Archive for September 2009

Over the past few weeks we've had so many students accomplish so much, that we saw the need to feature their accomplishments here on the blog.

What the title should really say is "Why does KnuckleUp Have The Best, Most Committed Students In The Outer Banks?"

And the reason is that our students ROCK! Seriously, the level of dedication these folks show class after class, bootcamp after bootcamp, fight after fight, is incomparable. And we're very proud of each and every one of them!

And here are just a few of those students:

Reverend Jay Bowman completely reshaped his body from an average-chubby to become the most ripped minister in the outer banks.

He not only gained muscle, but lost a ton of weight!

Jay was a big supporter of Matt Costa's beach fitness bootcamp this summer - and proof of its amazing results!

Vonnie Wescott lost 30 lbs in our kickboxing classes - and she enjoyed the summer with a brand new body!

Charlie Craddock won first place in a BJJ tournament - his second tournament ever!

Gina Elko and Billy Frezza are preparing for their first sanctioned mma event - the AFL Fight To The Finish VII. Both of these students have trained so hard that they're already winners.

And Omar Santiago, who dominated 4 rounds of his very first mma bout against the current Title holder Casey Johnson on the Outer Banks AFL event.

These are but a few of our amazing students - there are plenty more stories to tell, and accomplishments to praise. We'll feature them here, but what's important is that they keep happening day after day.

That's what makes KnuckleUp the top outer banks gym!

Jay Bowman reconfigured his body

Billy Frezza Will Be Debuting In The AFL VII

Gina Elko, debuting this Saturday on the AFL VII

Vonnie Lost 30 Lbs

Charlie Won 1st Place at VA Beach BJJ Tournament

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Tags: bjj classes, bjj training, fitness bootcamp, mma training, outer banks gym

AFL Fight To The Finish VII In Elizabeth City 9/26

It's official now: the 7th edition of the Amateur Fight League Fight To The Finish fight card is up, and both Billy Frezza and Gina Elko will have their MMA debuts on the 26th of this month.

Once again, KnuckleUp OBX is extremely proud of both of these students for their dedication and commitment to the training, and we're EXTREMELY confident both Gina and Billy will DOMINATE their opponents in Elizabeth City.

In the last edition of the Fight To The Finish in the Outer Banks, Omar Santiago showed amazing technique and power, in a 4-round battle that he would have surely won if not by an unfortunate accident.

Billy Frezza was supposed to have his debut then, but his opponent was too scared to show up. This time, Billy is twice as hungry for a win, and I'm really sorry for his opponent.

the official fight card for event:

1. Eric Martindale Vs. Mark Franklin
2. Steve Bontatibus Vs. Lindsey Ormsbee
3. Jamie Pickett Vs. Kelly Wilkins
4. Steve Chinners Vs. Jonathan Cornett
5. Donald Tinsley Vs. Travis Searcy
6. Jason Salvo Vs. Christian Brunetti
7. Johnathan Thomas Vs. David Prowse
8. Teruo Mays Vs. Jason Ramos
9. Stephen Henkel Vs. Billy Frezza
10. Aaron Weeks Vs. Richard "2" Riggins II
11. Nick Morrison Vs. David Griffin
12. Ron Lindig Vs. Robert Smith
13. James Crumpler Vs. Clint Starnes
14. Christopher Cain Vs. William Devotie
15. Ashley Nee Vs. Gina Elko
16. Nick Tellez Vs. John White
17. Zed Mitchell Vs. Joshua Munden
18. Wayne Hunter Vs. Mike Kellar

The event will be held at 110 Westover St. Elizabeth City, NC 27909, in the National Guard Armory.

We hope to see you there to support our fighters!

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Tags: afl fight, afl fight to the finish, afl mma, billy frezza, cage fight, ginal elko, outer banks mma

Charlie Craddock, 1st Place Absolute and 2nd Place In His Category

KnuckleUp Brazilian jiu jitsu and MMA student Charlie Craddock dominated The Good Fight tournament in Virginia Beach on August 29th.

Charlie conquered first place in the Absolute No-Gi Beginner division (Absolute means there's no weight categories - fighters can compete against heavier or lighter opponents) which is in itself a major accomplishment.

But he went on to win 2nd place on his weight category (177-179lbs) in the beginners division as well.

And Charlie is one of the few fighters that actually respects the beginner requirements (less than one year of training) - most competitors forget their time on the mat when signing up.

The entire KnuckleUp team is very proud of Charlie for these two major wins. He's a dedicated student, and comes to the jiu jitsu classes even when he's supposed to start his shift right after.

As you can see in the picture to the left, Charlie is a really strong athlete, which is a huge advantage, but his technique is quickly catching up, as the competitors at the Good Fight tournament noticed.

To Charlie, our most sincere congratulations - you deserved it!

Here are the videos of Charlie's final fights in Virginia Beach:

The Absolute Division Final (Charlie's got the dark rash guard)

The 177-179Lbs category final:

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Tags: bjj, brazilian jiu jitsu, Jiu Jitsu, jiu jitsu tournament, knuckleup bjj, virginia beach bjj

Rev. Jay Bowman After Our Fitness Boot Camp

KnuckleUp's Fitness Boot Camp beach edition is now finished...

For the past 5 weeks, our group of boot camp warriors woke up at 5am every Tuesday and Thursday to come to the Gym and get in shape following Matt Costa's military-style workout.

If you ask any of these boot campers, they'll tell you that it was not easy; it took a lot of determination, strength, and will power.

But what they'll undoubtedly say is that it was worth EVERY drop of sweat. Warriors like Reverend Jay Bowman lost weight and gained muscle at a rate beyond any treadmill training ever could.

We're still compiling the data from their last weight in and will post it here as soon as possible.

For now, check out these pictures that Rev. Jay took during some of the sessions:

KnuckleUp Fitnes Boot Camp Group

The Plank - Boot Camp Workout

Walking The Plank - Boot Camp Workout

Walking In The Water - Really Not Easy!

Coolest (literally) Workout Routine Ever!

They Make It Look So Easy....

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Tags: beach bootcamp, bootcamp workout, fitness bootcamp, fitness training

The King Of The Beach MMA took place last Sunday, September 6th, at Port O' Call in Kill Devil Hills. The event was a fundraiser for the OBX Select Wrestling Team, a non-profit traveling team ran by Coach Kyle Briglia.

There were approximately 200 people at the event, which goes to show how popular MMA is becoming even in the Outer Banks. For the main fight, Wayne Hunter vs Derek "Pole", the crowd went wild - you'll see it on the video.

We missed a couple of the fighters' names, so if you identify somebody on the videos, leave a comment at the bottom of the post and we'll update the videos.

Teen Wrestling Match -

Shane Brin (Yellow shoes) vs Rick Bateman (Black shoes) Manteo

Kids Wrestling Match

Teen Kickboxing Match

More Teen Kickboxing

Kids Wrestling Match - Josiah Derby (suit) VS Kyle Cortez(white shirt)

Teen Wrestling - Mike Rullan Vs Ardit Hysa

Amateur MMA Fight - Wayne Hunter Vs Derek "Pole"

If you know any of the fighters' names, leave a comment here and we'll update it asap.

See you soon!

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Tags: king of the beach, mma fight, mma training, mma videos, obx mma, outer banks mma, wrestling