TCP; The new face of MMA in OC

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Sports Editor
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Volume 47, Issue 8
Sports

Oregon City was the end of the Oregon Trail in the early 1800s. Pioneers and frontiersmen traveled from across the country to take part in the economic hub of the West. Now martial artists and athletes from the city and surrounding areas can convene at a hub of their own. Pyramid Sports Training Mixed Martial Arts Academy is the newest addition to historic downtown OC.

Located at 1401 Washington St., the new gym brings a much needed diversity to the local martial arts community. Practitioners of all martial arts have a place they can exchange ideas with others and become more well-rounded combatants.

“I just want to give fighters a home,” said owner and head instructor Forrest Parkinson. “I want this to be a one-stop shop for mixed martial arts.”

Parkinson teaches the MMA class for adults, kids and young adults. He is a brown belt in Taekwondo and taught it for one and a half years. Parkinson taught Krav Maga for two and a half years. He also has wrestling and Jiu Jitsu experience.

His father Keith Parkinson is part owner of the gym along with Isidro Sanchez. Parkinson senior is a U.S. Olympic weightlifting coach; he worked with college and pro athletes on speed agility quickness, SAQ. Sanchez is a second degree black belt in Taekwondo.

Ryan Carr is also a black belt in Taekwondo and is a nutritionist; he will join the staff along with another certified BJJ instructor. Pepsi worked out a deal to sponsor the gym, helping with signs, donating Gatorade, waters and juice.

“Painting expenses were $6,000 over budget,” said Parkinson. “The last thing will be a platform [hanging] from ceiling for focus bags.”

Talesha Wood, Parkinson’s fiancé, painted the majority of the back rooms.

“We scraped the ceiling and sanded and spray painted, it was very hard,” said Wood. “Scraping was the hardest and keeping him [Parkinson] together. I knew one way or another he’d get what he wanted.” 

According to Woods, they had looked at three different places before deciding on this one.

“I’m excited about this place because I can start practicing self-defense,” said Wood. “We can keep it all family and friends and none of us are greedy. We’ve made so many new friends.”

Membership dues will start at $99 a month for regular classes and go up to $200 a month for fighters until they compete. Then training will be free. Punch card options are also available. The 80-year-old building has given them challenges as they wanted to be open Nov. 1. The new gym is already home to five local fighters, including two women.

“I want to give women fighters a place to feel comfortable and not be treated differently,” said Parkinson. 

Amateur female fighter Kacey Schreiber has a record of 3-0 and will fight for Pyramid. Amateur male fighter Jordan Carstensen has a record of 1-0 and will also fight for Pyramid.

Also fighting for Pyramid will be amateur Boxer/MMA fighter Jon Connors who has a record of 3-1in MMA and 4-0 in boxing. The training and curriculum will not involve testing, but instead will focus on performance-based rankings, much like Jiu Jitsu. Kajukenbo will have belt system. Curtis Frost Jr. is a U.S. Boxing coach who knows his stuff.

The gym has a very convenient amenity, a shower and also two bathrooms. They will also have lockers. Patrons can take a load-off in the lounge area, which features a couch and a TV.

Pyramid has a myriad of good equipment, including a great mat for grappling and a cage wall to practice against.

“If you train safe and smart, nobody gets hurt,” said Parkinson.

Carstensen works across the street at Spicer Bros. and saw the sign one day.

“The sign said Pyramid MMA,” said Carstensen. “I’ve had a little experience in MMA so I thought I’d check it out.”
Carstensen aspires to be an instructor some day.

“First fighting and see how I do and maybe coach,” said Carstensen.

He lists his strength as Jiu Jitsu.

“I need to work on my mentality for competing,” said Carstensen. “I had one fight, [won] 45 second TKO at the Washington Fisticuffs Gym event.”

He looks forward to his second fight.

With a good stable of fighters growing and qualified instructors available, the new gym has a bit to offer and if things go well it could turn into a local mecca of martial arts and sports training.

TCP; Roseland crowd witnesses seismic event

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Editor
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Volume 46, Issue 22
Arts & Culture

The always dependable Full Contact Fighting Federation hosted another thrilling night of combat sport. Saturday night’s Rumble at the Roseland number 71 attracted a stampede of fight fans, emerging from all around the Portland Metro area and beyond. The venue was bursting at the seams with exuberant supporters of the Northwest mixed martial arts scene. The roar of the crowd was ever present throughout the night, a constant reminder of the scale and importance of this competition.

The fourteenth fight of the night was the 135 pound Lightweight Championship: Brent Messineo versus current champ Journey Newson.

Both fighters began with fast boxing.

“Journey, Journey!” chanted the crowd. The fighters exchanged strikes and Newson attempted a spinning kick.

“Journey, Journey!” chanted the crowd again as round 2 started. More striking exchange with Newson picking shots and Messineo being aggressive, sneaking fadeaway kicks after punches. Newson attempted another spining kick after some good punches. More fast strikes by both. Round 3 continued with the crowd chanting louder. Newson kept up the good strikes and evasion, Messineo stayed with the gameplan of good kicks with a few more this round. Newson exploded with a fast takedown right as the horn sounded the end of round 3.

“Let’s go red!” the crowd chanted at the opening of round 4. Newson landed a spin kick this time, to the head. Good exchange and more footwork by Messineo while Newson occupied the center of the cage. Newson attempted another spin kick, then takedown attempt.

Round 5 inspired more chants and continued with standing strikes. Newson came out very aggressive and landed an excellent spin back kick to Messineo’s stomach, then during a takedown attempt, picked him up and slammed him gaining top control and launching punches until the horn ended the final round. The crowd erupted with cheers, Newson climbed the cage and pointed to chanters.

“Newson, Newson, Newson!” they chanted. Defending his title for the fi rst time, Newson wins via unanimous decision.

”I gotta get back to my Jiu Jitsu game, the boxing’s good obviously,” said Newson about the match.

For the fifteenth fight the crowd was treated to a tremendous performance by exceedingly talented fighters in the Women’s 125 pound Flyweight Championship. Katie Howard 5’5” of Girls Gym versus current champ Emily Corso of Alive MMA. Round 1 opened with punches to clinch against the cage. Corso set the pace with a single leg takedown, but Howard defended with solid grappling to gain a reversal, then Corso attempted an armbar from bottom and Howard used good top control to defend the armbar.

Fans whistled and hollered from the balcony between rounds as the ring card girls signaled round 2.

Corso immediately grabbed another single leg takedown, Howard defended on the bottom with punches. As Corso postured up punching from top, Howard kicked straight up to the face, catching Corso hard, but Corso passed the guard of Howard to gain top mount position. Rolling around to Howard’s back, Corso attempted a choke and punches from back control until the end of round 2. Corso entered round 3 with a huge smile. Howard snapped out a precise trip takedown after a brief exchange, but Corso reversed the position. Howard shot another up-kick at Corso which gave her leverage for a reversal.

Corso’s cornerman loudly urged her to underhook Howard’s left arm. She gained her feet and attempted a single leg. Howard defended until the end of round 3. Round 4, Corso fought hard for a double leg takedown and got it. Corso threw punches in half guard. Grappling, Howard used good defense until the end of round 4.

Round 5 Corso shot for a single leg attempt and against the cage pulled it off landing on top. Howard reversed the position. Corso defended from bottom with an armbar and forced a reluctant tapout from Howard. Corso retained her title in one of the most exciting and technical fights of the night.

“I’m very happy about the takedowns. That’s what I wanted. She’s got some nice up-kicks though. That was seriously the best fight anyone has given me,” said Corso.

She also commented on her successful takedowns.

“I’m not a wrestler originally, so it’s getting really exciting for me. I trained wrestling, boxing, Jiu Jitsu and kickboxing. My game plan was not to keep her standing, to take her to the ground. I started doing wrestling 1 year and a half ago with Jonathan  Osborne, a very good wrestler. Corso praised her opponent.

“I have utmost respect for her, she came at me all 5 rounds, she’s smaller than me.”

Katie Howard is indeed a talented combatant; her amazing prowess will continue to draw a crowd of martial art connoisseurs whenever she fights. Her inspirational speed and technique solidify her as a top female competitor. Fight fans look forward to her next bout, as well as Corso’s next title defense.

First up to fight, Tyree “X-Man” Fortune of Alive MMA retained the Heavyweight belt against Russell Tunes of Impact Jiu Jitsu. Tunes was overwhelmed by the champion and succumbed to defeat 4 rounds into the championship fight.

The place was packed, it was a full house and the momentum of the night was building. Fight number three really put the “Rumble” in the Roseland, Super Heavyweight Steve Sigo Jr. of Team Quest verses Toalima Elisara from Pinole, CA was a barn buster from the moment the behemoths were unleashed. Bombs and haymakers were the techniques displayed by both lumbering gentleman, until the referee stepped in at 1:06 of round 1. Sigio Jr. won via technical knockout. The crowd went wild with whistles and screams.The second fight of the evening was a competitive back and forth three round split decision. Bantamweight David Magliane lost his prior two fights at the Roseland,  the first to notable Clackamas Community College wrestler Urmas Yanis. Magliane, of LA Boxing, won the split in Saturday’s battle against Jeremiah Cole.

The fourth battle of the evening was fought between 155 pound lightweights Justin True from Bend, OR and Nicholas Martin of Team Quest. With a well employed triangle choke, True appeared to choke Martin unconscious just as he tapped out.

Match five, Sean Reay versus Jordan Van Barringer, pit Kung Fu against Muay Thai. The 170 pound welterweights fought hard until one landed a hard punch knocking the other out.

Fight six was Travis Burril of Rise Above MMA versus Muay Thai fighter Jay Sluman. Lightweight Sluman won via a vicious punch knockout. Travis was out cold...and he was still out for a long time. A minute passed before Burril showed any signs of movement. The crowd applauded as he regained his equilibrium.

“Keep wrestling in the Olympics please.” said Johnson after the match.Fight seven brought Michael “Gumby” Delgado out to face Daniel Dieringer in the Welterweight division. Delgado displayed very smart grappling on his way to win via choke tapout. The eighth exhibition of the event featured Lightweight Darin Verhoest and Jadon “Gator” Johnson, an Afghanistan veteran. Johnson won via choke tapout right before the end of round one, at 2:56.

The ninth fight was a Welterweight match. The crowd was very excited as wrestler Chris “Little Sister” 

Williams stepped into the cage against a striker from Hillsboro, Hiroyuki Tetsuka. During the intense Fight ten saw Welterweight Jeramy Burford conquer Scott Baker.scuffle, Williams attacked with a head butt, which is illegal in MMA competition. The fight was stopped by the referee who took away one point for an intentional head butt. Had the fight gone to decision, the loss of a point would affect the score a great deal. However Tetsuka was victorious anyway, with an armbar tapout.

The eleventh match was for the vacant Light Heavyweight Women’s Championship 

title; Mindy Stalnaker of Octagon MMA vs BJJ and Judo expert from Impact Jiu Jitsu Hillary VanOrnum. The two imposing women grappled in standing position vying for control until VanOrnum managed a trip takedown and forced a technical knockout via strikes at 1:56 of round one. VanOrnum was awarded the belt for the championship.

“It was awesome!” said VanOrnum of the fight.

The big dudes came out for the Super Heavyweight title match in fight number twelve. Wrestler Ricky Alcaraz, the 3 and 0 champion, 321 pounds versus towering 6’ 9” 306 pound Seaside resident Casey “Big Cat” Lunzman. Alcaraz launched two takedowns beginning round one, succeeding with the second gaining top control and attacking Lunzman’s arm with a figure four key lock attempt. Lunzman defended with a reversal to gain side control. Round two started with standing clinch grappling. Alcaraz managed another takedown and fired punches at Lunzman who defended and almost reversed position with a triangle lock attempt and punches from the bottom. Alcaraz attacked with more punches from top, but Lunzman defend with an armbar attempt. Round three Alcaraz slipped and fell after a wild punch. Down, Lunzman controlled Alcaraz from the top launching strikes until the referee intervened. Lunzman won becoming the new champ.

Fight thirteen for the 185 pound championship was between Jose Rodriguez and John Simon. Simon scored some nice takedowns throughout the tough 5 round battle. Jose capitalized on a takedown of his own in round three accompanied by strikes from the top. Round 5 was an exciting exchange of strikes ending with a punch by Simon knocking Rodriguez out cold. Simon retained the Middleweight belt.

The closing fight of the night, match sixteen, was a 3 round Middleweight battle. Rod Jaques prevailed against Daniel Pihi via unanimous decision.

TCP; Saturday night fights!

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Editor
Wednesday,May 14, 2013
Volume 46, Issue 21
Sports

Another action packed night of cage fights will take place in downtown Portland this Saturday on Burnside at The Roseland Theater as the Full Contact Fighting Federation hosts Rumble at the Roseland 71. Back in January, Katie Howard became the FCFF Women’s Junior Flyweight Champion when she defeated Kyra Batara by Unanimous Decision in the main event of Rumble at the Roseland 69.

Howard’s upcoming opponent, Emily Corso, earned the title of Women’s Flyweight Champion after defeating Emily Whitmire via armbar at Rumble 65 in August. Pitting champ against champ, the match is sure to be full of fireworks.

Howard is a very fast and dexterous fighter. She has pinpoint accuracy and solid conditioning. She will need to use her technique and quickness to her advantage against her larger, more powerful opponent. Howard will be eager to bounce back with a win after her last tough match against another larger opponent Robin Woods. Woods won the 130 pound super fight at Rumble 70 in March with a controversial power bomb slam knockout.

When Woods picked up Howard and slammed her to the mat, her head collided with Howards’ face, head butting is against the rules in mixed martial arts competitions and to win in such fashion is generally not desirable. The match between Howard and Corso should be an amazing battle as the clash of the titles erupts. Corso has an amateur record of 3-0 with all three wins by submission.

Five more title fights are in store for Saturday evening. The 185 pound division championship will be decided between current title holder John Simon and the challenger Jose Rodriguez. In other bouts; Super heavyweight Ricky Alcaraz returns against Casey Lunzman. Heavyweights Tyree Fortune and Russell Tunes will square off. The women’s 205 title will be contested by Myndi Stalnaker and Hillary VanOrnum. Current 135 pound champ Journey Newson will defend his title against Brent Messineo.

TCP; Jiu Jitsu rolls in to Randall Gym

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Sports Editor
Wednesday, Feb. 06 2013
Volume 46, Issue 11
Arts & Culture

The first Northwest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Championship exhibited a vast variety of martial prowess Saturday at Randall Hall. The CCC wrestling team members were there to help run the event to raise money for their team.

“We were able to raise $1,000 for the team,” said Matt Lindland, one of the event organizers.

Urmas Yanis made his amateur Mixed Martial Arts debut last month at Rumble at the Roseland. With a quick trip takedown of his opponent, the Clackamas grappler did what he loves best.

“I love to throw!” said Yanis.

Narrowly escaping a last minute “triangle” submission hold, Yanis won a gold medal for first place in his weight class. He prepared for another match, this time in the “Absolute” division, which was an open weight class.

“I had four matches in the white belt 149-pound division,” said Yanis. “I just started to do Jiu Jitsu a week before my fight and now I’m competing in it. A lot of people are complaining though, saying I should be intermediate, but it is my first time, so I can’t help it.”

It was the last few minutes of the event, the wrestling team was rolling up the mats and other event staff carried off construction cones and ring tape. Tables were folded and equipment was packed, hardly any spectators remained.

“Yanis is an animal,” said event staff Bruce Elliott.

Against a larger opponent, Yanis wasted no time in securing a takedown. Yanis tried to gain a better position on the ground, but they both stood up. The elder gentleman, with his head shaved, launched a takedown of his own, but Yanis quickly reversed the situation.

The match was a battle of strength versus speed; the larger fellow had great success pushing Yanis’ head down using both hands. Yanis executed his specialty move: a well timed throw, vaulting his opponent over the hip. The match progressed at a similar rate with takedown shots by Yanis and good head control from his opponent. As the official signal was given for the end of the match, the referee held up Yanis’ hand and spoke in Portuguese awarding Yanis victory in the traditional BJJ way.

It was Yanis’ last match of the day, and another successful battle in a new sport for him. You can read about Yanis’ cage fight at www.theclackamasprint. com.

The championship drew a large crowd to campus all day, drawing in many competitors from different gyms in the surrounding Portland Metro and areas all over the Pacific Northwest. Competition began at 9:30 a.m. and extended past 6:30 in the evening. From children to adults, separate weight divisions, all experience levels from professional fighters to first time competitors, Gi and No-Gi. The day was packed full of action.

The Gi is a uniform in martial arts, the name is from the Japanese language and different variations of the uniform are worn by traditional martial artists. NWBJJ features Gi and No-Gi divisions. No-Gi means the competitors wear shorts and T-shirts and may not grab, or hold on to clothing while grappling. Gi competitors may use either their own uniform or opponent’s to secure a choke or simply gain leverage. Gi colors are usually white, blue or black.

With the only green uniform in the room, Lindland competed in the Gi competition.

Matt Lindland also competed in the championship. A well decorated wrestler and mixed martial artist, Lindland has faced many of the most dangerous men in combat sports. He is an Olympic silver medalist and currently runs Team Quest Mixed Martial Arts gym in Gresham. Lindland wrestled for Clackamas when he was in college as well.

Lindland, a professional mixed martial arts fighter, is a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu. His opponent, also a purple belt, gave him a very difficult time. Lindland was able to mount some impressive wrestling style offense, but was foiled every time by his opposing competitor. Using leverage and technique to his advantage, Lindland’s opponent attempted a collar choke.

With the uniform tightly grasped, he gained more leverage and reversed the position in his favor. The referee signaled the end of the match, Lindland had lost by points to his younger opponent. Beaten but not defeated, Lindland had set a good example as a sportsman by helping bring Jiu Jitsu to Oregon City and supporting the Clackamas wrestling team in the process.

“We had 240 people sign up,” said Lindland. “The whole idea was to bring the Jiu Jitsu community together, with the wrestlers too.”

The event successfully drew many skilled competitors who will likely return for future events. Two more BJJ competitions will unfold later this year and with so many in attendance this time, the next is sure to be even more popular.

“The first one is going to have growing pains, but it’s going to be a great event as it matures,” said Elliott.

Full competition results are set to be posted on nwbjj.com, the official event website.

TCP; Cougars rumble at the Roseland *WEB EXCLUSIVE*

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Associate Sports Editor
Wednesday, Feb. 05, 2013
WEB EXCLUSIVE
Sports

Marching along the warrior’s path, two mighty prodigies stepped up to defend Clackamas’ honor in the cage on Saturday, Jan. 19. Rumble at The Roseland no. 69, presented by the Full Contact Fighting Federation. At 6 p.m., droves of fight enthusiasts began filling the building, anticipating the 7 p.m. start.

Taekwondo black belt Brogan Stewart-Ng fights in the 155 pound division. Originally from Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, he was a national Taekwondo champion and alternate for Australia's Olympic team. He wrestles in the 157 pound division for CCC and recently joined Team Quest in Gresham, one of the most prominent mixed martial arts gyms in the nation.

“I also did amateur boxing in Australia,” said Stewart-Ng.

Urmas Yanis wrestles in the 125 or 133 pound division for Clackamas and fights in the 135 pound division in the cage. Yanis wrestled for North Salem high school where he was the team captain during his junior and senior years. “I’m a thrower,” said Yanis. He and Stewart-Ng trained at Team Quest together in preparation for the fights.

As the crowd milled around, they made themselves at home. The hum of the bustle was interrupted by booming speakers crackling, reminding everyone to avoid throwing things in the cage and requesting no flash photography. Introductions were made and the fights were underway.

The first fight of the night featured the 131 pound division. True to his name, Bob ‘Gunslinger’ Graisbery blazed forward firing punches and a spinning kick at his opponent Derek Neff. Graisbery secured a rear choke after a quick takedown and punches, winning in 47 seconds of round one via tap out.

Eyes wide with excitement, the fight fans were still in awe from the quick opening battle when fight number two hit the cage. At 205 pounds, Zane Robinson defeated Grant Harman, going the distance through all three rounds and earning a unanimous decision. Fight number three was a heavyweight match between Sam Sprauer who pummeled a downed Richard Ryan earning a TKO victory at 2:03 of round one.

The 141 pound division brought Chance Stamps and James Wade to match number four. Stamps wasted no time in taking the fight down and controlling his opponent to secure a TKO victory by strikes on the ground at 58 seconds of the first round.

If it was a movie, the title would read: Enter the Cougar! CCC wrestler Stewart-Ng climbed the cage stairs and stepped inside to face a very intense Reuben ‘T1000’ Heath.

Stewart-Ng started the match with two textbook takedown attempts, but Heath recovered after each. Bouncing up and down in true Taekwondo style, Stewart-Ng stayed light on his feet. Moving deftly around the cage, controlling range and rhythm of the fight, he fired off pinpoint strikes, solid knees and traded punches with Heath.

While momentarily clinched against the cage, Heath attempted foot stomps. Stewart-Ng broke away from the cage, continuing to bounce and staying relaxed. Out of nowhere he launched a killer head kick, partially blocked by a lucky Heath. In a highlight reel moment, Stewart-Ng executed a spinning back kick to the head of his bewildered opponent. The flashy technique sent a roar of applause through the crowd during the last moments of round one.

“Set it up with the hands,” said Stewart-Ng’s corner, Cody Isaacson, between rounds. The corner is a fighter’s cage side coach, helping with strategy and looking out for the fighter’s health between rounds and during the fight.

Starting off round two, Stewart-Ng fired off another solid head kick which Heath partially blocked.

“More jab, please,” Isaacson called out. The fighters exchanged more strikes and Heath landed a strong head punch. Leg kicks by Stewart-Ng taunted Heath who pressed forward, closed the distance and assumed cage pressure. Heath grappled for a takedown which Stewart-Ng fought off, but on the way back up, Stewart-Ng caught a knee to the head. The bell signaled the end of round two.

As round three began, Stewart-Ng dropped for a double leg takedown and was successful. He gained top control and flattened out his waning opponent with strikes on the ground. One final punch ended the night for Heath at 1:59 of round three and earned Stewart-Ng a KO win for his mixed martial arts debut.

“He did very well,” said Isaacson after the fight, “he used good stand up and we thought he did well against the fence so we went to wrestling and found the advantage.”

With his left eye swollen from a hard strike, Stewart-Ng made his way backstage.

“My vision was all blurry,” said an excited Stewart-Ng. “I was seeing two of him at one point; it was hard to focus on where he was. I’m not used to guys just throwing haymakers. I’m used to striking it out at a more measured pace. I was confident with my strikes, but I wanted to show I had wrestling too.”
The fights continued to energize the crowd as a pair of 155 pounders battled it out for three rounds; John Baker won decisively with a unanimous decision against Nelson Hernandez.

At a catchweight of 175 pounds, Michael ‘Gumby’ Delgado, handed Josiah Wessel his first loss with a tenaciously secured arm bar to force the tap out at 1:46 of round three.

Using well timed strikes and solid grappling techniques, 205 pounder Emmanuel Cammarata won his three round US debut against Nate Cook via unanimous decision.

Prowling the edge of the cage was yet another Clackamas Cougar, hungry for battle. Yanis pounced into the cage bearing his fangs at his opponent. David Magliane stood across the cage, prepared and waiting.

The cage closed and the 135 pounders were let loose by the referee. Yanis shot in for a single leg takedown to set the pace for the round. The fight continued to escalate as both fighters battled tenaciously. Towards the end of the round, Yanis wrapped his arms around his opponent from behind and launched a devastating slam takedown. Yanis finished out round one decisively with excellent standing punches.

Round two began with a leg kick by Magliane. Against the cage, a knee by Yanis gave Magliane an opportunity to reverse the position in his favor. Magliane tripped Yanis and launched a ground attack, but was kicked off. Yanis latched on to Magliane’s back again, they battled for position, but Yanis gained leverage, unleashed a flurry of strikes on the ground and attempted a rear choke as round two closed.

Yanis shot quickly grabbing a double leg takedown, beginning the final round, he secured top control and jumped to his feet just to grab Magliane’s back again. With better position and leverage than previous attempts, Yanis fired punches in bunches at his increasingly defenseless opponent until the official stepped in to declare Yanis winner by technical knockout at 1:27 of round three.

“I felt pretty good, my striking was there,” said Yanis. “I like taking peoples backs, I planned the slam.”
Next, Tyree Fortune defeated Paul Sims by TKO at 1:10 of round two becoming the the new FCFF heavyweight champion.

Shaking the house, Ricky Alcaraz won the FCFF super heavyweight championship against Brandon Flint by TKO at 2:19 of round one.

The headline bout of the event was a siege of combat that took place up, down, against the cage and everywhere in between. Katie Howard showed excellent poise in overcoming her opponent, Kyra Batara. Batara proved to be a very solid fighter during the five round fight. The fight was the highlight of the night and was the fastest paced. Congratulated by resounding cheers from the crowd, Howard was awarded a unanimous decision by the judges and became the new FCFF women's junior flyweight champion.

At the end of the night, the Clackamas wrestlers took home a win each, honoring their wrestling team and coach. All their hard work and dedication in training had paid off.

“Special thanks to coach Josh Rhoden,” said Stewart-Ng. March 9 is the next scheduled FCFF event, but no upcoming fights have been set for the Clackamas Cougar pair. They have both stated their intentions of competing in the cage again soon.

TCP; Students walk warriors’ path through CCC

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, The Clackamas Print
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Volume 45, Issue 24
Sports

The CCC fall schedule, which was just released a few weeks ago, includes a plethora of one-credit physical education courses. What better way to start the day or refresh between classes than a good workout? Students looking for a little more than just a workout can tread the warrior's path by enrolling in CCC's various martial arts programs.

There are many reasons to walk the warrior's path at Clackamas. Students can reap the benefits and experience success throughout their college career and life. With the Olympics coming up this summer, a very relevant success story is one of CCC's own successful Olympians.

Wrestling and mixed martial arts stand-out Matt Lindland is among the most decorated competitors to have trained in combat at Clackamas. He won an Olympic Silver Medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in 2000, he was the national wrestling champion in his weight class for Clackamas in 1991 and he has a professional MMA career of 22 wins and 9 losses.

"I grew up in Oregon City," said Lindland. "I knew Clackamas had a strong wrestling program and I wasn't recruited to a Division-I wrestling school so CCC was the answer to achieving that goal. Getting my two associates degrees helped me move on and winning nationals helped me gain recognition from major universities.

Lindland moved on to University of Nebraska after Clackamas, and nine years after his national championship for the Cougars, he was a part of starting Team Quest, a mixed martial arts gym that had just wrestling at first, but added other forms as it grew.

"We now offer a lot of classes," said Lindland. "I'm really proud of our younger kids programs, Tough Tots & Tykes, and we have a big teen program lately. There's about 40, same with the kids program."

The wrestling team placed fourth in the country at NJCAA national championships this year and the coaches have helped many students succeed competitively in wrestling and mixed martial arts.

"We have wrestlers that are members of Team Quest," said Clackamas head coach Josh Rhoden. "Two-time regional champion and two-time All-American Tarrence Williams, freshman Jacob Mitchell is an amateur competitor, sophomore Jake Morris competed in wrestling with us for two years and he trains at Tualatin Team Quest ... because of Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami [guest coaches and local professional UFC competitors/ wrestlers], lots of wrestlers come to CCC."

The wrestling program is by far the largest athletic program at CCC and is the only official martial arts team on campus. Rhoden also teaches a class that's open to all CCC students called wrestling conditioning, but there are more choices when it comes to classes that teach students how to defend themselves from unscrupulous fiends in dark alley ways. Other one credit courses through CCC are self defense, karate, kung-fu, aikido, and tai chi.

"I started teaching tai chi on campus four years ago then three years ago kung fu and additional tai chi off campus at Eastham," said Nick Hancock, resident tai chi and kung fu instructor. "Over half of our class are returning students. The physical fitness and peace of mind that comes with practicing arts like tai chi and kung fu — getting the time to clear your mind between studies is beneficial to academics."

Robin Robinson started teaching karate and self-defense classes at the college in 1993.

"There was already karate and self defense classes established on campus and when there were openings I was able to fill them because I was a black belt in two systems, kung fu and zazente," said Robinson. "We usually have a mix of returning students and new students in class. I would say 70 percent of students who take the class take it a second or third time. It's a cheap way to do it. Most private martial arts schools charge over $100 per month. Ours is $78 for three months."

On campus isn't the only place that credit can be earned for martial arts courses through Clackamas. Aikido Northwest, in Milwaukie, offers the opportunity to earn a PE credit as well.

"I contacted the college about six years ago to ask if they wanted to have aikido on campus; they said they'd like to have an off campus class," said Craig Fife, aikido instructor at Aikido North West. "Aikido teaches an underlying philosophy that is more valuable to a person than self-defense skills. The philosophy helps develop an awareness of how to learn and focus which all college students need. Taking a martial arts class will help students find motivation."

With so many opportunities to grow as a martial artist and a college student, it is likely that future students will continue to benefit from the programs in professional success or indirectly through philosophy and way of life. There are many opportunities to learn martial arts without the college credit as well. The CCC schedule of classes has a community schools section which features various martial arts classes that are all worth investigating. Many even offer a free first lesson.

TCP; Jiu Jitsu tournament coming to Randall Gym

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, The Clackamas Print
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013
Volume 46, Issue 9
Sports

Coming soon to Randall Hall; the Pacific Northwest Regional Championships will roll out the wrestling mats for a different type of grappling competition. On Feb. 2, Clackamas Community College will be the proving grounds for Jiu Jitsu grappling competitors around the Northwest.

“We have people signed up from Idaho, Washington, California, British Columbia and Oregon,” said event coordinator Fabiano Scherner. “Northwest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu uses International BJJ Federation rules. We have refs from different gyms. Jeff Borgeois is an IBJJF ref and coordinator for the competition.”

“There are currently 55 people signed up,” said Scherner. “We expect around 150.”

The divisions include kids, adults, masters, male and female. If not ranked, (belt) division assignment goes by experience. No-Gi Rules are the same for Gi and No-Gi without grabbing clothes for No-Gi.

To score points, competitors must get takedowns, pass guard and gain crucial position for 3 seconds. A match is over if one competitor forces another to concede verbally or by tapping the mat twice with an open hand.

Certain holds and attacks are prohibited under the rules for safety, but basic locks and chokes are permitted methods of securing a victory.

“Medals and Herbalife supplements will be awarded to winners as prizes,” said Scherner. “Herbalife is sponsoring the event.”

“Another two competitions will take place this year,” said Scherner. “The second competition will follow the same format, but the third will be a different format, winners from the first two competitions compete in final matches.”

On scoring Scherner said, “Nine points for win, six for 2nd place and three for third.” The competition will also serve as a fundraiser for the CCC Wrestling team as some team members will be working at the competition.

The competition starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 2. It is scheduled to run past 4:30 p.m. and may go all day depending on the number of matches. It will be an interesting day to be at CCC, with such a different type of sports event.

The competition is open to enter and costs $45 for entering one division, $65 for two. The complete (projected) schedule of events and rules can be found at the event’s homepage: NWBJJ. com.