THE RED CORNER

NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

WEEK OF MARCH 31st, 2025

 

Happy Monday Team!

Spring is in the air!

Which means, time for my annual hygiene chat 🙂

We might think that armbars, slams, and overhands are the most dangerous things on the mats.  In some cases, they could be.  However, our biggest enemy here are microscopic adversaries: ringworm, staph, impetigo, and worse.

Keeping yourself and your gear fresh and clean is not just a pleasant and polite thing to do for your training partners, it is literally a safety issue!  Please don’t take offense if you end up on the wrong side of a hygiene policy; remember that these are established to keep YOU safe, too.

At the academy we absolutely do our part to keep the mats and gear clean: mats are cleaned multiple times per day and deep cleaned once per week which is about 52 times more than any other gym in the city deep cleans on an annual basis.  Our shoe/foot policy, our foot bath stations, and our attention to hygiene makes us, perhaps, the cleanest gym on the East Coast if not one of the cleanest in the country.  I say that without exaggeration (but to be fair, the bar is set pretty low in this industry).

With all that said, individuals have to do their part too.  Check out the 2025 Spring Cleaning Hygiene Guide here!  Parents, this also applies to our youth students here.  Maybe, even, especially to them.  Please help do your part in keeping the academy safe for everyone, young and old!

 

This Saturday,  we welcome international Jiu Jitsu celebrity and online coach Jonathan Thomas to the academy for a deep dive into a philosophy of guard passing.  Jon will share his approach to passing then open up for a Q&A later on.  The cost for this workshop is $70 and is an absolute steal for what you will receive.  Please make sure to secure your spot ASAP as it helps us prepare accordingly!

REGISTER HERE FOR THE JON THOMAS WORKSHOP

 

Lastly, our Spring Level 2 Shorts Test is right around the corner one week from Thursday!  This test is open to all striking students with 3+ months experience or Coaches’ permission.  The test itself is free, but the shorts are $45 (you can opt out of the shorts at checkout).  All current Level 2 students are also asked to attend and help out.  These tests are a really fun time to change up your training and make some new connections!

REGISTER HERE FOR THE LEVEL 2 SHORTS TEST

 

–Coach Jackson

You can find this week’s Monday Mindset HERE

You can find this week’s Junior Samurai Stripe Challenge HERE