At the end of year grading I had the pleasure of crowning our first MMA black belts. After a grading that went for several weeks and included taking classes, sparring, street wise self defence and demonstrating a sound knowledge of all the elements of MMA ranging from striking, clinch fighting, wrestling, ground work and more importantly how to blend it all together. I was elated to award Luke Farnsworth and Robert Sabaruddin with their Black Belts.

Luke, forever the fitness fanatic, has been training in various styles since the early eighties and brings a vast array of knowledge and experience to our mat. A top competitor in his day, Luke has won and placed in many Jiu-Jitsu competitions and fought in sports Ju-Jitsu. Luke can be found on our mat regularly as both student and instructor and after many years of training still shows great enthusiasm and has a never ending thirst for self improvement.  

Rob, the young gun, is a fierce competitor and always a force to be reckoned with. His natural athleticism and extreme work rate are simply amazing. Over the last few years he has stacked up a very impressive resume, including, amateur and pro MMA fights, state and national Pankration titles, national BJJ gi and no gi titles and winning nearly all his BJJ matches in the last two years via submission. A stunning performance from a highly skilled athlete, Rob is truly inspirational.

Well done guys, we might not where our MMA belts on the mat but rest assured you are both extremely worthy recipients of the great honour that is the Black Belt.