Just spoke with Matt last night who is currently in Canada and he filled me in on Canada's quickly growing network of SBGI affiliated training groups.
Congratulations to:
Mike Sweeney, Rich Beaupit, and Jim Grove. They along with Jason who is currently enrolled in Matt's ICC program make up an amazing network of sources all within 4 hours of one another. These guys surely represent exactly what we are about and have much to offer to all those who work with them.
Also a big congrats to Ray Price of the Reno Nevada crew. Ray is not only a solid athlete and instructor, but he is one of the ISR's finest proponents.
The SBGI is in-deed its individuals and you guys just made us that much stronger and more accessible to everyone.
Welcome aboard!!!
-Luis Gutierrez
www.straighblastgym.com
www.onedragon.com
PS
Jeff,
Sorry you were not able to train and yes, you Matt's true talents lie in mini-golf. I hope you didn't lose to bad. I'm glad you enjoyed the Florida seminar DVDs and I hope they give you plenty of material to think about while you heal up.
A HUGE TTT goes out to SBGi/ATG Canada!!!
I remember 4 years ago, first learning about Matt Thornton and SBG and wanting to train with him and his colleagues soooo badly and now there are 4 affilated gyms in Ontario alone!!!
A HUGE TTT goes out to Jim Grove, who I am so proud to call my coach and close friend. Jim and I have been training together for a lonnnnggggg time, pretty much through hell and back (and heaven too, oh the great parties and memories we have) and I have never seen him so determined to get something accomplished and alas, he did it! Theres no stopping him now and I have no doubt that he will make SBGi proud!!! (WOW, the gym I have been training at for almost 10 years has become an SBGi/ATG, who'da thunk it 4 years ago!!!)
Also a shout out ttt to Rich Beaupit, who is a great coach and a great guy period. Rich has so much heart, it just oozes out of him. With coaches and friends like Jim and Rich, I am definitely in great hands.
Congradulations also to Mike "Stickmaster" Sweeney, a very hard worker who loves what he is doing.
Watch out world, Canada is gonna make some noise!!!
Also, as for mini-golf spankings, Jim would know about that ;)
....oh and one last thing, when is Matt gonna come with his "Functional Mini-Golf" instructional series?
Great news...eh.
eh eh eh (canadian for TTT)
Hi Guys,
Hello from the Western shores of Canada- while I have not met Jim or Rich- I did meet Mike S. in Portland- and found him to be a rock solid martial artist and businessman- and is a great guy to boot.
Congrats to all of you- SBGi is a great organization in large part to the integrity and talent of its members!
Sincerely,
Dan Albas
Thanks for the kind words, guys. Rebecca and I had a great time at
Matt's seminar at Jim Grove's club. Everyone there was very cool (as
usual). It was fun to see some old friends as well as make some new
ones.
Mike
www.sbgi.ca
PS: While Matt may have some skills at mini-golf, he is not all that
great at air hockey.
I posted a couple of pics here:
http://www.canadas-best.com/news.html
You can view the famous forum member "Kai Tremeche" working with
my wife in photo 1:)
Mike
Hmmm... Kai is shorter than I imagined.
Thanks to all. A big thank you to Matt for a great weekend and seminar. A class act all the way!!!
I was glad to see everyone there. It's nice to put some faces to names. I hope to see more of you in the future!
And a big thanks to Jeff for all your help. You saved me a ton of BS and running around. Thanks for that!!! We'll have a few "BUDs" on me.
Jim
Right on. It was great meeting Mike and Rebecca at the
camp. The Canada scene is really taking off.
Just returned home. . .thanks Luis for posting this update.
Thanks much Jim for the hospitality!
As always when I visit Canada, I had a fantastic time. We are very happy to have you on board, and I know great things will come from your training program there.
Also big thanks to Jeff for helping promote what the SBGi is about, and spreading the word about Alive training. Also for being such a geniune person.
It was also great to see Rich Beaupit again. Jeff summed it up pretty well. Rich represents everything that keeps me within the field of combat athletics. Rich is one of those people that really can be seen as the embodiment of what SBGi is moving towards as a group, and what we try to be about as people.
Much thanks also to Mike and Rebecca Sweeney. I am always impressed with both Mike and Rebeccas games, and Miek was also a big help to me in teaching the workshop.
I have stated before I don't make SBGi Instructors, I just recognize them.
That is certainly the case with Mike. He has a very good, and highly technical stand up, clinch, and ground game. And definitly understands the hows and whys of what we do, and what we represent. As such I am very proud to announce Mike as our newest SBGi Instructor. I usualy wait until Camps or seminars to do such things, but Mike is already 100% there. . .so all I can say is we are all very happy to have him on board.
So eastern Canada is rocking! If you are anywhere near Rich or Mike's Gym's you can be quite sure you will find a super friendly atmosphere, and the fully Alive SBGi style curriculum and training methods.
And now with Jim Groves new ATG in the area as well, and Jason who will be returning shortly there from training here at our Oregon Gyms, you will have a pretty big network of training partners. A solid community.
Also, big congrats to Ray Price as well. . .I have not had a chance to really write any updates as I was only home for a few days before I headed for Canada, and I leave again here shortly. But we are very proud to have Ray as an ATG in Reno Nevada.
Now, I am headed to sleep. . .home for a few days, and then off this weekend to visit Jerry and our So Cal friends. Looking forward to that as well! : )
www.straightblastgym.com
Where was the thank you for creating a kick ass SBG type cd for the seminar???
Thanks Matt.
I would just like to say that we are very happy to be involved with such
a great group of guys. Each SBGi member, coach or student, that we
have had the pleasure of meeting and training with has made us feel
like we have been a part of this for years.
Big thanks to Jim and Jeff for organizing the seminar with Matt. I know
that a lot of work goes into an event like that and I appreciate it.
Mike
Hey, I'm not that short! Besides, I'm getting worked down in the 2 on 1.
Still in Canada, will put up a big post when I get home.
"Hey, I'm not that short!" :)
hey Portu, send me an email at shortstop4313@hotmail.com
Kai, you got mail!
Portu: Cool, sent a mail back, checkity, man.
Congratulations Mike.
For those of you that met Mike at the camp know firsthand what a great person he is. He is a wealth of information for those interested in building up your training group or developing a full time school. I know I asked him tons of questions in regard to my new school and he patiently answered them all.
He also has a slick guard game that eveyone saw at the Gorilla Cup.
His abilities as a coach are evident in his wife Rebecca who has outstsanding Standup and ground skills.
He will be a great asset to the growth of SBGI in Canada.