CheckMat – The Cellar Gym | Roseville, MN | 612-355-2259

Summer 2024 Belt Promotions

Jess Prewett — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 22:32:45 +0000

We held our Summer 2024 BJJ belt promotions on Saturday, July 13th. In addition to celebrating a number of new blue, purple, and brown belts, we were absolutely thrilled to announce the achievement of 4 new black belts at The Cellar Gym and Checkmat Twin Cities: Gao Vang, Ryan Dickey, Nate Maus, and Robbie Eisenrich!

These four remarkable individuals have not only dedicated themselves on and off the mats but have embodied the essence of a black belt. Their perseverance, loyalty, coaching, and teamwork have played a pivotal role in shaping our team and will undoubtedly further strengthen it in the future.

We thank all of our BJJ students and friends for showing up to support our team at belt promotions. Congratulations to everyone on the new belts and stripes!

December 2023 BJJ Belt Promotions

Jess Prewett — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 18:33:41 +0000

The Cellar Gym held our year-end BJJ belt promotions on Saturday, December 16. We had a wonderful turnout for both our youth and adult promotions, and we celebrated many new belts and stripes!

Charlie Keith was promoted to Brown belt.
Hykeem Green was promoted to Purple belt.
Nick Guernsey was promoted to Purple belt.
Ben Postman was promoted to Blue belt.
Greg Byers was promoted to Blue belt.

A huge congratulations to everyone on a well-deserved promotion!

Cellar BJJ Athletes Compete at IBJJF World Masters & Jiu Jitsu Con

Jess Prewett — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 16:33:17 +0000

A group of our BJJ competitors — Kenzie Swartz, Tara Mitchell, and Ben Otanez, along with Professor Dave Margraf — traveled to Las Vegas to compete as part of the IBJJF World Master Championships and accompanying event Jiu Jitsu Con on August 31. Each of our competitors trained hard in the weeks leading up to the event, and all put on a skilled performance in their matches.

Ben did an excellent job listening during his match and displayed beautiful technique; unfortunately, he got caught in an armbar and lost his match. Despite an unwanted result, he fought hard and made his entire team proud. Tara had a tough first match against a seasoned opponent, but did an excellent job staying calm and focused for the entire match. She lost to points but kept fighting until the end. Despite constant submission attempts and great escapes from bad positions, Kenzie lost her first match to points against an outstanding competitor.

Although our team did not bring any medals home, we are super proud of their performances and the commitment shown in their training these past few months. Good job, team!

Summer 2023 BJJ Belt Promotions

Jess Prewett — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 16:05:27 +0000

The Cellar Gym’s BJJ team held our bi-annual belt promotions for youth and adult students this past Saturday, July 8. Between the youth and adult programs, we had nearly 100 students and guests in attendance!

Special congratulations goes to our newest black belt, Rob Schmidt! Rob has developed amazing jiu-jitsu during his years with us, and he is an incredible asset to our team (and a great guy all around). Well-deserved; congrats Rob!

Our adult belt promotions:

Black Belt: Rob Schmidt
Brown Belt: Scott Peltier
Purple Belts: Michael Johnson, Tim Loutchko, Jordan Strane
Blue Belts: Tara Mitchell, Liam Strong, Grmawi Melake, Eric Klovning, Micah Watkins, Tom Lazorik, Logan Sahlen

Congratulations to our BJJ athletes on the new belts and stripes! A big thank you to everyone who attended to support our team.

Pam Sorenson and Ben Locken Promoted to Black Belt

Jess Prewett — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 19:56:18 +0000

We are so excited to announce The Cellar Gym’s newest black belts: Pam Sorenson and Ben Locken! Checkmat black belt Dave Margraf awarded Pam and Ben their black belts in a very special ceremony last Friday, March 11 attended by Cellar BJJ students and friends. Both Pam and Ben have probably logged more hours on our different mats than anyone else in the gym, and this promotion is very well deserved!

Pam Sorenson joined the Cellar Gym in 2012 and quickly fell in love with combat sports, first competing in BJJ and then MMA, kickboxing, and Muay Thai. Pam currently holds a 9-4 professional MMA record, and her recent accomplishments include winning the Invicta FC featherweight belt before signing with Bellator MMA. Pam is an incredible athlete, an amazing training partner, and one of the hardest workers you’ll find both on the mats and outside the gym. Congratulations, Pam!

Coach Ben Locken says he truly found his calling when he began his martial arts journey. He came to the Cellar in 2015 with some impressive combat sports experience already under his belt, in addition to his knowledge as a personal trainer and fitness professional. Coach Ben is renowned for his tremendous expertise in training martial artists and combat athletes to reach their full potential, earning him the nickname of “The Mad Scientist”. Ben also earned his Muay Thai Kru under Grand Master Chai in 2017 and has over 20 combined fights in MMA, kickboxing, and Muay Thai. We are very fortunate to have Coach Ben in our Cellar family — congratulations on this latest and greatest achievement in your journey!

December 2021 BJJ Belt Promotions at The Cellar Gym

Jess Prewett — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 19:01:01 +0000

The Cellar Gym held our year-end BJJ belt promotions last Saturday, December 18! This was our first major Checkmat Minneapolis belt promotion event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was truly wonderful to see so many of our Cellar family, both new and longtime students, all together on the mats.

We were absolutely thrilled to see many of our hardworking students receive blue, purple, and brown belts! Jonathan and Alberto were promoted to blue belt. Andre, Dave, Johann, Emilie, and Francisco received their purple belts. Gao, Rob, Robbie, Ryan, and Nate were awarded their brown belts.

Congratulations to all of our new BJJ blue belts, purple belts, and brown belts! The determination and perseverance of our students over the last two years has been simply remarkable. We thank everyone for their tireless hard work and dedication, and we are honored to have our new brown belts as leaders at The Cellar Gym!

The Cellar Gym Competes at Fuji BJJ Tournament

Jess Prewett — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 16:06:00 +0000

The Cellar Gym/Checkmat Minneapolis BJJ team brought 14 jiu-jitsu competitors to the Fuji BJJ Wisconsin State Championships in Stoughton, WI on December 4. Our team was able to display the hard work they have been putting into their training, with a majority of them competing for the first time!

Overall, the Cellar brought home 3 gold, 4 Silver, and 6 bronze medals! We are proud of all of you, and look forward to more BJJ competitions in 2022!

October BJJ Belt Promotions at the Cellar Gym

Jess Prewett — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 19:25:00 +0000

Last week, we were very excited to promote two of our Brazilian jiu-jitsu students! Kai received her purple belt and Jose received his brown belt from Professor Dave Margraf.

Kai is a hard worker, a great teammate, and is always willing to learn. Jose and his family are longtime Cellar members, and we have truly enjoyed seeing each of them progress in martial arts through the years. Great work, Kai and Jose – we are honored to have them training with us!

Rob Klink Becomes Newest BJJ Black Belt

admin — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 16:59:42 +0000

Rob Klink started his Brazlian Jiu Jitsu journey at The Cellar Gym back in 2008, today he was promoted to BJJ and Checkmat Black Belt! Although he moves around a lot, and now spends his summers in Alaska as a fishing guide, The Cellar Gym has always remained his home. He earned his blue, purple, brown and now Black Belt all at The Cellar Gym and he trained at 3 of our 4 locations over the years!!!

Congratulations to Professor Rob Klink and all of the students who were were promoted in belt rank tonight under Checkmat Professors: Mauricio Carra, Dave Margraf, and Lemmy Sturua!

Kenn Glenn Wins BJJ Superfight

admin — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 20:04:02 +0000

BJJ Brown Belt and Youth BJJ Coach, Kenn Glenn won his Superfight today at the Fulton Brew-Jitsu event promoted in coordination with Fuji Mats! Kenn won the match on points, 9-0 after getting 3x guard passes. Congratulations Kenn!