Awesome job!!

A BIG Congratulations to Hooi Ling Soh, Silver Medalist at IBJJF Worlds Masters!!!!

The Cellar Fight Team goes 4-0 on the weekend (Pam ‘Bam’ Sorenson won the Invicta Title on Friday)!!!

Before she started martial arts, she’d been an athlete her whole life, playing soccer and volleyball as a youth and excelling in cross-country running and skiing in high school. In college, however, she had fewer opportunities to participate in sports, and she stopped competing entirely.

Realizing that she was feeling unfulfilled and out of shape, Pam decided to try kickboxing as a fun and positive way to take control of her fitness. After reaching out to a few local gyms and failing to find the right fit, she called The Cellar Gym and scheduled an intro lesson with the head coach, Chris, the very next day. She immediately loved the energy of the gym, and she knew right away that the Cellar was the right place for her.

Feeling determined, Pam committed to one full year at the Cellar and quickly reached her fitness goals. When the gym brought in a new Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt instructor, Pam started training in BJJ and adding more skills to her arsenal. The new instructor loved to compete, and Pam felt inspired to start registering for local BJJ tournaments.

Pam realized how much she missed the competitive spirit she’d had during her high school athlete days. In 2013, she decided to take the next leap and told Coach Chris that she wanted to take an MMA fight. Over the next two years, Pam had a successful amateur career, also competing in Muay Thai and kickboxing.

Pam made her professional MMA debut in late 2015. Since then, she has made her way to the top of Invicta FC, North America’s largest women’s-only MMA promotion. Pam says that in addition to competing against some of the best female fighters in the world, she wants to inspire girls and show them that they don’t have to fit the normal gender stereotypes. “You don’t have to be super girly,” Pam says. “It’s okay to be tough. It’s okay to be able to fight. And you don’t have to be a size zero to do it.”

Although it’s common for successful professional fighters to move to a bigger gym, Pam says she has no intention of ever leaving the Cellar. She’s gained a tight-knit community of supportive friends and dedicated athletes, and she says they help her stay on track. “We all help build each other up,” she says. “I’ve made a lot of really great friends and they’ve helped me stay with my journey to not only be healthy but be a good competitor.”

During training, you’ll see the older, bigger kids often smiling and guiding the younger ones through positions, or even letting the little ones gain dominant positions for practice. It’s part of the learning process and also a function of the community ethos that arises out of martial arts.

“Eli knew he didn’t need to go full force,” said his father Grant Feyen. “He noticed it right away because he’s very aware of his level and how hard he has to go with someone, or if he’s hurting someone of not.

This type of awareness is one of the things Grant has seen develop in his son since they first became members at the Cellar gym in 2016. Eli was four years old at the time. When The Cellar Gym added a Youth Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program, Eli was one of the first to join. The Cellar offers a youth unlimited membership, which means kids can train in both striking and grappling classes, instead of having to pay for both programs.

There are several other things Grant has noticed in the three years since his sons, Eli and now his younger brother Trent, have been training at the Cellar.

“He has so much more confidence, his body awareness is much better,” Grant said. “His physical abilities carry over into other sports and onto the playground too.”

“And now when I look at him,” he added, laughing. “He’s got these muscles!”

The Cellar Gym’s youth program offers classes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai kickboxing. The BJJ classes are taught by BJJ Black Belt Mauricio Carra and BJJ brown belt Kenn Glenn. The Muay Thai classes are lead by Katie Locken and Chris Cichon

Eli has been focusing on BJJ for the past few weeks, in preparation for a tournament coming up, but he also trains Muay Thai. Grant said he’d let Eli take a break after the tournament, then see what he wants to do, Muay Thai or BJJ.

“I’m glad they’ve got both,” Grant said. “The kids like to have a choice from time to time, so they don’t get bored. Eli usually picks one and sticks with it for a while, and then switches back.”

Grant’s younger son, Trent, has already started BJJ and will most likely get into Muay Thai as time goes on. The family – Grant, his wife Emily and their two sons – have been mainstays of the gym for three years and they don’t have plans to leave anytime soon. The gym is close to their home, it’s affordable to have the boys in the class, and the community has become a part of their lives. But they are doing this for the kids, and seeing the boys progress and become more confident is really the biggest incentive.

“Eli is one of the smallest kids out there,” his father said. “But he doesn’t get bullied. It’s not his size, it’s his confidence. You can feel it and I’ve seen it grow here at the gym. He also doesn’t bully or brag about BJJ ever, at least not that I know of. In fact, his teachers constantly tell us he’s a conflict resolver, and that he has this really good sense of fairness and justice.”

“I chalk a lot of that up to the martial arts, and training here with a bunch of other kids – boys and girls of all age groups – and the role models he sees here. Especially at this point in time, it’s really important for him to see positive male role models and positive masculinity.”

For more information about the Cellar’s children’s programs, contact Katie at The Cellar Gym or visit the website.

It was easy for Kenny to ignore his creeping weight gain at first. He saw himself in the mirror every day and didn’t notice any dramatic changes, and he was so focused on other areas of his life. But he found it harder and harder to focus at work, and his coworkers were starting to notice the changes to his body. When he struggled to run a 5K with his girlfriend, he finally realized how out of shape he’d gotten.

One day, Kenny came across some old pictures of himself and felt shocked at how different he looked in more recent photos — his face had become rounder, and his large shirts had gotten too tight on him. He finally decided it was time to get back in shape, so he bought some weight lifting equipment off Craigslist to set up a gym in his garage. But when it got cold a few weeks later, he started searching for a local gym and discovered The Cellar Gym right down the street.

Kenny signed up for a trial week and immediately knew that the Cellar’s Muay Thai program would be a good fit for him. As a child, he used to watch his cousins spar in taekwondo and always wished he could learn too, and now, here was his chance to learn martial arts and self-defense while getting back in shape too. At the end of his trial week, Kenny was already starting to see and feel the results of his hard work!

To get the most out of his new training program, Kenny made some changes to his lifestyle. He tightened up his diet, with advice from his new teammates, and shifted his work schedule so that he could train at least an hour every evening. The Cellar’s coaches pushed him in every class, encouraging him to keep going even when he got tired and felt like quitting, and his new friends helped keep him accountable.

With his weight steadily trending downwards, Kenny started focusing heavily on his Muay Thai technique. He always felt excited to go train at the Cellar after work and further his knowledge. After he reached his weight loss goal, he felt driven to create new goals and keep getting better every day. Now, Kenny is a blue rank in Muay Thai and is always improving his skills on the mats.

Kenny’s physical transformation changed his life immensely, but he’s also seen the benefit in countless subtle ways. He finds it easier to focus at work and no longer struggles with distracting thoughts and brain fog. With a clearer mind and a healthier body, his relationships at home and at work are stronger. He’s learned how to set goals for himself and follow through with plans. And he’s in the best shape of his life!

“Training at the Cellar not only transformed my body physically and improved my martial arts skills, but I’ve noticed it’s also helped me mentally.” Kenny explains, “I’ve had issues in the past where I have brain fog and it’s hard for me to stay on task and I’ll get distracted easily… The biggest thing for me is overall mental focus and being able to think things through. It just changed my life for the better.”

In 2010, Sean attended the South Africa World Cup with his friends. While out at a restaurant, Sean and five of his friends were attacked by a crowd of an opposing team’s fans. Sean ended up in the hospital for six days with a broken nose, a fractured eye socket, and a titanium plate in his skull. The pain wasn’t the worst part for Sean. The worst part was how angry and vulnerable he felt at his inability to protect himself, even though there was no possible way he could have ever fought off so many people.

Sean returned to the United States in 2011 and decided that he would never anything like that happen to him again. He sought martial arts instruction from a family friend and started to develop his striking with traditional styles like karate and Tang Soo Do. A few years later, Sean sought a more comprehensive martial arts training and walked into The Cellar Gym with the intent of learning a kickboxing style similar to the fights he used to watch on TV. Instead, he fell in love with Muay Thai and quickly became a force to be reckoned with.

One day in sparring, Sean hit his partner with a perfectly timed kick to the body. Although he’d certainly never intended to hurt his friend, he suddenly realized that he had developed enough skill to defend himself against an attacker if he had to. “It felt good knowing that I was capable of that because I’ve always been a little bit doubtful of my abilities. So having that confirmation felt good,” Sean says.

Sean says he’s thinking about competing, especially with the encouragement from his coaches. But for him, Muay Thai is about building confidence. He is always working on being a better version of himself than he was the day before, and his biggest focus is on improving his mental game. Training at the Cellar has taught him work ethic and improved his relationships, his work life, and his fitness level. Although he hopes to fight someday, the greatest benefit he’s gained at the Cellar is the ability to defend himself, and an invaluable peace of mind.

What is your reason for starting martial arts? We would love to hear your story!! (Like seriously, we love hearing our member’s stories!  If you’d like to share, shoot us a message)!

1. Stay focused
A distracted partner can lead to an unproductive hour of training. Take care to stay focused on drills and minimize casual conversation. Train with enthusiasm and purpose, and always show up to class with a good attitude!

2. Respect your coach
The coaches at the Cellar are some of the best in their sports! They are highly trained in both martial arts and in instructing. Follow your coach’s directions, and never talk while your coach is talking. Also, remember that both you and your partner are here to learn from them. Offer advice when asked, but otherwise keep your mind on your training instead of giving your partner unsolicited pointers.

3. Practice good hygiene
Many martial arts are close contact sports – when you drill or spar, you’ll be in close proximity with your training partners. Take care to maintain good hygiene such as showering daily and after each training session, cleaning your gear after each class, and keeping your fingernails and toenails neatly trimmed. If you’re taking more than one class, change into a fresh shirt before the next one. Wear a clean, dry gi for every BJJ class.

4. Exercise control
The gym is meant to be a safe environment where everyone has the opportunity to learn and grow regardless of their size. It is important to recognize your size, weight, and strength when training with partners. Always show control during drilling and sparring – skill is developed when technique is executed instead of force. Training is a chance to better yourself, not to defeat your partner. Take care of each other!

5. Check your ego
There’s an old saying: “If you are the best person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.” Be humble and willing to learn from all of your training partners. Develop a healthy relationship with tapping – a tap is a lesson learned, not a defeat. Appreciate when your partner has gained an advantage, regardless of their size, gender, or experience level. If your partner lands a clean strike, acknowledge it and move on instead of getting upset or escalating your power.

6. Give your partner a “real feel”
Drilling with a partner is essential to improving because it simulates live situations. Much of Muay Thai training is reliant on glove drills and hitting pads, so it’s important to learn how to hold Thai pads and focus mitts correctly. Improper holding can lead to injury for both you and your partner, but learning how to be a great pad holder will strengthen your footwork, timing, and ability to recognize strikes as they’re coming. When your partner is practicing a grappling technique, don’t be a “limp noodle” – give them a small amount of resistance. This allows your partner to get a sense of how to move when they use the technique in sparring, and it also helps you develop your defensive awareness.

Try a class at the Cellar Gym!