’s more about creating a machine that runs well so everyone succeeds, including the gyms and the fighters. We’ll start locally, then grow regionally. The goal of the union is to cre-ate competitive fight shows that help each athlete become a better fighter, and to help them build a better ca-reer. A fight card can have non-mem-ber fighters if appropriate. We’ll do MMA events, no-Gi Grap-pling tournaments, kickboxing, and youth pankration events.

MMA: What’s the advantage for fans?

Young: This will be a great thing for our sport. The only way this sport thrives is with good fighters. We’re going to build this slowly, marketing both the events and the fighters as widely as we can. MMA: What have you heard from some other gyms?

Young: People are apprehensive right now because this is different. Every-one wants a sure thing in business, and that doesn’t exist. This is simply increasing the likelihood that we will grow – we’re going to create a system that prevents failure. It will also help keep our fighters fighting for us in our gyms. We need to make sure we get some benefit from this. We want to get to a point where all the fighters are part of the MMFU. This really helps the match-making process, often the hardest part of the show.

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Environmental Psychology

+ This UFC Gym in Torrance, California is the brand’s newest model for its use of space, taking advantage of open areas to fulfill the goal of “Train Different.”

ne of the first MMA gyms I visited as editor of MMA Business was Xtreme Couture, Randy Couture’s Las Vegas MMA mecca. This was three years ago, when this facility fully embraced the design theme of

“whatever.” Beyond the front lobby, the warehouse-style training space was overwhelmed by both a full-size boxing ring and an official UfC Octagon. On one side of that was a rectangle of grappling mats. On the other was an array of strength-training equipment, arranged casually, to say the least. But this was Randy Couture’s gym, and the training was excellent, arguably the best available in the world. In here, coaching earned a black belt rank while design wore a white belt. Couture had a redesign about a year ago, doubling the space and moving that white belt up to match the level of training. No, it’s not all about looks. But the physical design of your gym space does make a difference. “It’s called ‘environmental psychology,’” said Bruce Carter, owner of Optimal design Systems International (optimaldsi.com), a fitness-focused design firm that has redesigned dozens of Gold’s Gym locations nationwide, among other businesses. “Res-taurants and clothing stores, they know about environmental psychology,” he said. “It ad-dresses the facts that environment can affect people’s habits, particularly spending. Gyms have been way behind on this because it’s predominantly a male-owned industry, and men

think, ‘why would people care about the gym environment?’” Even as recently as a few years ago, the design mentality of many MMA gym own-ers was “toughness.” Being hard core sim-ply doesn’t cut it anymore. Xtreme Couture knows that. “You can still be serious about MMA,” said Carter, “but you can do it in a more inviting way to grow your business.”

Start With How And Whyhow – like how are you going to pay for this? When considering a redesign or renovation, you have to start with the budget, even if you don’t have a budget. “The availability of money is relative,” said Carter. “You may have a strict budget based on what you currently have in the bank, or what you can get in loans.

Environmental Psychology


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Other times, business owners just know they need to do something, and then they do homework to determine their budget starting points.” “Banks are starting to get back in the game with business loans,” said Carter, “more so today than 180 days ago. But they are going to look closely for collateral.” Carter also points to more creative financing, like a client of his that is receiving assistance from the landlord that wants the client to stay in business. More important than “how,” perhaps, is “why.” Why are you – or why should you – consider a redesign? Carter points to two main reasons gym owners consider redesigns. “One is to change or add to space to offer more programming options. The other is to sim-ply change the look of the space.” The former can be much more costly, and much riskier. Xtreme Couture didn’t double in size just hoping that people would come and join. The latter reasoning is more common, and can deliver rewards instantly. “We’re con-stantly tweaking our system,” said Rodrigo Galvanosi, owner of fearless fighting, and MMA training center in Greenville, North Carolina. “design and layout is a big part of this. And it comes from practice and learning. It comes from watching traffic patterns in the gym. And it comes from working to keep the gym as clean as possible.” “I’ve had trainers visit,” said Galvanosi, “and tell me they are amazed at how well thought out this gym is, and how clean it is. The things I can do something about, I will do something about. I don’t have big money to do a lot of expensive updates,

but I will build what I can to improve this training space.”

It’s Design, And More“for a long time in this industry,” said Carter, “it was just about the training. Which gym had the best coaches? Which fitness gym had the latest equipment? But if you want to broaden your market penetration – like add-ing women members, or families with kids – you have to make it look better.” “You can’t just rely on being a great in-structor,” said Galvanosi. “You have to have a great facility, just like a great staff and equip-ment, etc. Constantly improving every aspect, so there is no flaw in this facility.” There are always budgets to consider when running a business, but you can make design improvements on the cheap and right away.

+ The new Renzo Gracie Fight Academy in Brooklyn, New York is designed around a theme of bright and open areas to encourage highly visible training.


“One of the quickest and least expensive ways to make changes is with paint,” said Carter. “If you’ve been open five years and have not done anything, changing the paint will make a dra-matic difference, and it’s cheap.”

Who’s In Charge?It’s your business, and you should know its needs better than your staff. While your coach-es and trainers can provide good input on de-sign, their vision might not be as broad as yours. It’s not always wise to survey members about design ideas, either. You’re trying to plan ahead and best serve a larger audience, so you need to look outside for design inspiration. Carter recommends taking a broad look at other retail and member-based businesses for design ideas. Be willing to learn from mistakes, too. “One of the things I regretted was one time I removed a lot of weight-lifting equipment,” said Galva-nosi. “I thought I didn’t need this stuff because it’s not in my martial arts background. So I took some pieces of equipment out because I had different design ideas. Then I realized people really missed it, so I put it back in. You can’t always use your own opinions.”

Space – The Fitness FrontierThe latest design trend to impact your business may not be chain-link paint schemes or

Brazilian flags. “It’s space, that’s what it boils down to,” said Mike feeney, New Evolution fitness, the company behind UfC Gyms. Space is the fitness frontier. UfC Gym opened its first facility in 2010, and it’s launched four gyms since, with a fifth coming soon in New York state (see The Beat, page 10). We asked builder Mike feeney how the gym design has evolved in that short time. “Our tagline is ‘Train different.’ Still, there are always the staples of training spaces,” said feeney. “You need the sta-ples, like a treadmill, strength-training equipment, and mats. The challenge for us is maximizing our space. how do we create the best space for the daily Ulti-mate Training (dUT) classes that have become so popular at UfC Gyms? As we design new facilities, that’s what we ask. how do we get all these elements in?” The dUT classes at a UfC Gym use a wide variety of resistance-training equip-ment plus open space to create a unique and energetic group training session. “We’re really pushing the turf area for pushing sleds, and other work,” said fee-ney, “and other dUT training encour-ages running around. We’re going back

into the gym we opened in Corona last year to redesign and expand this training area. The newer Torrance, California, facility was actu-ally designed with this philosophy in mind, including a bigger area around the Octagon.” Carter sees the same trend in other fitness gyms. “We’ll pull equipment out to make a functional space,” he said. “We recommend that to business owners, because it can help them earn more money per square foot, in-stead of just filling space with equipment.” Galvanosi noticed another trend that en-couraged him to open up unique space and attract new clientele. “I recently added ‘par-kour’ training,” said Galvanosi, “like run-ning through park obstacles, jumping across buildings, and other explosive movements. So I designed some space and added steel bars and contraptions to support this train-ing. People think I’m nuts, but this is great training for fighters.” “I’m a complete MMA facility gym. And there are kids out there who want to do par-kour, but they would be intimidated about getting in a cage and striking. Now they come in and they can see and learn. Plus, the fighters will see this training, and it just grows the business.” feeney knows the same power of unique design space. “A lot of people in the gym are watchers,” he said, “and when they see someone else doing something, then they realize they can do it, too. That’s how we lower the intimidation factor and increase opportunities.”

CHEAP DESIGN TIPS:• Paint. You can buy a five- gallon bucket of new color for about $100.• Bathrooms. Fix up the women’s room, even if you leave the men’s room alone.• Lighting. Brighten it up and you’ll be forced to keep it cleaner, too.• Graphics. Not every picture in the place needs to be an MMA fight picture. Consider lifestyle training imagery, extreme sports or just local architecture art. • Less clutter. Organize things from the front desk on back. • Social space. Do you have a clean area where people can sit down and hang out? Social time is important.

+ The redesign of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas brought much-needed organization to a seemingly undesigned gym.

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Injury Prevention

101Pain is Money Leaving Your Business

B y d a n i e l G o l d m a n & G l e n n h a n s e n

While Mixed Martial Arts is gaining ac-ceptance as a competitive event and a spectator sport, many consumers remain hesitant to train regularly in this combat sport for fear of being injured. That limits business opportunities for gym owners and for marketers of training gear. Even worse, when your current customers – whether competitive fighters or weekend warriors – get injured, they can’t train, won’t buy gear, and might not come back. for their health, and for the health of your business, you have a duty to keep people safe. Ma-rines like to say, “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” But for MMA business owners,

pain is money leaving your business. “The reality is, these guys are fighters,” says dr. Adam Lipnitsky, “and none of them want to be sidelined for an extended period of time.” dr. Lipnitsky, director of Chiropractic and Physical Therapy at Pain Physicians NY, grew up under a long line of established Greco Roman wrestlers and saw the benefits of contact training. he’s begun implementing physical therapy protocols specific for those engaging in all forms of MMA, from the weekend warrior to the main event fighter. “What we do is integrate physical therapy into a training regimen in an effort to help athletes avoid

injuries, as opposed to just treating already existing injuries.” Some gyms in Brooklyn and Manhattan have embraced dr. Lipnitsky’s techniques, and have asked him to observe their mem-bers during training. The gyms often see this as a way to make sure they’re not suffering financial losses due to injuries. Jimmy fortunato runs The Good fight Tournament LLC., a gi and no-gi grap-pling tournament circuit attended by BJJ and MMA fighters and schools. he also owned a martial arts school for 15 years. “Injuries certainly effect gyms financially,” says fortunato. “If someone gets hurt, one


of two things usually happens. They are either unwilling to train because of fear of getting injured again, or they’re unable to train because the injury is too bad and needs to heal. during this downtime, the gym suf-fers a financial loss because now they have one less paying client. With each injury this loss is multiplied and now you are looking at not just one lost client, but several.” Injuries can also lead to a bad reputation for the facility. Partici-pants want to know that, despite the high impact nature of the sport, their safety is a paramount concern among management and instructors. If fighters are consistently suffering injuries, many will not want to main-tain membership. Management must also be aware of participants who are consistently doling out these injuries. “Now, in-juries will be a reality in any combat sport,” says fortunato. “But what I’m talking about is keeping an eye out for the bad seed. This is the guy whose sole intention in life is

to feel better about himself by hurting oth-ers. It’s best to weed the garden of this type of person. This will not only save your fight-

ers, but it will save your bank account.” When an injury does occur, many fight-ers are hesitant to seek treatment; they often continue training and just mask these inju-ries. “The biggest factor in not addressing in-juries is that you are doing more damage to the injury every day. By continuing to strain an already injured muscle, it’s not given proper time to heal. This builds scar tissue which can limit mobility and flexibility in that muscle,” says dr. Lipnitsky. “further-more, one single untreated injury can lead to many more. The body is going to try to com-pensate for this injury by overusing the sur-rounding muscle and ligament groups put-ting an unnatural strain on them. So now, instead of needing to treat one injury you have extended your treatment time because we have to address multiple injuries.” from the perspective of a fighter, Jimmy fortunato understands why many are reluc-tant to treat these injuries. “Lots of times they just want to work through it; they don’t want to come to grips with the fact that they’ve got to get the injury looked at. They fear what the doctor’s order will be. They don’t want to face the truth that the injury is worse than they want it to be.” One key to preventing injury is to in-

MaT-sidE MOMEnTs: We watched Erik Paulson, owner of the Combat Submission Wrestling facility in Fullerton, California and a leading MMA coach, and his coaching staff lead a week-night MMA training session recently, and gleaned injury-prevention tidbits while sitting mat-side. To prevent injuries, MMA trainers must remember:

+ Proper warm-up and preparation. When members show up late for training and skip the warm-up, injuries are more likely to happen. + Combat gear. Ensure proper use of hand-wraps under boxing gloves. The wrong equipment, such as running shoes instead of wrestling shoes, will lead to injury. + Get technical. When a person tries to throw a round kick but doesn’t pivot their foot properly, knee injuries are more likely. Technique matters. + Minimize the danger. No jumping scissor takedowns. Don’t allow heel hooks. Or wrist locks. Minimize use of elbows when sparring. These are advanced and dangerous fight moves that are not necessary in everyday training. + Okay to tap. Watch out for stubborn members who think tapping out in training shows weakness. These people get hurt. Remind them they can develop technique without having to push the limit. + Belt them. Ranking systems do help here, so the high-level and low-level train-ees can recognize proper opponents in group training. + Be friendly. Keep a camaraderie within your class, and you’ll help keep a group injury free.

GOLd-MEdaL adViCE: Jimmy Pedro coached the U.S. Olympic Judo team, including Kayla Harrison, America’s first Olympic Judo Gold Medal winner. He also runs Pedro’s Judo Cen-ter in Wakefield, Mass., and he offered this injury-prevention advice:

“The key to injury prevention for MMA fighters and Olympic athletes is to never get out of shape in the first place. Most injuries happen when you’re not ready for the work. Olympic athletes and MMA fighters will train intensely before an event, then take a break after competition. But you can’t just stop. When I competed in the Olympics, I always tried to do ‘active rest’ so my body never got out of shape. When athletes take too much time off, then try to get back into it too quickly, they get injured. It’s similar to when people are just starting in MMA, that’s when they’re more apt to get hurt. So as you coach and train new athletes, you have to watch this closely. We tell new students, ‘Check your ego at the door. Go at your own pace. You’ll get there, just don’t try to do it too fast.’ Some students are thankful for this message, and they take the advice. Of course, other people don’t listen. And I’ve seen people get hurt this way, espe-cially in Judo with throws. This is especially true with adults. Kids are generally more active everyday, and that makes them more resistant to injury.”


troduce care like chiropractic and physi-cal therapy into your facility in a way that does not intimidate your members. Let them

know there is nothing wrong with admitting injury and that it’s important to address in-juries. Also, make sure you collaborate with

a physician who understands the nature of the sport. “I am a big advocate for this kind of training and I understand the nature of

these fighters. I use a very aggressive and multi-disciplinary approach to treatment as well as prevention. Every-day these guys are not training, their opponents are training. I keep that in mind when treating them. My goal is to get them healthy and back on the mat,” says dr. Lipnitsky. Integrating progressive treatment into your facility is a great way to main-tain your bottom line and ensure the safety of participants. Injury reduction leads to maintained memberships as well as new clientele, which is the lifeblood of your business and can ensure a safe finan-cial future.

COMBaT GEaR sCiEnCE Hang a punching bag in a bio-mechanical science lab, and you’re on your way to designing injury-preventing combat gear. Actually, it took quite a bit more than that for Hayabusa to design the tokushu line of gear, but it gave the Canadian company a great start. One of the newest product lines from Hayabusa, tokushu gloves and pads, was developed in conjunction with the University of Wa-terloo in Ontario, Canada. “We wanted to determine what makes combat equip-ment work well,” said Ken Clement, co-president of Hayabusa Fightwear. “We wanted to know about current limitations in design, particularly for safety.” Lead by professor Dr. Stuart McGill on the University of Waterloo campus, Hayabusa has pioneered this im-portant research in kinesiology and biomechanics in the combat world. “With Dr. McGill’s expertise, we looked at common injuries in combat sports,” said Clement, “particularly around striking, and how gear might help prevent such injuries. One of our key objectives was to determine how long gloves could last.” Clement said the Hayabusa testing session lasted for several months, used equipment from a variety of compa-nies, and focused on these five areas: 1. Force dissipation. “How does the material within the glove dampen force?” 2. Material quality and design. “Here, we saw the sur-prising results of material displacement within some gloves. Foam material would dislodge with stress, and that means the glove cannot protect a fighter.” 3. Resiliency with deformation. “This varies hugely with different brands of gloves and different materi-als. As soon as you ‘bottom out’ and have maximum compression, you have no properties left for protec-tion. Then you’re relying on hand wraps (or musculo-skeletal systems).”4. Degradation and performance. “This is where we looked at the life cycle of a product.”

5. Mechanical tolerance. “How well does the glove handle stress, long and short term?” Researchers took gloves apart and analyzed the foam. “We put gloves through repeated-cycle tests to judge perfor-mance over long cycles of striking,” he said. “We were surprised by the results of some products, especially those that could be considered among the top gloves in the industry. And how quickly some of these products de-graded through this testing. We asked, ‘What if a fighter is wearing this?’” Fighters need to be able to understand the life cycle of their combat gear, according to Clement. They should understand that life cycle is not just about the glove appearing worn. More important is the integrity of the glove’s foam; that’s critical to helping prevent injuries. Hayabusa and Dr. McGill also tested the “recovery time” of the foam inside a boxing glove. “We wanted to know how quickly, after a fighter strikes, will the glove’s foam ‘recover’ to its starting shape,” said Clement. “When doing a double jab, for example, is the glove recovering fast enough to work well for that second jab? We saw with cheaper gloves, for example, that recovery time is not good.” The research team also spent time studying a glove’s ability to protect the hand and wrist. “We looked closely at a glove’s wrist-support system,” said Clement, “placing sensors all around the wrist through striking exercises.” Clement’s advice for fighters and for professionals who make recommendations to clients? “Price does make a difference,” he said. “But most importantly, you need to go with a brand that you know has done its homework.”

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“Thank You for Your Patronage” is a sign we often see hanging in stores as we make our fi-nal shopping selections. It’s a simple concept that the business owner is thankful for people who go out of their way to spend their hard earned money with them. It should work as a continuous cycle: companies provide the needed goods and services to the custom-ers, while the customers trust the business to deliver quality goods and excellent service. This cycle has to be cultivated, especially in today’s hard economic times when purchases of products and services once thought of as necessities have now become discretionary. The martial arts industry is a part of this cycle. To succeed within the industry you must meet or exceed customer’s expecta-tions. You must nurture the relationship, thank people for their business, and build

that sustaining cycle. We see it from the very top of the ladder of the Ultimate fighting Championship (UfC), down to the “mom and pop” MMA gyms. Success hinges on the ability of these businesses to keep cus-tomers happy and coming back time and time again. happy customers are the life-blood of the martial arts industry, and smart business owners have a keen understanding of how to please.

BUILD ITYou have a chance to begin building custom-er loyalty the very first time a person inter-acts with your company. Whether it’s look-ing at your school’s facebook page or trying on the latest shirt, that first impression cre-ates a perception about your organization. If you botch it, count on losing not only their

business, but a number of potential referrals that could come your way. “having a great product should always speak for itself,” said James Cosenza, found-er of Warfare Inc., Clothing and Lifestyle Company. “I let my customers try out the products first before buying. Once they see the quality, they will keep coming back.”

YES, BUT …A great product can take you only so far. “A student is most likely to quit within the first hundred days. They’re the most fragile at this point, both physically and psychologically,” said Peter Mchugh, manager and instructor at the Ricardo Almeida Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy in New Jersey. “Because of this, it’s absolutely crucial to build rapport with the student from the get-go.”

ARE YOURS T O r y B y

R a p h a e l G a r c i a

IF NOT, THEY WON’T BEYOUR CUSTOMERS FOR LONG

Customers Happy?

+ You’re working them hard, no doubt, but are your customers happy enough to stay?

Building this rapport begins the minute they walk into your establishment. If your waiting area is unwelcoming or if you’re slow to address their needs, you may have already lost their business. from the very start, these potential clients want your attention and they want to know you truly care about them being a part of your martial arts fam-ily. This is easily accomplished by having a well-trained staff that knows to keep the fa-cility “white glove” clean while always being prepared to help whenever asked; no matter if it is a new student or a long-time client. “This is where ‘GAS’ comes into play,” said Mchugh. “GAS is an acronym for ‘Genuine and Sincere.’ Consumers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” Mchugh added. “Consum-ers want your attention.”

IT’S NOT ABOUT THIS SALEWhether you’re selling gym memberships, boxing gloves, or MMA mats, your focus should be on the customer’s goals, not on your sale. If you focus on providing the best possi-ble service, and not on making one sale, you’ll build a relationship that leads to many sales. “for us, what’s important is providing a complete service experience,” said Patrick McCarty, sales representative for Zebra Mats & Outfitters. “Yes, people often call for a quick price quote on mats or equipment, but we make sure we get to know their business and ask questions. And when we do we often provide them with something they didn’t know they needed, something that will serve them better and give better value.” When you put the customer first, you have a much better chance of satisfying their

needs. Will this make your company the most money? Maybe not on the first time. But you’ll build a relationship that best serves both you and the customer. “On the first call,” said McCarty, “I’m thinking less about the quick sale and more about building a relationship. This is what has built the long success of Zebra Mats. People are then willing to pay the price be-cause we ask the right questions, and we give a better service. Customers know we care about their entire business, and that we’re not just trying to sell them a product.”

WHO’S THE MASTER?Tom deBlass, UfC Middleweight and owner of Ocean County Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, echoed those sentiments. “You have to show the students you care, and you cannot treat this like just another business,” deBlass stated. “When you put them before yourself you will start to gain their trust, and they will remain as loyal to you as you do to them.” Respect for the arts and for the degree you’ve earned is important. But you need to ask yourself, “Who is the ‘master’?” If a gym owner is more concerned about stu-

dents showing him respect, the busi-ness goals may be out of line. “Customer service is always the most important thing,” Cosenza said. “You have to have fervor for your customers. Without them, you might as well quit from the very start.” When gym owners or their staff become the centerpiece for the business, students will wonder who is serving whom. And when an owner or head instructor shows equal respect for staff and students, long-term relationships are formed. “The ability to retain instructors

and the tenure of the team is key,” said Steven Pinado, CEO of Members Solu-

tions. “These schools need to see their in-structors and programming staff as valuable and not just a cost. This includes making sure they are well compensated and treating their teams as well as they possibly could.” Customers should know that you’re pro-viding the quality of service you would want if you were the customer. While coupons and special deals may catch their attention at first, it’s “bend over backwards” service that keeps clients coming back.


Anuncio_iPAd_168_EN.indd 1 16/02/11 14:35


We announced, in the August issue, our upcoming MMA Business Awards of Excellence. Early in 2013, we’ll an-nounce the winners of our select awards. These are the people who drive this industry in the right direction. These are the businesses that help this industry grow and provide state-of-the-art products. We are currently receiving nominations for these awards. We want to hear from you, too. We’ll present awards to in-novative businesses and their leaders in the categories below. Your favorite leaders and companies can’t win unless you nominate them! Email us with your nominations: [email protected]. Emerging Enterprise: This award will go to the most innovative “new” MMA enterprise, an emerging company leading with unique products and services, making its mark with original marketing, driving the MMA industry to future success. Current nominees include: Cage fitness, MindBody, Ring To Cage, RYU

Product Innovation: Creative and effective training has been a big part of this industry’s growth, but good products are always behind that training. This award will recognize the company that has created the best new product or prod-ucts that MMA professionals must have. Current nominees include: RevGear, Triumph United, fuji Sports, Zebra Mats, hayabusa, Throwdown Industries.

Event Marketing: While fight events like UfC contests get the most consumer attention, an increasingly full calen-dar of events exists for both consumers and professionals. Which of these events is doing the most to build success in your business and the industry as a whole? Current nominees include: Grapplers Quest, Member Solutions Bootcamp, fight Summit, NAGA, IBJJf, MMA World Expo, Xyience

Branding: defining a brand is one thing. Growing that brand is another completely. We’re looking for the company that has best defined and built its brand into a trusted and reputable MMA powerhouse, helping it and the entire industry grow. Current nominees include: UfC, MindBody, Zebra Mats, Title MMA, Century Martial Arts, Xtreme Couture

Business Services: This award will recognize the com-pany that often gets no recognition, the one that is behind the scenes helping your business manage day to day, and doing so in a way that you can’t do without. Current nominees include: Member Solutions, MindBody, Affiliated Acceptance Corp., ASf International, Champions Way

Executive of the Year: Every company needs a good leader. The best companies have leaders that support each department, every employee, and the larger industry. Which corporate leader would you most like to work with? Current nominees include: Steve Pinado, Member Solu-tions; Sarah fields, Century Martial Arts; Craig Clement, hayabusa; Paul Reavlin, Revgear; John Lennon, Xyience; Adam Sedlack, UfC Gyms

Most Social: Social-media marketing and communication isn’t the only way to promote a business. But those who do it well are creating super-fans that will help build their busi-ness and the entire industry through today’s word-of-mouth marketing practices. This award will go to the business or per-sonality that is best using online promotions and social media. Current nominees include: Champions Way, Ariel helwani, dana White, Bellator MMA, Urijah faber, Zebra Mats, Member Solutions.

Send your nominations now to: [email protected]

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THEFIGHTB U S I N E S S

Q&A WITH BRETT ROBERTS, CEO OF BAMMA USABAMMA USA held its inaugural Badbeat fight in Southern California in Sept. 2010. Since then, the organization has added the Amateur League Fighting Alliance (ALFA) promo-tion to its business model, and the all-professional BAMMA Badbeat 7 event was held in Commerce, Calif. in October. We spoke with BAMMA USA CEO Brett Roberts to learn more about this growing organization.

MMA Business: MMA fighters and fans in Southern California have many options today. What is different about BAMMA?

Brett Roberts: We try to be the most active organization in Southern California, with four to six pro fights per year and a variety of amateur fights in between. We want to be rec-ognized as one of the most important up-and-coming fight organizations in the nation. We are proud to put on a high-quality show with evenly matched fights, and in an atmosphere people want to experi-ence. We try to be bigger than the other events in South-ern California. We’re chasing Bellator, publicity-wise. We’re dedicated to MMA, and many other shows in the area do hybrid events, with boxing or Muay Thai. I’m a businessman, not just a guy coming off the mat. I saw Mixed Martial Arts going the wrong way, business-wise. One of our first goals was to change that. We are kid friend-ly, and we have class in our production. We’re going after the businessman and businesswoman as fans. It’s not about go-go girls; we keep our Ring Girls classy. MMA: Who is your audience?

Rogers: We recently analyzed our fan demographic. After 13 shows we decided to spend some money on research, and our fans are higher-income people. BAMMA is reaching more than 20 million people a year. I was surprised to learn that, and I made our research partner explain this number to me several times because I didn’t be-lieve it at first. So now we’re going back to our sponsors. Look, we’re not the cheapest show in town for fans. But we keep marketing to the businessman and woman. I continue to say I’m market-ing to the men and women who pick up their clothes at the

dry cleaner. And this works great for our sponsors, too. GoPro gambled on us back in March 2011, saying, “we’ll try it out for a year.” We’re a testosterone-driven organiza-tion, and that attitude crosses over to the sports more rec-ognized with the GoPro brand – surfing, skateboarding, etc. We started using their products in our production, even putting a camera on a referee. When it came time to renew the sponsorship, GoPro was excited to continue. It works for them; they’re tracking click-throughs directly to purchases. We are the only MMA organization they sponsor.

MMA: BAMMA uses, for one, a local car show for marketing purposes. Why did you choose that audience for marketing?

Rogers: We’ve been working with the MotorTrend magazine auto shows for years as a sponsor of the Orange County (Ca-lif.) International Auto Show. It’s an identical demographic to that of MMA. It’s a testosterone-driven audience. As a business man and a marketing guy, when I had the opportu-nity to team up with MotorTrend, I said “Why Not?” This car show is a great marketing tool right in our neigh-borhood. Why not put my brand in front of this audience right in my back yard? Every year, we get more and more recognition of our brand from this show.

MMA: How do you manage the relationship with fighters?

THEFIGHT


THEFIGHTB U S I N E S S

Rogers: I’m a businessman, and my handshake is as strong as my signature. I’m a hands-on guy. I talk to them directly, I go see them at the gyms. I’m in on negotiations. And I am per-sonal friends with a lot of them. I know what they’re going through. I sympathize with them. But I’m also straightfor-ward with them. I help them understand they are a commod-ity, and they need to market this. They need to understand the business perspective of their value.

MMA: What is ALFA?

Rogers: The Amateur League Fighting Alliance (ALFA) is our breeding ground for professionals; we started it in 2011. The amateur fighters are the next pros, so ALFA is much like a mi-nor league system in baseball or hockey. Christopher Schom-mer, for example, fought for us as an amateur, and now we’re moving him up, graduating him to our pro Badbeat fights. ALFA fights lead to Badbeat fights, and then to UFC or Bella-tor. ALFA helps give amateur fighters a solid future. We grab the fighters in the amateur world, giving them op-

portunities to showcase their skills. And they can fight other places. But we want them to stick with us, and we put some marketing behind them and the events.

MMA: What’s the three-year plan for BAMMA USA?

Rogers: We definitely want to be a national-level promotion. We are growing rapidly. We have 2013 almost all planned out. We’re discussing TV deals, and will be on TV real soon. We have a lot on the table. We hit our original five-year trajectory in just 25 months. In three years, I would expect we will be in the top four MMA promotions in the nation, probably top 5 in the world. We’re growing organically, too, controlling the growth. We’re going to expand to a bigger facility soon.

MMA: What’s special or unique about BAMMA that will help make that goal a reality?

Rogers: When you come to a BAMMA fight, you’ll see we


THEFIGHTare true to the history and traditions of Mixed Martial Arts. MMA is exactly what it says it is – a mix of traditional arts. We maintain respect for all the arts and the discipline that makes them unique. We’re proud to showcase the respect for these arts, for fighting and for all fighters. You’re never going to see me cussing out someone. We’re going to maintain the focus on these traditions, in both the fights and in the business.

MMA WORLD EXPO FIGHTS ONFrom the inaugural MMA World Expo in 2009 to the second event a year later, it was clear to see the marked change from a lifestyle-oriented consumer show to an active and par-ticipatory fight-focused event. That trend continued at last year’s show, when promoter Paul Paone introduced the STS Challenge fights. For 2012, it goes to the next round with New York City’s first-ever Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Tournament as the featured event of the fourth annual MMA World Expo, Dec. 1 and 2 at Manhattan’s Jacob Javits Center. Held in association with FILA, International Federation of Associ-ated Wrestling Styles, this invita-tional event will feature fighters in several weight classes with competi-tors vying for international ranking within the FILA federation. “The opportunity to work with an internationally renowned sports organization like FILA provides our MMA tournament with a highly or-ganized, proven structure that en-sures fair competition, excitement for fans and above-all, safety for the athletes,” said Paul Pa-one, MMA World Expo Founder and Director. The MMA World Expo will also include product ex-hibits, professional MMA fighters, autograph signings and training sessions conducted by many of the region’s best coaches including Jimmy Pedro, current USA Judo Olympic Team Coach; Kru Phil Nurse, Muay Thai trainer to UFC Champions Frankie Edgar, Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre; and Marcelo Garcia, BJJ legend.

But this year’s show will be about fights. “FILA, the inter-national governing body for Olympic wrestling, grappling, pankration, and amateur mixed martial arts, is proud to take part in the fourth edition of the World MMA Expo and hold the first FILA-sanctioned amateur MMA tournament ever organized in North America on that occasion,” said Anne Pellaud, Head of the Sport and Communication Department of FILA. (For more on this new amateur tournament, see Wide World of MMA on page 42.) The Expo will feature other amateur tournaments, includ-ing the Renzo Gracie Open BJJ. As with last year’s tourna-ment, Gracie has decided to open competition to all athletes regardless of their school affiliation. The STS Challenge – which encompasses striking (S), take-downs (T) and submissions (S) – returns for its second annual tournament. Competitors battle in three individual rounds of Muay Thai, take-downs and no-gi Jiu-Jitsu. Paone worked to create this tournament for last year’s expo, be-cause the style combines all elements of MMA in individuals

rounds to fit within state laws. The MMA World Expo is also partnering with the World Series of Fighting by offering walk-on try-outs for the chance to earn a professional fight contract with the newly formed WSoF fight organization. Participants will be asked to perform various stand-up and grappling maneuvers, light sparring, and conditioning exercises. Judges will rank the top contenders who will be further evaluated to see who continues on the road to the pro contract.


WIDE WORLD of MMAN E W S F R O M A R O U N D T H E W O R L D

FILA to Debut International Amateur MMAThe International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) announces the establishment of an interna-tional amateur MMA organization, and its plans to debut the sport in New York. Anne Pellaud is the head of sport and communication for FILA, which is based in Switzer-land and is the organization responsible for supervising Olympic wrestling. Eddie Goldman, host of “No Holds Barred” radio, interviewed Pellaud recently to discuss amateur MMA and the New York event. We reprint high-lights of that interview here. Ann Pellaud: “We’ve been working on establishing MMA as a full-fledged amateur sport for years now. Pro MMA is really strong (in America). There is a lot of work to do to educate people on going kind of backwards in the sport. I’m really happy that we’ve fi-nally found a positive ear in Paul Paone, owner of the MMA World Expo.” Throughout a process of Pellaud researching MMA as a sociological topic and as a competitive sport, FILA came to develop this new amateur MMA structure, with the goal of giving “a tangible future to the athletes … the idea was also to

build a bridge to sports like wrestling and box-ing.” As mentioned in The Beat on page 10 this issue, FILA will host its first amateur MMA tournament at the MMA World Expo in New York Dec. 1 and 2.

“The first main difference is the athletes belong to something. They belong to a federation. They have a li-cense, they have a coach, they have insurance. We run amateur MMA in a tournament format. Our goal is to make

it universal and democratic. And avoid match making ... the tournaments are open to everyone, and they will fight ac-cording to a draw. It’s based on every Olympic sport … the sport has to choose a winner itself.” On doping: “We conduct testing to make sure there is fairness in the game. The idea is to build the sport as close to the Olympic standard as possible.” On amateur MMA rules: “The rules are a bit more re-strictive … the goal was not to make a light version of the sport. The goal was to keep it as real as possible but to

avoid anything that would stop a fighter in his progression. Protect the fighter and allow them to the second round to continue through the bracket. The main restriction we have is the three-punches rule. Whenever a grounded opponent is not able to protect himself, and he receives three punches to the face, unprotected, then we stop the fight for a TKO … avoid concussions and long-lasting trauma, and give them the chance to continue the next day. Forbidden techniques … everything going against the spine, all the neck cranks, that’s about it. We wear more protective gear, and we’re still looking for the perfect head gear … bigger gloves, etc.” On scoring: “One of the critical points for making the sport amateur and acceptable to governing bodies is to have open scoring, you have to prove that the decision doesn’t lie in the referee’s hands but in the fighter’s hands. This was criticized in the beginning … but actually we real-ized that the point system is helping the fight because it’s forcing the athletes to be more active. You see much less stalling than you can find in some of the professional fights. The points system is still a work in progress.”

+ Amateur MMA organized by FILA looks different than the MMA most American fans are accustomed to.


Street Soldier and Pavelich Sign DealStreet Soldier Apparel has entered an agreement to sponsor Mark Pavelich, the owner of the Maximum Fighting Championship. The deal between the two Canadian companies puts Street Soldier Apparel on Pavelich himself, not his fight-ers or the ring. “We’re trying to build brand recogni-tion,” said Jack Rego, owner of the apparel company. Rego is proud of his company’s clean styles. “If it starts getting lost with [too many] designs and looks, it defeats the purpose. For now, I’m trying to keep it clean.” Pavelich says his company and Rego’s share a dedication

to hard work. “It’s a real honor to make this deal with Street Soldier.” says Pavelich, “I wouldn’t wear the brand if I didn’t believe in the brand and respect what it stands for.” Rego reinforced the reasoning behind his decision to sponsor Pavelich: “I try to align myself with people who have

the drive and the will to be the best.” Accord-ing to Rego, fans can expect to see MMA’s popular and polarizing personality rocking the Street Soldier brand in the near future. Rego also confirmed MFC fighter Joseph Henle will be sponsored as he heads into his middle-weight title fight at MFC 35. Moving into this new era for Street Soldier, Rego is grateful to those who’ve supported him to this point. “I want to thank each and every person who has purchased a stitch of clothing from Street Soldier. Without the fans and the fighters, I

wouldn’t be where I am now. I’m a firm believer in karma. If you give out to others, you get it back tenfold.”


When we featured Chris Cariaso on the cover of the August issue of MMA Business, we did so because photogra-pher Dale Shirley made a great photo showcasing a top-notch fighter sur-rounded by a variety of sponsor logos. When the issue came out, we learned Cariaso co-owns an MMA gym in San Francisco called Fight And Fitness, and he and his wife recently opened a new gym in Tucson, Ariz. “We just opened Rise Combat Sports,” said Cariaso. “We’re on our second month here in Tucson. I’m still part owner of the gym in San Fran-cisco, but we wanted to move closer to family in Tucson, especially since it’s less expensive than the Bay Area. And I always wanted to do my own thing.” Cariaso is the only full-time coach and instructor at Rise currently, but he does have another part-time coach, “and we’ll be adding more soon, especially as our youth programs increase,” he said. The 31-year-old UFC flyweight maintains an active fight schedule as well. He improved his record to 14-3 with a win at the UFC on Fuel 4 fight in July. His next fight will most likely be early in 2013. How does he do it all? “It’s crazy, and I don’t sleep much,” he said with a laugh. “It’s about trying to stay as organized as possible. I have a great time running the gym in San Francisco. And my wife Jen and I are a great team here in Tucson.” They also have two kids, ages 5 and nearly 2.

In His Blood Cariaso began training in taekwondo at age 5. A natural athlete and competitor, Cariaso switched to bicycle motocross, or BMX, racing in his early teens, win-ning at the national level and ready to turn pro when an accident ended his

racing career and turned him back to martial arts. He moved to San Francis-co as a teenager and beginning teach-ing at the Fairtex training facility there at 17 years old. “There are other MMA training centers in and around Tucson,” he said, “but they don’t have the experience that I have, and most are run mainly as fitness gyms.” In its first two months, Rise has registered about 100 members. Cari-aso says they can be broken into two groups: “people who want to fight, and people who just want to get in shape but are looking for something different than just running on the treadmill.” “What’s different here is we all train together,” he said. “Our whole thing is to be safe. We want to be able to train tomorrow and the next day and the next day.” As a UFC fighter, Cariaso knows the importance of safety, and he teaches all members how to train prop-erly and not get injured. “Of course, I’m not going to have non-fighters spar

with fighters, but with regular Muay Thai or BJJ classes, we can train togeth-er. He knows this will likely change as Rise gets more members and expands to offer different levels of classes. Cariaso is eager to increase the size of the youth program at Rise. “At our gym in San Francisco,” he said, “we don’t teach kids at all. But now that I have kids of my own, I want to get into it. I am starting a youth MMA pro-gram, with grappling and striking, not just BJJ. We’re doing a little of every-thing.” Rise has the space for more members. “The facility is just under 4,000 square feet,” he said, “with 1,600 square feet of mat space, a full octagon, about 10 hanging bags, and a small weight area.” We asked Cariaso the origin of the unique business name. “My wife came up with it,” he said. “We have been talking about doing our own thing. We have this new start, a new stage in our lives. And we are going to rise up, rise to the occa-sion to make it the best it can be.”

NAME: Rise Combat SportsLOCATION: Tucson, AZOWNER: Chris CariasoYEARS IN BUSINESS: FirstDISCIPLINES: MMA, Boxing, Muay Thai, BJJ, Youth Classes Fighter Training, Strength & Conditioning

YOURGYM


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C Fuji Pink Blossom GiDesigned for women, by women, the Fuji Pink Blos-som Gi is an IBJJF-approved gi that is well-designed for training and competition. The white gi features pink contrast stitching and cherry blossom designs, plus a ribbon that depicts support for breast cancer research. The gi is made with a smaller waistline, and comes in youth sizes, too. A portion of all sales is donated to breast cancer research. Visit fujisports.com, or call 800-757-7686.

N E W P R O D U C T S + S E R V I C E S

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Strength Training for Combat Athletes

ON THE MAT

If you are a gym owner or manager looking to add new programming, consider a “Strength Training” class. I know many MMA training facilities that have great success with specific strength-and-conditioning classes on their schedule. Everyone who is serious about their MMA skills should include strength training into their weekly routine. Whether you train casual fight fans who takes a couple Muay Thai classes each week or you train a current UFC cham-pion, strength training will help make your clients stronger, faster, less injury prone, and optimize their performance.

Start Here> Hire a qualified professional with appropriate credentials to run strength and conditioning classes at your facility.> Find a qualified strength coach in your area to work as an independent contractor and lead classes at your facility a couple times per week.> Reach out to a fitness studio in your area to cross-promote and offer discounted rates to any of their members who join your facility. They will likely do the same for your members in return.

Bottom LineIf you have the space and equipment, offering strength-training classes to your menu of services will only increase your appeal to prospective mem-bers, and help to retain existing ones. If equipment and/or budget is an issue, there are a number of low-cost solutions such a TRX suspension trainers, medicine balls, rubber resistance tubing, or even offering bodyweight-only strength training classes. Don’t be an “MMA only” facility. Become a “One-Stop Shop” for all your member’s fitness and wellness needs. Additional programming is beneficial to your members, which in turn is beneficial to your bottom line.

Strength is HotStrength training has been a hot topic in the MMA community. Some swear by it, and others still haven’t fully jumped on board. But even as more and more MMA athletes are buying – literally – into the benefits of strength training, the current methods and programs I see out there are all over the board. I’ve heard of fighters who follow machine-based workouts or traditional bodybuilding routines. I’ve heard of some who strictly do Olympic lifts, and others who do only anaerobic circuit training. Of course, Crossfit is hot, while others do no strength training at all. The point of this article is not to declare any one method better than another, but to assert that the athletes I work with follow a peri-odized strength-training program that helps them become strong, injury free, and peaked for their match or tournament.

Strong foundationOne of my goals as a strength coach is to have my athletes as strong as possible for their weight class. My “secret” training exercise or method? There is


NO secret here. There’s a reason the basic, non-flashy, base strength-training movements have been around for so long, and it’s because they work! We predominantly deadlift, squat, and lunge for lower-body strength. And we include pulls, press-es, and rows for upper-body strength. I love new “toys” and “tricks” as much as the next guy. But in reality, the foundational lifts are the best place to start. Near max strength training is a great way to “lay that foundation” early on in a program. You can add layers of complexity down the road.

Sample Strength Training SessionPart 1 - Warm-Up> 10-15 minutes of movements to help improve thoracic spine range of motion, activate glutes, and increase your heart rate. Part 2 - Strength Training Circuits> Circuit #1A1. KettleBell/Dumbbell Goblet Squat 4x6A2. Bodyweight Pull-Ups 4x6-10A3. Tubing/Cable Machine Torso Rotations 4x15 each side> Circuit #2B1. KettleBell Swings 4x20B2. Spiderman Pushups 4x16B3. Planks 4x up to 60 secondsPart 3 – Flexibility> Static stretch routine including calves, ham-strings, glutes, lats, chest, and shoulders.

Strength Training DON’TAlthough it is hard to say DON’T or NEVER do a certain exercise, there are a number of movements that I stay away from MOST of the time. Every member is unique; a certain exercise may be fine for one person to do, however, not for another person. That being said, here are a few exercises/movements that I rarely include:> 99% of machines. 100% of machines where you sit or lay down> Barbell back squat - I prefer front or goblet squats due to common shoulder mobility issues> Barbell chest press - I prefer dumbbell variations due to common shoulder mobility issues> Barbell overhead press - I prefer dumbbell variations due to common shoulder mobility issues> Performing 250 half-rep speed crunches at the

end of your workout - Why do people do that? Stop. Immediately.

Equipment DOLike I mentioned above, I love experimenting with the latest toys, gadgets, and “tools of the trade” on the market today. In addition to a good set of dumbbells and a standard squat rack, here are a couple “must haves” for a facility:> TRX Suspension Trainer: Quantity will depend on room size; 6-10 units would be nice in order to offer group training.> Medicine Balls: One or two in varying weights ranging from 8lbs up to 25lbs.> KettleBells: Pairs of bells ranging from 12kg up to 32kg are ideal.

> Super Bands/Tubing: There are many makes and models of bands and tubing on the market. I like to have 4 or 5 different “widths” which accommodate different strength levels. The thicker the band, the harder it is to stretch.> Sleds/Prowlers: If you have the space, 1 or 2 weight sleds are great tools for developing power and endurance for both the lower and upper body.

Doug Balzarini, CSCS, MMA-CC, is a personal trainer, strength coach, and founder of DB Strength. He has pro-duced MMA-specific DVDs, offers training workshops, and has coached on «The Ultimate Fighter Live» TV show. He is currently the strength coach for the Alliance MMA fight team where he has worked with UFC champ Dominick Cruz, Bellator champ Michael Chandler, Phil Davis, Brandon Vera, Travis Browne, Alexander Gustafsson, Ross Pearson, and more. Visit www.dbstrength.com for more information.

dbstrength.com

DOUG BALZARINIDoug


Six Pack for Success

OUTSIDE THE OCTAGON

Some people consider a “six pack” as a trophy after months of strenuous workouts. Here’s a dif-ferent six pack. Use this one and you’ll earn more than just a washboard stomach. I have used this training six pack in coaching Kayla Harrison to a gold medal in Olympic Judo in London, America’s first Olympic Judo gold. 1. Create a vision for success. Ask yourself, “What do I want to achieve?” From the beginning – especially if you lead multiple projects – you must have a vision of where you want to be someday. When I started with the development program for U.S. Judo in 2005, my vision was that Ameri-can Judo would be a world powerhouse by the 2012 Olympic Games. I told the team, “We can compete with the best, and here is what that re-quires: We’ll be the first team on the training mat and the last off. We’ll work harder than anyone. That’s what it takes to be world champions.” That’s the vision. And with a business or with MMA fighters, it must be a shared vision. A lead-er creates the vision that teams can support.

2. Set and document goals. The judo athletes on my team had individual goals, often more than one. The salespeople on my team at Zebra Mats also have multiple goals. These goals make it possible to achieve your vision. One goal must be your ultimate achievement. Then your sec-ond and third goals are a bit easier to obtain. It’s vital to record these goals, then write a tactical plan to reach them. Check in with that plan to make sure you’re doing what’s necessary to reach that ultimate goal.

3. Build the right team. When your staff believes in your vision, they’ll work as hard as you to contribute and to keep moving for-ward. Your team might have people with great skills, but if they don’t believe in your vision, they will not work. One person who doesn’t fit can bring down

an entire group, and can bring you down, too. For our Olympic Judo team, staffing was criti-cal. We had pre-Games training and competition in multiple locations. That environment demanded consistency and team effort. We also had to make tough decisions and remove people from the team who didn’t fit.

4. Make difficult decisions. Whether in coaching, budgeting or management, if you make decisions in line with your vision, the tough ones become easier. Ask yourself, “Does this support the company vision?” When you can confidently answer that question, you can become a fearless decision maker. This will also help you make decisions quickly. It’s not all about speed, but decisions become more difficult the longer you delay. As soon as you sense a personnel issue is not right, for exam-ple, determine your options and their alignment with your vision. Then it’s time to decide.

5. Communicate frequently and effectively. If your team members don’t hear from you often, they’ll think you don’t care, or they’ll assume even worse. Good communication can keep people motivat-ed and working to achieve their goals and your vision. No, you don’t have to include everyone in each decision. And you don’t have to ask for input all the time. You should, however, communicate your reasons for making decisions.

6. Improve continuously. You’re working hard, but are you getting better every-day? Don’t be complacent with just getting stuff done. Most importantly, work on your weaknesses. Work on ways to improve personally, and work on making your company stronger. This seems obvious, but know that hard work is not necessarily smart work.

Jimmy Pedro has earned two Olympic Bronze medals, and was Judo World Champion at 73 kg in 1999. He is active as a USA Judo national team coach and as owner of the Pedro Judo Cen-ter. Now as a vice president for Zebra, a leading provider of facil-ity equipment for martial arts and MMA businesses nationwide, Pedro has a wealth of experience in the industry.JIMMY PEDRO

[email protected]

Jimmy

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MMA Business October 2012