07/09/2023
We have a new, expanded class schedule starting Monday, July 10, with a total of 18 classes weekly.
We are using the summer to put together the best possible schedule, and would be grateful for any input you care to share. If there are any classes or times you would like, please let us know.
We are also adding new equipment including a four-industrial fan set up to beat up the heat, seven new heavy bags, 30 new jump ropes, a lighter Battle Rope, and lots more. If there is any equipment you are interested in, again, please let us know in a reply.
Cheers,
Kirik
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Adult (ages 15+) Class Schedule
Monday (Grappling/no-gi jiu-jitsu)
6-7 PM Fundamentals: Grappling, with Kirik
7-8 PM Marathon Monday
8-9 PM Marathon Monday
Tuesday (MMA)
6-7 PM Fundamentals: MMA, with Kirik
7-8 PM Instruction & Drilling: MMA, with Kirik
8-9 PM Open Mat Lab: MMA, with Kirik
Wednesday (Grappling)
6-7 PM Fundamentals: Grappling (wrestling and jiu-jitsu), with Josh
7-8 PM Instruction & Drilling: Grappling (wrestling and jiu-jitsu), with Josh
8-9 PM Open Mat Lab: Grappling (wrestling and jiu-jitsu), with Josh
Thursday (Kickboxing)
6-7 PM Fundamentals: Striking, with Kirik
7-8 PM Instruction & Drilling: Striking, with Kirik
8-9 PM Open Mat Lab: Striking, with Kirik
Friday (Grappling)
6-7 PM Fundamentals: Grappling (jiu-jitsu and wrestling), with Charles
7-8 PM Instruction & Drilling: Grappling (jiu-jitsu and wrestling), with Charles
8-9 PM Open Mat Lab: Grappling (jiu-jitsu and wrestling), with Charles
Saturday (MMA, kickboxing, and grappling)
10-11 AM Kickboxing, with Emmanuel
1-3 PM Open Mat Lab: MMA, kickboxing, and grappling
Sunday
The human body only improves as you rest, so rest already 🙂
NESF offers adults a total of 18 classes per week. You can sign up for one, two, or even three of the classes in a day. Just please be aware, each class is about an hour long, and three hours is an extreme amount of training. If you start a class, please make an effort to complete the hour, as many drills require partners, and it can be challenging if the number of class participants changes. Likewise, please make an effort to be on time.
Adult (ages 15+) Class Descriptions
Every weekday, we offer three classes for adults:
6-7 Fundamentals
7-8 Instruction & Drilling
8-9 Open Mat Lab
Fundamentals
This is an instructional class, the first half of which is typically focused on learning the most basic techniques. This is great for someone just starting out, but no one should forget, fundamentals win fights, so everyone can benefit. The second half of the class typically imparts techniques of a higher level; these are generally accessible to beginners, although with a less complete comprehension level.
Instruction & Drilling
In this class, techniques, tactics, and strategies are introduced and refined through a wide variety of drills. In order to become a skilled mixed martial artist, you have to know how to fight (offense, defense, and transitions) in four ways: while standing and separated; while standing and clinched together; against a wall while standing and on the ground; and on the ground while on top and bottom. During the week at various points, all four are addressed. Further, as the iconic catch-as-catch-can wrestler Karl Gotch famously explained, “the greatest hold is conditioning” so S&C too is developed. You can try this class with no experience, but may feel overwhelmed initially, to varying extents.
Open Mat Lab
As the name suggests, during an “open” mat, you can focus on whatever you think will most improve your ability. It could be hitting the bag or doing pushups, but more typically, participants engage in free sparring. Termed “rolling” in jiu-jitsu, “sparring” in boxing, and “randori” in judo, this was one of the central pillars of judo codified by founder Jigoro Kano. Practitioners engage in unscripted, dynamic, and live-action scenarios, against active resistance, in a controlled and supervised environment. This can take the form of working for a takedown and a pin (wrestling), staying grounded and looking for a submission (jiu-jitsu), trying to land clean but controlled strikes from standing (kickboxing), takedowns with strikes (Sanda), or all the above (MMA). Further, subsets of a fight can be practiced, like takedowns on a wall, or standing up from the bottom. The level of intensity and contact can vary significantly, from technical sparring (no significant contact, in an exchange that’s a little like dancing) to up to 80% of full power. The level must be decided mutually by both participants beforehand. Sparring is a crucial component in developing practical skills and promoting mental and emotional resilience. It is generally recommended to get a solid foundation in the basics, before attempting an open mat.
While the three class formats (fundamentals, instruction, open mat) are the same each day, the focus changes. Although NESF is a mixed martial arts facility, counter-intuitively, if MMA is practiced every day, progress is not efficient. For example, if you are always training with strikes, there is no space to relax and refine your submission ability. If there are always takedowns, there is no space to refine striking ability. So classes at NESF are separated into kickboxing, grappling, and MMA. Each of these is defined immediately below.
Kickboxing
These classes focus on striking while standing, both from the outside (fighters are separated) and the inside (fighters are holding each other, in what is referred to as the Clinch). Kickboxing is an international sport with fairly well-defined rules and traditions, as is muay Thai. While this class draws techniques from both, as well as from Western boxing, karate, and sanda, the focus here is on the standup striking aspect of MMA. This means there are subtle differences in stance, defense, footwork, etc that are ideal for a mixed rules circumstance, but not ideal for the more limited rules sets in kickboxing and muay Thai. The term kickboxing is used here due to public familiarity with it, but this is not a class to prepare you for a kickboxing bout. Rather, as noted, it prepares you for the standing and striking aspect of MMA, but without the distraction of takedowns, fighting on the ground, etc. Kickboxing classes are ideal for many people to start with, due to the limited physical contact; close contact is necessary for grappling and can be off-putting for some.
Grappling
Mixed martial arts was born from Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but for many, many years, wrestling has been the most important single discipline in MMA. This is because wrestling allows the practitioner to determine where the fight takes place – on the ground, standing, or against the fence. However, without striking and above all without jiu-jitsu, wrestling doesn’t do much. So it is vital for jiu-jitsu to include wrestling, as it is vital for wrestling to include jiu-jitsu. Therefore, both of our grappling coaches have decades of wrestling experience, and weave the two together seamlessly. No gi jiu-jitsu, or “grappling” is an excellent transitionary step to becoming a full MMA fighter, and is an amazing sport in its own right. Therefore much of the grappling class does not assume that the opponent is trying to strike throughout, but rather often separates out that aspect, allowing the student to more efficiently develop their grappling ability.
MMA
These are the classes where everything comes together. Be forewarned, it’s not easy, or simple. Participating in MMA requires a broad skill set, including takedowns and their defense, cage control, controlling an opponent on the ground from top and bottom, submitting an opponent and escaping from all common subs, plus striking and defending against same. Further, all the offensive skills are worse than worthless without setups. It’s a lot. And the skills have to be pressure tested, which is a lot more still. Training in full-on MMA on a daily basis would be a terrible grind, without a lot of juice for the squeeze. But at the same time, if you want to be a fighter, it is an indispensable part of your training.
