Might be moving to this area... wondering if there is anything going on there BJJ wise
....ill take this as a "Not a damn thing is going on there" then????
I lived in New Bern over a year ago. Unless things have changed, I was not aware of any schools in the Wilmington area. I checked w/some friends in NC and they hadn't heard of any BJJ schools in that area that they knew of. The only schools that I know of are either in Myrtle Beach, just south of you down Hwy 17, or in New Bern. There used to be a Gustavo Machado affiliate in Jacksonville at Camp LeJeune, but I believe the guys teaching are no longer there.
I know Washington is a quite a trip from you, but I used to train under a guy named Rick Clark, who trains local police agencies in that area and throughout Eastern NC. He has an eclectic style called Jop Kune Kenpo and has has done BJJ training under Rickson Gracie. He also teaches a mixture of other arts like Kali, Boxing, Muay Thai, Kenpo, and tactical weapons training. He's had students enter cagefights and they have had success. He only teaches privates, but splitting the cost w/a partner is worth it.
Here's his contact info:
Rivertowne Mall
Room 8
Washington, NC 27889
919-946-1361.
..well, is Wilmington area a good market for a school?
good population?
Don't know about the market for a new school, it is right on the coast. Don't know if that hurts a school.
Had a friend that moved there for a few months, he seems to couldn't get any training partners.
There is a judo club in jacksonville, nc. Not sure how far it is from you, but I don't think too far. Mayfield's Martial Arts or something like that.
Wilmington's a fairly big city as NC cities go. It's probably about the 7th biggest or somewhere thereabouts, in NC (by population).
Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Highpoint, Charlotte and Winston-Salem would be bigger, but Wilmington should be right after that, I think.
edit: Wilmington is 9th largest... add Cary and Fayetteville as larger ones I forgot about.
Population 75,838 according to netstate.com, not sure how up to date that is though.
Probably big enough to support a BJJ school, but there's never been one down there that I'm aware of. At leasst when I left that area in 2000, there wasn't anything.
Ithink Asheville is also bigger.
Could be.. the list I was looking at had Asheville at #10, just behind Wilmington. They're pretty close.
I have been very interested in opening a school in Wilmington. There is a school there however, its called Champions Kickboxing behind Pure Gold. I believe they are affilated with Pat Miletech and also Joe Lewis
Aaaah, yeah, good ole Joe Lewis. I think he lives on Carolina Beach or something... I didn't know that place was associated with Pat Miletich though. Must be something new.... Well, comparitively new... I've been gone from that area for 5 years, so my knowledge is kinda out of date.
There is an akido place somewhere in town, if anybody's interested in that. It's not exactly jiu-jitsu, but at least there is some grappling / psuedo-grappling to it.
trye Wyatt or somthing like that is a brown belt under Miletich, he was also a sparring partner.
Champions Kickboxing at the New Market Plaza, I believe, is a pretty good bunch of folks. I've rolled with them a few times over the past 3 years. They are making progress with the grappling and they are willing to learn. Last October when I was there, they supposedly had a Blue Belt under Verisimo teaching Thursday nights. Didn't confirm. Couple of college level wrestlers too but the training is mainly striking and applying strikes with grappling into Vale Tudo. They say they are the only Miletich accredited school in the country other than the one in Iowa. They will can teach and are willing to learn if you are above their level. Nice environment too.
I'm hoping to be moving to the area soon, too. It's disappointing that there aren't more mma schools in the area, considering how large it is. I checked the site for Champions Kickboxing out and the impression that I get from the site is that they're more about a Tae Bo style workout than actual fight training. Where do you train at GhostRiderr?
Ringskilz in Sanford. We are currently gymless, but we've been staying in shape and getting in some practice at local gyms. Looking for a new place though.
The Tai Bo and Cardio Boxing helps pay the bills. They do have a serious side too and it is worth a look. Thursday nights was the grappling, I believe. Vale Tudo was Saturday morning.
Champions is a far cry from a tai bo school I assure you, in fact they are the complete opposite.
Champions is a great school and well worth the visit. The owner, John Maynard, has a good reputation in the fight community and offers a excellent program. He has a purple belt running the BJJ program and is a good instructor. Their guys have also done extremely well at tournament in NC. Great attitudes & great training.
ttt