THE Mount Gambier Grappling Club recently re-opened on Margaret Street Mount Gambier and coach Matthew Grubb welcomes the South East to get on board.
Grubb has been training in No-Gi Jiu Jitsu since 2009 predominately out of 10th Planet Melbourne, under head coach Frank Barca and has plenty of experience under his belt, after also travelling to America to train in various gyms.
No stranger to success, Grubb has also competed at and won the Victorian State title at his weight division, an Australian Masters title, as well as competing in and winning his MMA debut.
He has coached others to state titles, as well as various other competition victories.
“My goal was always to coach – which I have been doing in Mount Gambier out of various gyms – but last year I made the decision to stop teaching part time and dedicate myself to it,” Grubb said.
“Jiu Jitsu has been a passion of mine for the better part of 18 years – since I was first introduced to it – but unfortunately there were no local opportunities to train it.
“I’m hoping to provide that to a new generation of people and promote a healthier lifestyle for the youth of Mount Gambier.”
The club teaches submission grappling and No-Gi Jiu Jitsu, which is based on grounding an opponent and controlling them, to set up various submission moves, including chokes, armbars and leg locks that can incapacitate the opponent.
“It is derived from a combination of collegiate wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Sambo and various other martial arts to create a high effective, functional and real fight tested form of combat that can be learnt for education, self defence or competition, most commonly seen in jiu jitsu competitions (ADCC, EBI, Polaris) as well as MMA (such as the UFC, or Bellator),” Grubb said.
Encouraging children to take part, Grubb focuses on healthy living, movement, self defence, confidence and fun in each class.
“We teach them to stretch, move and work with other kids, in a safe environment,” he said.
“Adult classes are for everyone.
“Those looking for a new fun way to exercise, looking for a self defence system that actually works in a real life scenario, or to compete in either jiu jitsu or MMA.
“I’d also like to promote to female students as martial arts and in particular grappling is a fairly male dominated sport, but theere are huge, self defence, and confidence benefits for girls through to women.”
Grubb plans on running a women’s only based class in the near future with the hope they will transfer into the general classes before long.
Classes
Children (ages 7-12): Monday and Wednesday – 3.45pm-4.30pm.
Teenagers (ages 12-17): Monday and Wednesday – 4.30pm-5.30pm.
Adults (18+): Monday and Wednesday – 7pm; Tuesday and Thursday – 7.30pm.
