By Jordan Burton
BEAUMONT, TX, January 30, 2012 – On January 23 through 28 2012, I visited the state of Utah to train at one of the best kept secrets in the USA … The University of Grappling. Before I get to the training experience, let me give a synopsis of what brought me to Utah.
Background Info
I met up with Marc at a local Jiu-Jitsu club and we began to train. He showed me some techniques … we drilled. Then, we rolled. This repeated the next day and I was very impressed with Marc … a “no-name” purple belt who gave me an escape series and couple days of great rolling.
I cultivated my relationships with Stacey Kay and Brewer; also, I began communicating over the internet with their coach Ricky Lundell, a 2-time FILA World Grappling Champion and the current grappling coach of the UFC’s Frank Mir and Joe Lauzon.
It was in August 2011, after winning the 2011 F2W Europa, Ricky Lundell watched my final match. I had won the match 10-0; but, I wanted some feedback. To my pleasant surprise, I received a DETAILED list of 10 things I could do better! The criticism was constructive and not so complimentary. But, I felt it was honest and just what an inspiring grappler should hear of his developing game.
Fast forward to December of 2011 and Ricky gave me a week that he’d be home. He would be coming off a 2-week out of state training period after spending a week preparing Joe Lauzon for his upcoming fight with Anthony Pettis and a week training / wrestling with Cael Sanderson (2004 Freestyle Wrestling Olympic Gold Medallist), coach of the Penn State University Wrestling Team (2011 NCAA D-1 National Champions).
I was excited and ready to train & learn!
Training with Ricky Lundell at The University of Grappling
What ensued was a class where Ricky taught the ins-outs and set-ups of the Cross Shot Double leg. What I noticed immediately about Ricky’s teaching style is that it was compact!
He is able to convey the pertinent details to his students efficiently.
After the class instruction and technical drills. I rolled my first 30-minutes (straight) with Ricky. His grappling style was something of a hybrid of Collegiate Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu … more so favoring the basis of wrestling – ala his wrestling coach Cael Sanderson. His foot work on the feet is balanced & fluid complemented with high level takedowns. On the mat, Ricky’s style/game puts and emphasis on positional control and dominance. I found myself tapping to cradles, wrestling pins, and leg laces that I’m not used to and some instances have never seen. In that one training experience, I realized why he is so in-demand with the UFC Elite!
As the week progressed, I felt myself getting better with my comfort on the feet, in the clinch, and with takedowns. In fact, in some live-sessions, all we did was work pummeling and wrestling ties without any ground work at all. It was very beneficial. Also, I found Ricky to be generous with his time, answering any & every question I had, and would also go over techniques after class with me. He even filmed technique for me to take home and work on.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at The University of Grappling in Lindon, Utah.
The gym atmosphere was energetic and hip with the latest pop music playing; It was always clean, warm in the mat room (80 degrees), with gad some amazing, soft wrestling mats! I was so impressed with my experience that I wanted to literally share this experience with the Texas MMA/Grappling Communities for the future.
Ricky Lundell Seminar in Texas?
To book a seminar, contact Ricky Lundell via Facebook or contact The University of Grappling at (801) 358-8962.
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