THE RED CORNER
NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
WEEK OF MAY 25th, 2026
Monday Mindset, Junior Samurai Stripe Challenge, Membership Updates, and Facility FAQ Links all available at the bottom!
Happy Monday team!
Today we are closed in observation of Memorial Day. I hope everyone has had a great weekend!
Let’s give a big shout out to Gianna Vadino who is somewhere over the Pacific Ocean right now on her way back from Thailand, where she won her Rajademnern Stadium debut with a unanimous decision over a very tough Thai opponent. This fight approaches the pinnacle of what can be accomplished in the sport of Muay Thai, and Gianna is 100% a homegrown product of our program here. Truly, the sky is the limit for everyone (assuming you’re willing to train 6x/week, double sessions, for about 5 years straight lol).
If I had a therapist I’m sure they’d tell me that I need to be less self deprecating, and speak better about my own accomplishments and those of the gym.. so to that person, whoever you are, here goes 🙂
We have absolutely built the #1 program here in Northwest Philadelphia. It’s not even close. The past month has seen a major title fight, two national champions, and a stadium winner in Thailand. These are very difficult accomplishments to achieve on their own, and enjoying all four of them in such a quick span is definitely something to be proud of as a coach, a student, a teammate, and so on! This has very little to do with me by the way, and everything to do with the staff and student body here (aka YOU) whose hard work makes all this possible. So give yourselves a pat on the back.
This activity requires so much of us, and can often subject us to long stretches of difficult training in which progress is invisible. But bright moments like these remind us why we do what we do, and give us insight into the forward movement that we regularly make even when we can’t feel or see it!
We’re back to our regular schedule this Tuesday. I’ll see you on the mats!
–Coach Jackson
You can find this week’s Monday Mindset HERE
You can find this week’s Junior Samurai Stripe Challenge HERE