Staunton, VA
This Saturday, May 11 at 10am, David Damico will be in the house. Don’t want to miss this one! Free to all members.
David J. Damico is a judo Nidan (2nd degree black belt) through USJA and a BJJ purple belt under Dennis Hayes. He began taking judo with one of his daughters when he was in his early 40s and has been active in martial arts for over 25 years. He currently teaches judo at Hybrid Martial Arts in Roanoke and works as a trial attorney specializing in criminal defense and family law.
Students Receive Free Rattan Eskrima Sticks
I am delighted to announce that in conjunction with Total Defense Martial Arts in Staunton, VA, I will be starting a brand new Filipino Martial Arts program!
Filipino Martial Arts, or FMA for short, refer to ancient and newer fighting methods devised in the Philippines. FMA incorporates elements from both Western and Eastern Martial Arts, the most popular styles of which are known as Arnis, Eskrima and Kali. (More information)
The Total Defense FMA program will begin on April 1, 2019 and will be open to anyone ages 7 and older. Classes will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 5:00-6:00pm except for holidays, weather related closures, and special events.
Since this is a new program, we have decided to give the entire month of April away absolutely free! Also, as a special thank you, I will personally be giving a pair of free rattan eskrima sticks to everyone who trains!
More information…
What will you need to wear?
Please wear comfortable pants like sweats, gi pants, or even athletic shorts, and a t-shirt. That’s it!
What will you learn?
You will learn Filipino weapons and empty hand fighting techniques, strategies, and principles in a safe, family friendly environment.
What if you already train in the Total Defense jiu jitsu and/or boxing programs, or even some other program?
Great! FMA is the perfect complimentary art to any martial art system. While there are some empty hand striking and controlling techniques, Arnis, Kali, and Eskrima are predominantly stand-up, weapons based fighting system utilizing both sticks and blades. They are brutally effective for self-defense, making them great complimentary arts to what you already train in without compromising your current skills.
If you or your family would be interested in training for free during the entire month of April, please let me know, so I can set aside a pair of eskrima sticks for you. I would be delighted to have you in class! I am excited to begin this new program, and I hope that you are too. See you on April 1!
Head instructor Dennis Hayes of HYBRID will teach a jiu-jitsu seminar at Total Defense Martial Arts tomorrow, Feb. 23, at 10 a.m.
This event is free and for members only. Training will be in the gi.
Please RSVP to Brian Rose or via our Facebook Group event page.
Total Defense Martial Arts is CLOSED today, Feb. 20, on account of snow. Stay safe!
Weather permitting, Total Defense Martial Arts members are traveling to the grand opening of Gracie Charlottesville (1646 Seminole Trail, Charlottesville, VA) tomorrow from 11am-3pm, so there will be NO class at our building. (Besides which, we’re doing some drywall work at TDMA this weekend, and it’ll be gross.)
Pedro Sauer, who taught our instructor at HYBRID, Dennis Hayes, will be giving a one-hour self-defense seminar at some point. More information.
We have no carpooling or caravaning arrangements yet for tomorrow’s trip, so assume if you’re interested that you should get there under your own power.
Normal classes will resume Monday the 18th with boxing. See you then!
Please note the following changes to our Thursday schedule beginning 2/7. Changes are in boldface:
5-6pm BJJ youth (age 6–12)
6-730pm BJJ fundamentals (age 12+)
730-830pm BJJ advanced (age 12+, minimum white belt 2 stripes)
Our complete weekly schedule is at this link.
See you on the mats!
Head instructor Dennis Hayes of HYBRID will teach a jiu-jitsu seminar at Total Defense MA on Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. This event is free and for members only.
Please RSVP to Brian Rose or via our Facebook Group event page.
We will be CLOSED this Saturday, Jan. 26, in favor of a field trip to our parent school HYBRID.
Interested jiu-jitsu students should meet us for a caravan at 8:15 a.m. by the Greenville, VA, Subway restaurant behind the BP.
We usually return by about 2 p.m.
If you’ve never been to an open mat at HYBRID, then this is a great opportunity for you to roll with some of the best!
The roads are currently (8:30 AM) fine in Staunton, and the forecast says snow won’t start until this afternoon. Forecasts are NEVER wrong, you know, so I will be there at 10AM. Come roll with me!
Congratulations to former student Ryan Benitez on his 100th career win in high school wrestling.
Congratulations to former Total Defense student Ryan Benitez on his 100th career win in high school wrestling. Ryan grapples in the 195-pound weight class for Buffalo Gap High School. He won his match at the Riverheads quad on Wednesday.
When he earned his blue belt here at TDMA, Ryan was known affectionately as “D’arce Vader,” for his effective application of the D’arce choke.
The News Leader reports:
Before taking up wrestling, Benitez trained in jiu-jitsu for five years, which, he said, gave him a lot of help in terms of defensive moves on the mat.
Click here for full press coverage.
Congrats again to Ryan!
