| Matt Thornton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Team | Straight Blast Gym |
| Rank | 5th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Chris Haueter |
| Occupation | Martial arts coach |
| Matt Thornton | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Team | Straight Blast Gym |
| Rank | 5th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Chris Haueter |
| Occupation | Martial arts coach |
After growing up in the San Francisco bay area of California, Matt joined the U.S. Army where he began his involvement with martial arts as a boxer. In 1988 after leaving the military he returned to the USA and began training in Jeet Kune Do (JKD).
It was in this period that he first began to question aspects of traditional martial arts training methods, and began to formulate his concepts. In 1991 he attended a training session with renowned Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor Rickson Gracie. He has recounted this as a breakthrough experience: "I watched Rickson wrestle a room of Judo black belts. He tapped them all out within seconds, without using his hands, and I knew this is for me!"
This began an intensive immersion in BJJ, which included training under Rickson, from whom he received his blue belt in 1992, and later training under Chris Haueter, who subsequently awarded him purple, brown and black belts in BJJ. [1]
Matt founded the first Straight Blast Gym in Salem, Oregon in 1992, in an effort to create a gym that allowed athletes to train with aliveness. This was the key organizing concept that Thornton created to tie together the various innovations that he had been developing. It included the elimination of the focus on static forms, known in Japanese martial arts as kata , that typified most martial arts training in the United States and much of the world at that time. In 1994 a larger gym in Portland, Oregon was opened, and remains the headquarters for the Straight Blast Gym international association. [2]
Thornton's emphasis on training against resisting opponents, cross training in several martial arts, and inclusion of boxing and wrestling as part of the training were unique for martial arts schools at the time, most of which were focused on Asian fighting systems which emphasized forms and repetitive drills as the methods to gain skills.
The timing of the beginnings of the Straight Blast Gym coincided with the first widely popularized mixed martial arts competitions, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which had its first televised match, UFC 1, in November 1993. The domination of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter Royce Gracie simultaneously raised interest in Jiu Jitsu and created the first wave of athletes looking to train effectively for this type of competition. Thornton's training methods seemed better suited to the intense competition of this new MMA arena than highly constrained rules used in martial arts such as Tae Kwon Do, or those which had little or no full force sparring, such as most forms of Kung Fu being practiced at the time.
As a result Thornton was able to attract a few dedicated mixed martial arts competitors, including Randy Couture to the gym, and this led to synergistic improvements in the training methods used. Couture went on to become a six-time UFC champion and won the UFC 13 tournament. Now retired, he continues to reference his training under Thornton at Straight Blast Gym as helpful in his growth as a fighter. [3] Other notable MMA fighters trained by SBG include John Kavanagh*, [4] former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin, and Rory Singer, [5] a professional fighter and contestant on the popular reality TV show "The Ultimate Fighter".
SBG is also well known for questioning many other traditions in martial arts training, including the use of Japanese, Chinese and Korean terminology (in English speaking countries), the use of Asian honorifics for teachers, such as Sifu, and the tradition of progression through the ranks via formalized testing. [6] Many norms associated with the Western style of teaching, such as addressing teachers as "coach" were substituted.
Recently Thornton has been applying many of his ideas to the discipline of philosophy, where he champions skepticism, rationality, and the scientific method and opposes faith based belief systems and mysticism. [7] He has guest lectured in philosophy classes on these topics at Portland State University and other venues.[ citation needed ] When not travelling to his various affiliates internationally, Thornton coaches at his Portland, Oregon academy. In 2019 Matt released his "Mastering the Mount" Instructional. His first new instructional in 15 years. [8]
As Thornton's renown grew he became a well-known figure in martial arts world and was frequently featured in martial arts magazines championing 'aliveness'. [9] [10] [11] [12] and other concepts of his training methods. His training expanded from his own gym in Oregon into over 400 training seminars at martial arts training facilities worldwide. Beginning in 1998 Matt's seminars were made available as commercial video tapes, which further spread his ideas and reputation in the martial arts community. [13]
The popularity of his methods and philosophy led to the formation of several affiliated gyms beginning in the late 1990s. In 2001 this was formalized as the Straight Blast Gym International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Association. [14] As of 2012 the Straight Blast Gym international organization includes over 35 gyms worldwide including locations in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Iceland, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and the UK. SBG is affiliated as a registered academy through the IBJJF and USBJJF. [15]
Kanō Jigorō → Tomita Tsunejirō → Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Hélio Gracie → Rolls Gracie & Carlos "Carlinhos" Gracie Jr → Rigan Machado → Chris Haueter → Matt Thornton
Vale Tudo or vale-tudo, also known as No Holds Barred (NHB) in the United States, is an unarmed, full-contact combat sport with relatively few rules. It became popular in Brazil during the 20th century and would eventually evolve into modern mixed martial arts (MMA). For years, "Vale Tudo" was used as a synonym for MMA in Brazil, but the term fell into disuse due to the emergence of stricter rules and the influence of the media to have a more "civilized" name. It is now used to refer to an early, more rules-free stage of the modern sport.
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist. Gracie gained fame for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a member of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family, a UFC Hall of Famer, and is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA). He also competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1's MMA events, and Bellator.
Renzo Gracie is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and 7th degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A third generation member of the Gracie family, he is the grandson of Gracie jiu-jitsu co-founder Carlos Gracie, grandnephew of Helio Gracie, nephew of Carlos Gracie Jr. and the son of Robson Gracie.
Rickson Gracie is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the third oldest son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Gracie, and half-brother to Rolker, Royce, Robin and Royler Gracie. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was widely considered to be the best fighter of the Gracie clan, and one of the toughest in the world. In July 2017, he was promoted to ninth-degree red belt, the second-highest ranking in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Carlos Machado is a former world master's champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is the eldest of the five Machado Brothers, known for BJJ, that also includes Roger, Rigan, Jean Jacques and John. He is also the brother-in-law of UFC fighter Stephen Thompson. He currently runs BJJ schools across the United States, Australia, Canada and Mexico.
Marco Antônio de Lima Ruas is a Brazilian former mixed martial arts fighter, submission wrestler, kickboxer and instructor. Ruas was the UFC 7 Tournament Champion, and also competed for the World Vale Tudo Championship (WVC), PRIDE Fighting Championships and the International Fight League, where he head-coached the Southern California Condors.
Brazilian Top Team (BTT) is an academy and team specialized in Brazilian jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts. It was established in April 2000 by Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Libório, Mário Sperry and Luis Roberto Duarte, former members of the Carlson Gracie Academy, to develop and create new training techniques for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, submission grappling and mixed martial arts.
Rigan Machado is a Brazilian-American martial arts instructor. He is an 8th degree red and White belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, earning his rank under Carlos Gracie Jr. He is a former Pan American Champion and a veteran medalist of the ADCC. Machado currently teaches out of his Beverly Hills, California, academy and is instructor to several Los Angeles–based celebrity students.
Yuki Nakai is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist. He currently teaches Shooto and jiu-jitsu, and is the president of the Japanese Confederation of Jiu-Jitsu.
Wallid Farid Ismail is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and promoter.
Mario Yamasaki is a Brazilian mixed martial arts referee licensed in many states, most recognizable from his duties with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), as well as founder and chief instructor of the International Yamasaki Academy. Yamasaki is a veteran of over 400 fights in the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC, EliteXC and Pride Fighting Championships.
John Will is a notable martial artist from Australia. Will won the Best Exponent Award in the first World Silat Championships held in Jakarta in 1981. Will also completed his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Rigan Machado and Jean Jacques Machado in 1998, making him one of the first twelve foreign nationals to have earned a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Jason Tan is a retired English mixed martial artist and currently a head coach of MMA academy Liverpool. He formerly competed in the welterweight division.
The Machado Family are a family of Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners, mixed martial artists and grapplers. They are the founders of RCJ Machado Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and are cousins to members of the Gracie family.
Kron Gracie is a Brazilian and American mixed martial artist, submission grappler, and instructor. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Chris Haueter is a 6th degree black belt Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner and coach. As one of the first non-Brazilians to achieve the rank of black belt and the first American black belt to compete at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, he is regarded as a pioneer of the sport. Haueter is also known for coining several unnamed Brazilian jiu-jitsu's positions.
Straight Blast Gym Ireland is a mixed martial arts academy and professional team based in Dublin, Ireland. It is run by John Kavanagh, and is part of Straight Blast Gym International. The team has produced several Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters, the most notable being Conor McGregor.
John Kavanagh is an Irish martial arts coach, Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and former professional mixed martial artist. His students include fighters such as Conor McGregor, Makwan Amirkhani, and Gunnar Nelson.
Carlos André Pederneiras de Castro is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and mixed martial arts (MMA) coach and promoter. A former BJJ competitor, holding today a Red and Black 7th Degree Coral belt, Pederneiras is a six-time Brazilian National jiu-jitsu champion. During his short career as an MMA fighter, he challenged Pat Miletich for the UFC Welterweight Championship in 1999, and fought at the Shooto-run Vale Tudo Japan events.