12/23/08 - MMA, BJJ, Boxing, Kickboxing, Karate, Capoeira, Eskrima...and now Kung Fu! With the addition of the wall separating the second room, Smiley's Combat Athletix is adding additional disciplines to the curriculum. The latest style to be added is Cheung Style Sport Kung Fu taught by Charlie Herrera. It will be taught at 6:00 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday in Room 2. Charlie is one of the Smiley Fight Team's best fighters with a 14-3 record in amateur kickboxing and a 4-0 record in submission grappling matches. Charlie has amateur kickboxing matches already scheduled in the first couple months of 2010 and recently won his division at the Sunshine State BJJ Open. He's planning on moving into amateur MMA in 2010 with the goal of becoming a pro MMA fighter. Having originally trained under the founder of Cheung Style Sport Kung Fu, Grand Master Anthony Arnett, Charlie hopes to share some of what he's learned with the members of Combat Athletix. For more information on any of the classes offered at Smiley's Combat Athletix, either visit our site at http://www.combatathletix.com or contact Mr. Smiley directly at smiley@combatathletix.com. 12/06/08 - Congratulations Mr. Smiley Congratulations to Mr. Smiley on achieving his brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Edson Diniz, ATT black belt and world champion, awarded him the brown belt after the seminar he taught at Combat Athletix on Saturday, December 6th. Be sure to congratulate our instructor on his achievement. Thank you also to Edson Diniz for teaching an excellent seminar and helping to improve the Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Combat Athletix.  12/06/08 - Congratulations Polar Bear & Jessi Congratulations to Terry "Polar Bear" and Jessi on the birth of their son Kellen Gage on 12/04/08. The little "polar bear" was born prematurely. Please keep him in your prayers so he can come home with his parents soon. 12/05/08 - Fighters From Smiley Fight Team Sponsored by Caged Gear Caged Gear, a new mixed martial arts clothing company based in Jacksonville, sponsored the Smiley Fight Team at the IKF amateur kickboxing event at Plush on Friday night. We hope to make this a lasting relationship that benefits both Combat Athletix fighters and Caged Gear. 12/05/08 - Amateur Kickboxing Event Fight Night at the Plush Entertainment Complex Congratulations to all of the Smiley Fight Team fighters that fought in the monthly IKF amateur kickboxing event held at Plush on Friday, December 5th. Polar Bear, Josh Johnson, Will, and Ed all fought very tough battles and showed what Combat Athletix is all about by going 3-1. Polar Bear utilized his bullrush style and excellent kicking skills to completely dominate his opponent for 3 rounds. Pushing forward the entire time, he landed big punches and several reverse side kicks that kept his opponent off balance. Josh's opponent had an unorthodox style and very strong kicks, but because it was a modified Muay Thai match, he was able to use his movement to stay one step ahead of his opponent. He also dominated in the clinch, landed several very hard knees to the body. Will's opponent was well over 300 lbs. and dwarfed even him. Using movement and crisp technique, Will never allowed his opponent to get any clean shots off and landed his own techniques seemingly at will. At the end, the decision was a majority decision. Ed fought a very tough opponent who pressed forward the entire time. It was a back and forth battle, with each fighter landing stong strikes and showing amazing heart. In the end, the fight was stopped with 1 second left in the final round and ruled a TKO for Ed's opponent. Very well fought match, though. If you see any of these fighters around Combat Athletix, congratulate them for representing the school and themselves very well. They're all looking forward to next month's event to see how much they've improved. 11/07/08 - Capoeira Workshop Thank You to Mestre Azulao and Venus from Maculele Capoeira The capoeira workshop with Mestre Fran and Venus from Maculele Capoeira was a great success on Friday night. Many of Daniela's capoeira students attended the workshop and were impressed with Mestre Fran. Afterward, Mestre Fran and the workshop participants headed to Plush to watch the kickboxing matches and perform a demonstration. There were many ooos and ahhhs throughout the crowd as the capoeiristas played their game in the ring. Overall, it was an excellent experience and we can't wait for Mestre Fran and Venus to come back for another workshop! 11/07/08 - Amateur Kickboxing Event Fight Night at the Plush Entertainment Complex The Smiley Fight Team put on another excellent performance at the monthly IKF amateur kickboxing event held at Plush. Lead by Mr. Smiley, the Combat Athletix fighters went 4-1, with the sole loss being a very close decision. Congratulations to all of the fighters! Josh Fournier made his long-awaited return to the Plush ring to fight a Muay Thai fighter from World Martial Arts. Though the WMA fighter was quite a bit taller with a longer reach, Josh was able to utilizing his boxing technique to get inside and land powerful shots to his opponent's body and head. The WMA fighter was very tough and landed some very nice shots himself. Each round was a battle, with Josh coming out slightly ahead of his opponent. The third round, however, was the deciding factor as Josh poured on the pressure and ended up knocking his opponent down with a very powerful overhand right. Though the WMA fighter recovered, the damage had been done and Josh ended up winning a unanimous decision with scores of 30-26, 30-26, and 30-26. This brings Josh's amateur kickboxing record to 10-1-1. Herman utilized excellent technique to knock his opponent out midway through the second round in a fast-paced fight. This brings Herman's amateur kickboxing record to 2-0. Terry "Polar Bear" Blackburn fought a clearly outmatched opponent who he overwhelmed with crisp punches and powerful leg kicks. The ref had to step in as his opponent took several unanswered shots and was turning away from him. This brings Polar Bear's amateur kickboxing record to 9-0. Mr. Smiley returned after a long layoff to fight a very game opponent Danny Dustin, who wanted to fight Mr. Smiley before going into the military. Though Danny fought hard and tried to implement a pressure game plan, Mr. Smiley's technique, conditioning, and power were simply too much for Danny. The fight ended when Mr. Smiley landed the last of several very powerful leg kicks that made Danny crumble to the mat. This brings Mr. Smiley's amateur kickboxing record to 7-0. Chris Williams, training under Ryan Lee from Combat Athletix at the beach, competed in his first amateur kickboxing match. The fight was under modified Muay Thai rules and allowed clinching, knees to the body, and throws. The fight was back and forth, with Chris continually moving forward and exchanging with his opponent. Both fighters landed very nice kicks and punches and the decision was a very close split decision in favor of the other fighter. Chris was upbeat after the fight and will definately be back to even his record. 10/18/08 - Sunshine State BJJ Open Smiley Fight Team Takes 1st in Gi and 2nd in No Gi The Smiley Fight Team competed in the Sunshine State BJJ Open tournament at the National Guard Armory in Jacksonville on Saturday, October 18th. Hosted by Luiz Palhares, the event featured grapplers from all of the major Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts gyms in the north Florida area. The Smiley Fight Team brought a large group of grapplers and ended up taking 1st in the Gi division and 2nd in the no gi division of the team awards. Congratulations to all the fighters on their individual performances! It was an excellent showing of the skill, technique, and conditioning that has made Smiley's Combat Athletix one of the best MMA gyms in the north Florida area. Luiz Palhares Seminar at Combat Athletix Seminars are a great way to bring new techniques and specialized knowledge to Combat Athletix. The more participants from Combat Athletix in the seminar, the more that knowledge is assimilated and the better our overall BJJ gets. Mr. Smiley works very hard to provide as many opportunities to learn from different high-level instructors as possible to the students of Combat Athletix. A 6th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Rickson Gracie, Luiz Palhares came to Combat Athletix to share some of the techniques that have lead to his amazing success in BJJ. Though there were only seven participants, the seminar was a great success with each of the participants having learned something new that they can add to their game. For those that did not attend: watch out! You might get caught in something you haven't seen, yet. Stay tuned to the website for information on the next seminar so that you don't miss out on these valuable opportunities to learn from some of the best. 1st Degree Black Belt Testing a Success! Congratulations to Mrs. Annabelle, Mr. Al, Mr. AJ, and Mr. Jowell for making it through their 1st degree black belt test. With temperatures approaching 100º, they battled their way through 45 minutes of warm up and technique, then sparred for 10 minutes each against Mr. Smiley, Gene, Don, Andrew, and Juan. By the end, each was completely exhausted and sporting at least one badge of honor (black eye, bloody lip, sore shoulder, bruised rib), but none of them quit. Special mention goes to Mr. AJ who, at just 11 years old, tested with the adults and distinguished himself with his tenacity and fighting spirit. The next time you see them at Combat Athletix, be sure to offer them your own congratulations. Smiley Fight Team Sponsored by Plush Entertainment Complex The Smiley Fight Team from Combat Athletix will be sponsored by the Plush Entertainment Complex in the IFK World Classic Amateur World Championship Tournament in Orlando, Florida. The goal is to bring as many world championship belts as possible back to Jacksonville and the Smiley Fight Team will be a big part of that. The event will be held on 7/18/08 through 7/20/08 in Orlando, Florida. For more information, please check out http://www.ikfkickboxing.com/WC08.htm. 06/28/08 - Amateur Kickboxing Event PAL Kickboxing Tournament at Fleming Island High School Congratulations to Josh, Van, Mason, Charlie, Kais, and Justin from the Smiley Fight Team for competing in the Clay County PAL kickboxing tournament held at Fleming Island High School. They represented Combat Athletix very well in compiling a 3-1 record. Josh fought a war with the best boxer from Title Shot gym and lost a very close decision. Though he landed far more power shots and suffered a brutal low blow in the first round, his opponent scored by throwing more punches, though very few of them landed cleanly. True to his ferocious style, Van came out guns blazing and dropped his opponent midway through the first round. Unable to continue, Van was awarded a TKO victory. Looking like a caged beast, Mason exploded on his opponent in the first round, landing blow after blow. His opponent was very tough and suffered through the onslaught to make it to the second round. The action slowed a bit in the second and third round, but Mason ground out the victory with a unanimous decision. Though he had worked a full roofing shift earlier that day, Charlie fought against PAL standout Caleb Frisby. The fatigue from working was evident as Charlie seemed to gas midway through the first round. He kept his cool, though, and showed the type of grit that Combat Athletix is known for in landing the unanimous decision. Kais displayed an excellent array of kicks as well as very good boxing technique and overall aggression to take the victory in his full contact kickboxing debut. Justin made his kickboxing debut in an exhibition match. As the first fight of the event, there was a lot of pressure on him, but he stepped up and competed very well. Overall, it was a very good event for Combat Athletix. Thank you to all of you who came to help cheer on the Smiley Fight Team. The fighters really appreciate it! 06/22/08 - Combat Submission Wrestling Seminar MMA & CSW with Eric Paulson at WMA Mr. Smiley, representing Combat Athletix, participated in the Eric Paulson seminar held at World Martial Arts. Mr. Paulson is one of the foremost MMA coaches in the world and he showed a lot of very good training and fighting techniques throughout the seminar. Thank you to World Martial Arts for hosting the event and we look forward to the next time Mr. Paulson is in the Jacksonville area. 06/20/08 - IKF Amateur Kickboxing Fight Night at Plush Congratulations to Josh Johnson, Brian Florez, Tracy Jackson, and Mason from the Smiley Fight Team for competing and representing Smiley's Combat Athletix in this month's Fight Night at the Plush Entertainment Complex. Josh engaged in a hard-fought battle with a muay thai fighter from Orlando. Though Josh landed more strikes and got a knock down in the third round, the fight was very close and the judges gave the decision to his opponent. This was Josh's first kickboxing match and he did an excellent job. Brian's opponent looked to be 20-30 lbs. heavier than him, but he didn't back down at all throughout the fight. The fight was back and forth, with Brian getting a knock down and standing eight count in the second round. In the end, the judges scored the fight a unanimous decision for Brian's opponent, though the fight was much closer than the scores made it seem. For the third time in a row, Tracy stopped his opponent in the first round, this time with a punch. As Tracy kept landing kicks to the body, his opponent's hands dropped and Tracy landed a powerful straight right that dropped his opponent for the win. Mason was a beast in his fight, which was the final match of the night. Both men are very large and several of the bouncers said that they had waited all night for this fight. Mason came out in a rush, landing big shot after big shot on his opponent. With no time to mount any offense, his opponent covered up. Several big shots got through and the fight was stopped after Mason landed a huge right that dropped his opponent for the second time in the first round. A very dominant performance for the big man. Overall, it was a good night for Combat Athletix. We had several fighters that were not able to get fights, including Polar Bear and Van. We also had a good turnout from Combat Athletix to support the Smiley Fight Team. Thank you to all of you who came out and we look forward to seeing you there the next time. Summer Camp, Summer Camp, My Oh My! Yes everyone, summer vacation is right around the corner! Combat Athletix will be hosting a series of camps during summer. The dates will be: Camp I: June 9th - June 13th Camp II: June 23rd - June 27th Camp III: July 7th - July 11th Camp IV: July 21st - July 25th Camp V: August 4th - August 8th The times will be from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. There will be lots of martial arts, fun, and games. Contact us for further information. Come out and join us for a good time this summer. Law Enforcement Officers Grappling This is a free class for law enforcement officers only. We want to give back to those who give of themselves to our community each and every day. By offering this class, we know we are doing our part to help the law enforcement officers in our community become more proficient in the art of grappling. This allows them to train every week which will help to increase knowledge, skill level, and confidence in a grappling type scenario, which we all know is pretty common in the law enforcement community. They are able to practice grappling with each other and with a skilled Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor. The focus will be on takedowns, restraining, pinning, and controlling. It will be held every Wednesday morning at 9:00 am. 05/05/08 - Kids Mixed Martial Arts Classes Beginning in May Beginning in the month of May, Combat Athletix will begin it's brand new Kids Mixed Martial Arts program! We have already started signups so if your child is interested, call or come by. The ages will be from 7 years old and above. This is a true Mixed Martial Arts School so we will be teaching your child true Mixed Martial Arts including boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu in a safe atmosphere.  04/11/08 - IKF Amateur Kickboxing Friday Night Fights at Plush Congratulations to Terry "Polar Bear" Blackburn and David "Status" Blackburn from Combat Athletix and Tracy Jackson, who trained with Smiley a couple years ago for competing in the Friday Night Fights amateur kickboxing event at Plush Entertainment Complex. Polar Bear engaged in a tough bout with an opponent that was quite a bit bigger than him. Though his opponent attempted to showboat and shake off particularly strong strikes by Polar Bear, he was stopped in the second round from a particularly strong straight right to the face. The decision was ruled a TKO and increased Polar Bear's record to 6-0 in amateur kickboxing. Status fought a back-and-forth battle with Tyrone from World Martial Arts. Though the fight was fairly close, the bout was ruled a unanimous decision for Tyrone, dropping David's record to 1-2. Status was upbeat after the bout and knows what he needs to work on for his next fight. Though the fight was fairly close in the first round, Tracy used his strong kicking skills combined with intermittent boxing to take over and defeat his opponent in the middle of round 3. Even though Charlie Herrera, Van White, and Aaron were unable to get fights, it was a good night for Smiley's Combat Athletix. We look forward to next month's event so that we can continue to improve and get experience. 04/04/08 - Karate Graduation Belt Ceremony and Pot Luck Congratulations to all of those that passed their karate test and either moved on to their next belt level or received stripes! Testing is never easy and this one was no exception. The bi-monthly graduation ceremony and pot luck was a lot of fun and we look forward to the next one. 03/29/08 - Karate Testing Belt Testing for Karate Saturday saw another tough karate belt testing at Combat Athletix. From the intense warmup through all of the techniques and katas, the karate students all made it through the testing without quiting, though most definately wanted to. Congratulations to all who tested and we look forward to graduation on Friday, 4/4/08! 03/21/08 - IKF Amateur Kickboxing Friday Night Fights at Plush Combat Athletix had four fighters compete at the March edition of Friday Night Fights at Plush Entertainment Complex and all four came away with victories. Mindy competed in an exhibition match against a female fighter that was both taller and weighed more than she did. From the opening bell, "Sarge" took the initiative and pressed the action. After 4 knockdowns in the first round, the fight was stopped by the referee, giving Mindy the victory by TKO. Having already fought and won (by armbar) a 3-round submission grappling match at the All Aggression Pro event held at Deadgame Fightschool, Terry "Polar Bear" Blackburn stepped up to fight Brian Stalvey, his opponent in last month's edition of Friday Night Fights. Though he was clearly tired near the end of the first round, the Polar Bear fought hard throughout the match, landing both punches and kicks. He constantly stayed on the offensive and ended up getting the unanimous decision. Van's fight was a lesson in ferocity. Taking an incidental blow to the back of the head early, Van turned it up on his opponent, blasting him with several hard shots that put him on the defensive. Constantly moving away, Van's opponent finally began turning away so much that the referee stopped the bout near the end of the first round, giving Van the TKO win. The last fight of the night saw David "Status" Blackburn face off against a tough opponent trained in karate. David's superior boxing and conditioning proved the difference as he constantly stalked his opponent and kept his head moving to avoid the majority of incoming strikes. By the end of the third round, nobody was surprised when David got the unanimous decision. 03/02/08 - Professional Mixed Martial Arts Xtreme Fighting Championship Congratulations to Terry "T-Rex" Cohens for his victory by triangle choke at the Xtreme Fighting Championships in Tampa, Florida. Originally slated to battle a brown belt from Atlanta, Georgia, Terry ended up fighting the head instructor at XFC Tampa who is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. This impressive win brings Terry's professional MMA record to 3-0. 03/01/08 - Professional Mixed Martial Arts Reality Combat Championship Congratulations to Jahmal McClennan for his victory at the RCC event in Jacksonville, Florida. Having trained at World Martial Arts and North Florida Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Jahmal was making his professional MMA debut. Combat Athletix showed up in force, though we had no fighters competing, in support of the fight culture in northeast Florida. The production value of the event was impressive and we look forward to more RCC events in the future. 02/22/08 - Professional Boxing Bourbon Street Brawl Congratulations to Don Roberts and Darrell "Prince" Jones, both of which did training at Combat Athletix, for winning their professional boxing bouts at the Bourbon Street Brawl in Jacksonville, FL. After a three year layoff, Don stopped his opponent early in the second round with an uppercut to the head after ripping his body with several very strong punches throughout the first and second round. Prince took the fight straight at his opponent and overwhelmed him with speed and power. After landing several shots to the head, Prince moved in and finished the fight with a combination that ended in a powerful hook to the body that landed flush. The victory improved his professional record to 2-0. The Bourbon Street Brawl proved to be a success and is sure to help in bringing more professional combat sports events to Jacksonville. Combat Athletix will continue to support these events in order to build the combat sports culture in the Jacksonville area. 02/15/08 - IKF Amateur Kickboxing Friday Night Fights at Plush Congratulations to Josh Fournier, Terry "Polar Bear" Blackburn, and David Blackburn of Smiley's Combat Athletix for competing at the Plush Fight Night IKF kickboxing event on Friday, 2/15/08. All three showed that their training has paid off.  Josh won a 3-round war, displaying excellent boxing and strategic kicks combined with the conditioning that Combat Athletix is known for. With the victory, he improved his overall record to 8-0-1. Polar Bear used one of his trademark spinning kicks to the body to down his opponent less than halfway through the first round. His overall record improves to 4-0. David engaged in a war of attrition with his very strong opponent. The fight ended in a TKO victory halfway through the 3rd round for his opponent when David vomited after a particularly strong kick to the body. At the time, the match was tied 1 round to 1 round. Though his record drops to 0-1, David is eager to get back in the ring. Congratulations also goes out to Tracy, who trained with Smiley a couple of years ago and asked Smiley to corner him for his fight. He won his fight when his opponent refused to continue after several very strong kicks from the taekwondo black belt.  Overall it was an excellent night for Combat Athletix and we look forward to the next Plush Fight Night event to be held on March 14th. Everyone is encouraged to come and support the family as we try to build the fight culture in the Jacksonville area.