John trains military personnel to defend themselves with their bare hands, and he says there’s one thing he cannot really teach another person. It’s up to them to do it, or not, and that makes all the difference: “One of the main and most difficult objectives of this training is instilling in our soldiers the courage necessary to close the gap and engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. I agree with the Army in their definition of Warrior Ethos, which in many ways is the exercise of thumos: ‘The defining characteristic of a Warrior is the willingness to draw close to the enemy.’”

Paul Coughlin,
In his book
Unleashing Courageous Faith

I was once a fighter a few years ago (36 years old now). I fought mostly Muay Thai for several organizations, part owner manager of a gym no much different than yours.

I played in the MMA arena a few times but that was still in the infancy of the sport, mid 90′s, when BJJ was still new and exotic. I had pretty good success with it, but walked away to concentrate on some family issues. If you are familiar with the USMTA site, I was one of World Champ Dave Thunder Cummings’ original students and go back along with him. I say all of that not to talk about me but to say I have been watching from a distance, going to events and checking your fights and fighters out, and I am impressed with your organization.

I am interested in bringing my 10 year son into your school. I believe he can get a good foundation of the MMA at your facility. I would be interested in training myself, just for the fun of it. What specifically do you offer for kids his age, as far as training and competition wise? Thanks for all your support for our soldiers and for the positive promotion of God and the MMA sport all together.”

— James R. Jones

There is no place in this state that exemplifies that attitude more than CMMAA. John, Jen, Lori, and all of the other instructors and staff are not only great people to be around, they are professional in every sense of the word. I have personally lost 20 pound in just 2 months of training at CMMAA.

One of my students has lost over 40 pounds! Not only do I feel great, but my students have grown closer as they train together in the classroom and in the gym. For anyone who is looking for a way to improve their lives, I highly recommend the classes taught at CMMAA.

I am hooked!”

— Rev. Carlo Serrano
Xtreme Christian Fellowship