| NEWS- Fall 2004 (The following is a rescent e-mail from the SIUMAC President to all of our club members) We have the most awesome mixed martial arts training opportunity that there has ever been in this area, coming this Thanksgiving weekend! The Realistic Martial Arts Training Association (RMATA) is hosting a 2 day training camp with 5 instructors. I want you to understand that a big reason that this camp is going on is here in Carbondale is to bring this type of great training and instruction to you guys. I know you dont have the time or the money to travel around to train with different martial arts experts, so they are coming here! We have people coming from all over the country for this and space is filling up quick. The amazing thing about this is the price... all of the instructors are doing this for free because they support the ideas that drive the RMATA. Everyone that attends the camp will just chip in $60 to help pay for their travel expences. That is a crazy cheap deal, and camps like this with such a high level of instructors normally cost around $500. Anyway, read more about it and reserve your spot ASAP at; http://www.rmata.com/skillscamp2004.html While your at the RMATA site be sure and check it all out and read the philosophy section at least. Since you are in the SIUC Martial Arts Club, you are also in the RMATA, so check it out! We have a few newsletters out that will guide you through a lot of our happenings there. This semester I can only make it to class on Fridays from 5 to 7, and on the rare Monday. However the club is still going on Mon and Wed from 3 to 5 and is being run very well by Shinji on those days. You will get a great workout with lots of hands on realistic training in all ranges of combat no matter which days you can name it. Unlike each semester for about the last 5 years, we wont be having a submission grappling tournament this semester. I am very busy working on my masters degree and I just dont have the time to commit to it this semester. However if anyone would like to drive to Chicago there is a nice NAGA (North American Grappling Association) tournament on November 6th and 7th. For more details go here; http://www.nagafighter.com/ Another bit of news is a reminder that you will be getting a free RMATA shirt, patch, and static cling sticker this semester as soon as you pay your club does. As you know we dont wear a uniform to class, as we are more concerned with actual fighting skills instead of stuff like uniforms, katas, rank, etc. However to add a little bit of a more professional look to our club we ask that you either wear a RMATA shirt, an SIUMAC shirt, or a plain black shirt if you dont have either of those (you'll get your RMATA shirt as soon as you pay your $50 club dues for the semester). Feel free to use the patch however you'd like. It looks great sewn on some grappling shorts, a GI, or a gym bag. Also, if you can afford it you should not only have a groin cup and a mouthpiece for sparring on Fridays, but thick elbow and knee pads will greatly enhance your sparring experience. They add a lot of realism to the sparring since they let you actually stike your training partners with knees and elbows without injuring them. Wal-Mart has some nice black ones for about $8 per set. Also, if you dont have a over-under mouthpiece with a hole in the middle yet a good place is Hibbits sports store in the Carbondale mall for $5. We have a forum on the RMATA website, so feel free to use it to communicate with other club members and other RMATA members all over the world. Thanks for your time and I'll see you in class! Vincent Fields SIUC Martial Arts Club President www.go.to/siumac Realistic Martial Arts Training Association President www.rmata.com |