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January 22, 2011

A great afternoon with Gabriel "Gladiator" Santos.

Saturday Jan. 22nd was a great day to be in South Deerfield, MA.  Team Ravenous hosted it's first No Gi BJJ Seminar with great success.  Under the skillful eye of Gabriel "Gladiator" Santos we experienced new and powerful techniques.  
This afternoon we saw seventeen highly motivated individuals from Western Mass and CT come through the door here on Elm St. ready and eager to learn.  Looking around the room I saw men and women of all ages and body types, fighters, and students, instructors, and coaches with a singular goal.  
The following schools were represented on the mat
  • ATAMMA
  • Team Ravenous
  • Team Gladiator
  • American Fight Team
  • Lions Den, CT
  • Team Link, Ludlow
  Over the course of two and a half hours Gladiator demonstrated his variations of many effective No Gi BJJ Techniques and then allowed each person time to build an understanding of these manuvers through hands-on experiences.  
It took no time at all after the initial warm-up for the familiar smiles and expressions of quiet understanding to appear on everyones faces as Gabriel began his demonstrations and dialogue.  

 What was discussed today and what was practiced included chokes, sprawls, wrist control, guards, mounts, sweeps, and submissions.  Gabriel did his best to bring the techniques together with mindfulness always encouraging the assembled to relax and control movement first.

I had a chance to observe all the action.  I was also aware of the many great names embroidered or silk screened onto everyones gear.  It was impressive to see names like: Prime Athletics Corp., Ravenous, Need2Bleed, Silver Star, Naga Fight Gear, Warrior International, Hyabusa, Brazilian Fightwear, Sprawl, and Hoodlum Fight Gear.

We at WesternMassMMA.com would like to thank ATA of South Deerfield, MA  for the use of the school's space and equipment, Gabriel "Gladiator" Santos for the excellent and informative instruction, Jeremy Reipold and Todd Selva for hosting the event, and as always we thank you the growing numbers of MMA enthusiasts for allowing us to Bring You Closer To The Cage.

Joe Leonard is a contributing author of WesternMassMMA.com and student of Team Ravenous MMA at ATA in South Deerfield, MA.  As always we welcome your comments, criticism, ideas, and suggestions.  Please feel free to leave your remarks below by using the "Comments" Radio Button.