We are about to conduct our 2nd ever FFA Instructor Course. This is a 10 week course designed to educate potential instructors on how to teach martial arts and how to motivate and pump up their students. Every instructor at FFA has been through the course.

To be elibigle for the course, you must at least be a blue belt and be able to assist in teaching two classes a week. For the ten week course, which will be starting Saturday, May 16, we will be meeting every Saturday for two to three hours starting at 12pm. The first Saturday is extra long though, about five hours.

I originally wrote that would be started next week – BUT I got too over excited The reality is that next week I have an event I have to go to, the weekend after is the Beach Workout and fights, the weekend after I will be in Texas, the weekend after I will be FIGHTING, and the weekend after I will be in Washington, D.C… so basically, May 16 is the best time to get started – and I am clearning out the next 10 weeks of my schedule after that SPECIFICALLY for this course!
If you can meet the requirements and are at least a blue belt, please email me back so that I can send over an application. If you are interested, reply ASAP so that I can send over the applications. Last semester we had 22 students and it was TOO many, I ended up having to break it up into two sections… this semester I will only take in ten students, so I will accept the ten best applicants based purely on the applications, so reply ASAP.

Thank you! And to everyone else that isn’t a blue belt, take comfort in knowing that all your instructors meet rigorous testing and education to be able to teach at FFA – we don’t just grab anyone to teach!

On Friday, December 19th, two of our black belt instructors (Efrain Ruiz and Enrico Cocco) fought at the historic Gusman Theater in Downtown Miami in an event called the Revolution Fighting Championships (RFC). The Gusman, built in 1926 as a silent movie palace and now the home of live theater and film, seemed an unlikely, yet elegant place to watch cage fights take place in. With its beautiful Renaissance décor, I got the feeling I was about to watch a performance of Shakespeare as I sat down, and not grown men beating each other into submission.

For those of you that don’t already know Efrain and Enrico, here is a little background on them. Efrain Ruiz is a black belt in kickboxing under legendary kickboxer Joe Lewis, and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Ricardo Texeira. Coach Efrain is also a two-time state shoot fighting champion among many other accomplishments. He is in charge of our kickboxing program here at FFA (Freestyle Fighting Academy) and he is one of our head instructors.

Enrico Cocco is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Enrico was named “the teenage phenom” years ago because he was beating adult black belts in the national tournament circuit while he was still a kid. Enrico teaches MMA and grappling in our Combat Athlete Program and he is also one of our head instructors here at FFA.

Enrico Cocco fought Vladimir Laguna. The bell rang and Vladimir Laguna came forward aggressively, throwing wild punches. Enrico Cocco immediately grabbed him in a muay thai clinch and started dropping hard knees on his opponents head and body. Enrico then quickly changed levels and went for a single leg takedown. To Vladimir’s credit he was able to react quickly to the shot and sprawled hard, causing Enrico to end up on his back. “He hipped me hard and I lost balance.” Vladimir tried to capitalize on this by throwing big punches on his downed opponent but Enrico was not having any of it. Off his back, Enrico threaded his legs around Vladimir’s legs and swept him down, finishing his opponent with a straight ankle lock. All this happened in an instant since Vladimir Laguna officially tapped out at 24 seconds into the first round! After the fight a spectator commented to Enrico Cocco, “Damn that was quick. Did you even break a sweat?” With a smile on his face Enrico replied, “Yeah I did… in the locker room.”

Efrain Ruiz fought Rob Bailey in the Revolution Fighting Championships (RFC) main event bout. Efrain Ruiz had said right before the fight that he was planning on taking his opponent down and working his ground game and that’s exactly what he did. The bell rang for the first round and Efrain clinched his opponent and put him up against the cage. He then tripped his opponent down onto the canvas and ended up on top of him in his guard. From there Efrain Ruiz began dropping punches on Bailey for about a minute straight. To avoid getting hit Bailey unlocked his legs to push Efrain away but Efrain made it to half guard where he unleashed more punches and elbows from the top. Eventually Efrain Ruiz made it to side control and tried to finish his opponent with a kimura shoulder lock, but Rob Bailey defended well by holding onto his shorts. When Efrain Ruiz noticed he couldn’t finish the lock, he immediately transitioned to mount and pounded out his opponent some more. At the end of the round he went for an armbar from mount and Bailey managed to escape as the bell rang.

The fight was eventually stopped in the middle of the second round by the referee and Efrain Ruiz raised his bloody hand in victory as half the crowd in attendance chanted out “F-F-A, F-F-A, F-F-A.”, in the historic Gusman theater. It was a great night for the Freestyle Fighting Academy and its’ fighters. It was a glorious night indeed!

By Kevin Perez

The FFA UFC party is back!!! This Saturday, December 27th, FFA will be opening its doors to host an Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view event. Doors open at 9pm sharp and stay open until 2am. We will have a BBQ with hotdogs and burgers, plus all you can drink soda. The cost of entry is $10 for FFA students… however, family members and friends can come at only $5 each (they must come with a student). Bring as many friends and family as you like! CAP Platinum and Masters Club Members come for free – and their direct family comes for free as well (friends are $5). For $10 you get food and drinks, and a night of amazing fights. This is the most stacked fight card of the year. If you’ve never been to an FFA UFC party, come check it out.

The UFC party is a great tradition of FFA… but it had been postponed for almost six months. What happened is that our mall renovated the roof… and in the process destroyed our dish. Unfortunately, it took us about six months to get around to putting up a new dish and fixing up the wiring… but at least we got it done in time for one of the biggest UFC shows ever!

The main events are Rashad Evans vs Forrest Griffin, Rodrigo “Minotauro” Noguiera vs Frank Mir, and Wanderlei Silva vs Rampage Jackson!

Also fighting on the card are Ryo Chonnan, Matt Hamill, Dean Lister, and many more. For those of you that have seen Wanderlai Silva and Rampage fight before, you know that when those two step in the cage this weekend it will be exciting! Plus two of the best jujitsu practioners in MMA, Noguiera and Mir will be fighting it out. DON’T MISS OUT!!!

By Kevin Perez

Hey everyone,

I hope you all have a Happy Holiday and know you will have a super-fantastic 2009.

Last Saturday we had our mat scrubbing party and it was better than we anticipated. We ate, joked, laughed and in spite of the good-time the mats got super-clean. We will have another mat-scrubbing party at the end of January and I’m sure it will be another hit.

Special thanks goes out to everyone listed below for showing up and working hard. You all will receive a free private lesson with one of our instructors.

The Rivera Family
Jackie “Gee”
Corey Hill
Cloudia Espinoza
Edwin Sarria
Edir Terry
Deiky & Nolan Vergil
Jonathan Urbina
Denis Hernandez
Victor Rafel
Enricco Cocco
Luis Nina

By Carlos Trujillo

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after exercise is not uncommon, particularly if you are just beginning an exercise program, changing activities or increasing the intensity of your usual workout. For those starting a new exercise routine or learning a new sport, some muscle soreness may be felt from 12-48 hours following the activity. You may also experience muscle stiffness, fatigue and weakness. Rest assured, this is a normal response to unusual exertion as the muscles adapt to the new stress. Over time, this adaptation leads to greater muscle strength and endurance and the same activity will no longer result in soreness. Delayed onset muscle soreness is generally the worst within the first 2 days following the activity and subsides over the next few days.

Causes of DOMS
Research suggests that delayed onset muscle soreness is the result of microscopic tearing of the muscle fibers. The amount of tearing (and soreness) depends on the activity, the intensity and the time of the activity. Any movement you aren’t used to can lead to DOMS, but eccentric muscle contraction (movements that cause muscle to contract while it lengthens) seem to cause the most soreness. Examples of eccentric muscle contractions include going down stairs, running downhill, lowering weights and the downward motion of squats and push-ups. In addition to small muscle tears there can be associated swelling in a muscle which may contribute to soreness.

Confusion with lactic acid build up..
DOMS is not caused by lactic acid in the muscle. Lactic acid is a by product of burning sugars for energy during intense physical exercise. Within an hour after exercise, most, if not all, of the lactic acid produced in the muscles is removed and degraded. This misconception of lactic acid and DOMS probably got started by that fact that lactic acid is in fact produced in the muscles during intense exercise and does cause muscles to fatigue. The key point to remember is that muscle fatigue and DOMS are two different processes and just because they sometimes seem to go hand in hand, they are not related in any way.

Here are some tips for treating delayed soreness:
• Wait. Soreness will go away in 3 to 7 days with no special treatment.
• Avoid any vigorous activity that increases pain.
• Do some easy low-impact aerobic exercise – this will increase blood flow to the affected muscles, which may help diminish soreness.
• Use the RICE method of treating injuries, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.
• Use gentle stretching on the affected area.
• Gently massage the affected muscles.
• Try using a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (aspirin or ibuprofen) to reduce the soreness temporarily, though they won’t actually speed healing.
• There is some evidence that vitamin C may decrease soreness.
• Allow the soreness to subside thoroughly before performing any vigorous exercise.
• Don’t forget to warm up completely before your next exercise session!

Regards,
Rima Avellan
www.womenonlybootcamp.com

DANNY FORTICH

The student of the month is Danny Fortich! Danny has been training extra hard – drilling all the techniques during open mats and doing extra conditioning at the end of every class. His self-discipline and dedication is an inspiration to everyone – give him a big congrats when you see him! Good job Danny and keep up the good work!

Dec 13 – Tulio Quintanilla Fight (MMA Fight)
Miami, FL (American Airlines Arena)
More info at www.MFAmma.com

Dec 19 – Efrain Ruiz Fight (MMA Fight)
Miami, FL (Gusman Center)
More info at www.RevolutionFightClub.com

Dec 20 – Open Mat Scrubbing Pizza Party
Free soda and pizza, plus free privates
Only have to scrub one mat, starts at
2PM at FFA Miami

Dec 24 – 26 – Closed (Holidays & Renovation)

Dec 27 – UFC PPV Party at FFA Miami!
Doors Open at 9PM
Free Hamburgers and Soda
$10 for Students – $5 for Friends

Dec 28 – Jan 1 – Closed (Holidays & Renovation)

Jan 2 – FFA Open Again!

Jan 25 – FFA Awards Banquet
Miami, FL $28 per seat, $20 for kids
End of the year ceremony
More info on first page of this newsletter

www.FFAspace.com!

FFAspace.com is a social networking website just like MySpace but only for FFA and Bootcamp members! Check it out!

Coach Tulio (3-0) will be fighting on Saturday, December 13, at the American Airlines Arena in the Mixed Fighting Alliance versus ATT’s Alex Cacares (1-0). This is a rematch from NAGA were Tulio armlocked and tapped out Alex – now Alex has challenged Tulio to MMA! Don’t miss this fight! Ticket info can be found at the MFA website which is www.MFAMMA.com . Go Tulio!

Coach Efrain will be fighting on Friday, December 19, at the Gusman Center in Miami versus ATT’s Roger Krahl. Roger is an experienced kickboxer and MMA fighter – this is going to be a big fight! Ticket info can be found at the Revolution Fight Club website which is www.RevolutionFightClub.com . Go Efrain!