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This place is awesome ! I trained with Jackson for years, he's the best trainer around. Extremely knowledgable about the sport, super encouraging! Jackson makes training fun, while pushing me to do my best. I highly recommend !
Coach Jackson is a great instructor who takes on friendly students who are eager to learn. At no point did I feel uncomfortable with the speed or the level of difficulty and the group of people who I am getting to know all seem to enjoy the workouts due to the positive atmosphere that Coach Jackson has created.
Starting with no martial arts experience at all, I've been training at North Star MMA for about 2 months now. It's become something i look forward to every week. Coach Jackson has a great way of describing the intricacies of muay thai in exceptionally easy to understand ways. Lots of personal instruction and the other people in the gym really help with training. I really like the skills I've picked up so far all while getting a good workout in.
North Star MMA is by far the best training I have received as well as the best MMA facility. Fantastic atmosphere to learn, try, fail and ultimately succeed.
Jackson Galka's expertise and technical instruction easily qualifies him as a "fight nerd." However Jackson's passion and wit will have you kicking, striking and probably laughing too.
Jackson does a great job of integrating all levels of training with all levels of fighters.
Doesn't matter what level you are, you will learn each and every training session.
Top notch instruction, astounding technical expertise, challenging sweat soaked training sessions and a wicked sense of humor make for an unbeatable training academy.
I moved to Philadelphia in October and did a lot of shopping around for a new gym. After checking out NorthStar MMA, I quickly knew it was a perfect fit! I didn’t have much Muay Thai or BJJ experience at the time, but I felt both programs were very welcoming for beginners. Coach Jackson and the rest of the coaching staff have been super helpful in helping me to develop my skills and reach my fitness goals. Coach Jackson has created a great sense of community within the gym and does a great job of keeping the classes interesting, fun and effective! I look forward to each class and I couldn’t be happier to call NorthStar MMA my gym home!
Me and my brother came to train at North Star MMA, and we love it. Very good exercise, really good for getting in shape. Classes are very personal and with very good instructions. I would recommend this place to anyone who is interested in learning Muy Thai, BJJ and looking to get in shape in one of the best ways. It is also a very fun environment with great people.
Jackson is a huge asset to the combat sports community with years of experience as a fighter and trainer under his belt.
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF DECEMBER 16th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! We are rapidly approaching “THE HOLIDAYS” (as they are referred to). As such we’ll be operating on an adjusted schedule for a few days — full schedule is listed below. But […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF DECEMBER 9th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! This is it–2024 is rapidly coming to a close! And what an incredible year it has been so far! Let’s remember that we still have a few weeks left to squeeeeeeeze out […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF DECEMBER 2nd, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Hope everyone had a safe, fun, and stress free Thanksgiving weekend! And big shoutout to the crew that showed up Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to keep their momentum in check. To […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF NOVEMBER 25th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Apologies for taking the week off last Monday. Unfortunately I fell ill for one reason or another and found myself flirting with nearly a 105 degree fever on Sunday, so much […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF NOVEMBER 11th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! We had a great time at the Tap Cancer Out Charity BJJ tournament this past week. Congrats to our athletes that medaled: Johnny Janick, Dashaun Kimp, Marc Ocasio, Jay Hilario, Kelsey […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF NOVEMBER 4th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! 2024 has been a total whirlwind so far, and it’s been rare that I’ve been able to do my “Sunday Work” (i.e. updating the blog, writing the Monday Mindset, and so […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF OCTOBER 28th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! I’m writing this on a plane en route from Vienna to Washington, D.C. where I’ll chill for a minute before finally heading back to Philly. Can’t wait to be home! I’ll […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF OCTOBER 21st, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Busy week coming up on the coaching side with both myself and coach Valor out of the country for some international competition. In short, we will be running our regular schedule with […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF OCTOBER 14th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Saturday saw over twenty of our students participate in our inaugural Level 2 Shorts Test! We kept it simple, but pushed the pace for over 2 hours of non-stop training. In […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF OCTOBER 7th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! We are fresh off the heels of a successful outing at Grappling Industries this past weekend. North Star fielded a small team of three, but with big results. Ryan DeRoberties goes […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 30th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Full disclosure, I often write these on Sunday as if I were writing them Monday morning 🙂 I am currently in terminal 4 in LAX awaiting our return flight to Philadelphia after […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 23rd, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Was able to take a quick hop down to Florida to see some family this weekend, then it’s off to the races again as we head to Los Angeles for a […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 16th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Let’s give a big round of applause to our two athletes, Makhi and Tre, for outstanding performances at Gut Check Championship this past Saturday night. Both athletes exhibited extremely high level […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 9th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! With “Summer Vacation” behind us, we have a long unbroken stretch of great weather and great opportunities to train. This is one of my favorite times of year for many reasons, […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 2nd, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Reminder that all classes are cancelled today in observance of the holiday. We’ll be back to our regular schedule tomorrow! Labor Day is one of my favorite holidays — sure, the 3 […]
Hi Parents! As we approach the holiday weekend, I wanted to make sure to reach out and connect about the Fall season here at the North Star Academy and give some updates on what to expect as everyone settles back into their routines. All Jiu Jitsu classes will resume training in the gi (uniform) on […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF AUGUST 26TH, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Coming off a productive, but unfortunate weekend at the WKA tournament. Standout Tim Green worked his tail off in preparation for his entry into the 174lb Open Class division, which featured […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF AUGUST 19TH, 2024 Happy Monday Team! I had the pleasure of attending a striking workshop with Kru Bob Perez, owner of Main Street Boxing in Houston, TX. Kru Bob’s accomplishments are extensive in the training world — […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF AUGUST 12TH, 2024 Happy Monday Team! This past weekend we brought a small crew to our sister academy, 8 Limbs in West Philadelphia, for a day of friendly, competitive sparring. These events are a great pathway for […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF AUGUST 5TH, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Hard to believe, but we are already in August! Where does the time go?? Summer “ends” at the end of the month (but don’t worry, all you crazy people that love […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF JULY 29th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! We had a great showing this past weekend at the PBJJF Summer Open just down the road in Bala Cynwyd. Four of our athletes got right to work on the mats […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF JULY 22nd, 2024 Happy Monday Team! We had a banger of a weekend twith Gianna Vadino improving to 20-0 and defeating a formerly undefeated rival to unify the Warrior’s Cup championship belts. This would not be possible […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF JULY 15th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Another week, another heatwave here in Philadelphia. But what else is new? 🙂 Make sure to stay hydrated and keep your gear dry after training — these two practices can solve […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF JULY 1st, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Wow, what a weekend! We hosted over 100 fighters from across the East Coast (coming from as far as South Carolina!) at our PRO/AM Sparring event on Saturday. But don’t worry […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF JUNE 24th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! We successfully survived the first heatwave of the year — hopefully everyone was able to stay hydrated, upbeat, and comfortable this past week. Moving forward, if you fail to prepare — […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF JUNE 17th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Not a super busy week off the mats — we are in full swing here at the academy for the Summer and just finished our first full week of morning classes. […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF JUNE 10th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! Today marks our inaugural set of morning classes at the academy! We are now running morning classes every Monday and Thursday with the following schedule: MONDAYS 9AM Striking 101 10AM Jiu Jitsu […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR MMA ACADEMY Happy Monday Team! First I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who came out this Saturday for our 7 year anniversary get together. It was super low key, but a ton of fun. As is often the case I usually forget […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR MMA ACADEMY Happy Monday Team! Just a reminder that we are closed today, but hosting a BJJ open mat at 10am! Come hang out, get some rolls in, then head to your (indoor) bbq party. I write these emails on Sunday evenings actually.. and […]
THE RED CORNER 5.20.24 NEWS AND EVENTS AT NORTH STAR MMA Happy Monday Team! We are heading into the unofficial start of Summer on the tail end of an incredibly busy Spring. The coming Holiday Weekend will be a welcome rest for the staff and students here as we regroup for what’s shaping up […]
Happy Monday Team! We just wrapped up an extremely successful weekend in NYC, and an extremely successful competitive Spring run. To say I am “woofed” is an understatement. What an incredible effort by the students, coaches, and competitors here at the academy! Gianna Vadino definitively defended her Warrior’s Cup championship this past Friday against “The […]
Happy Monday Team! We are fresh off another week of intense competition and right back into the fire again! Congratulations to Tim Green, the 2024 ISKA Kickboxing Champion! Tim Green put on a killer performance this weekend in the ring, blending heavy pressure with smart footwork and impeccable defense. Coach Trevon Scales came up short […]
NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF 4.29.24 Happy Monday Team! We are fresh on the heels of a successful run at Grappling Industries and the 8 Limbs Competition last week, and we are now heading into the ISKA National Kickboxing Tournament in Delaware in just a few days! Both Tim Green […]
THE RED CORNER: NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF 4.22.24 Happy Monday Team! Wow.. what a weekend. Three events over two back-to-back days and over a dozen competitors! On Saturday, Isis Toledo competed in the Place of Peace invitational BJJ event. She dropped a competitive decision […]
Happy Monday Team! We have some big events coming up in the next couple weeks! This weekend a crew of grapplers head to the Grappling Industries tournament in Broomall, PA in search of some new hardware as well as some of our up-and-coming strikers taking their initial steps into the competition ring in West Philadelphia. […]
THE RED CORNER: NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY WEEK OF 04.08.24 Happy Monday Team! This past weekend we participated in the first USA Muay Thai East Coast National Championship tournament just a stone’s throw away in Delaware. Traditionally, there has only been one major tournament on the East Coast every year: […]
THE RED CORNER WEEK OF 4.01.24 Happy Monday Team! This week we see Joe Angelo and coach Bill Kirner make their Muay Thai debut at the USA Muay Thai Grand Nationals in Hockessin, Delaware. This 4-day tournament draws talent from all over the East Coast and beyond to compete for the title of National […]
THE RED CORNER: NEWS AND UPDATES AT THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY March 25th, 2024 Happy Monday Team! We are in the last week of March which means we’re wrapping up a bunch of our curriculum, as well as hosting our monthly Slamboree on Tuesday. For our Striking 101 students, Slamboree is an opportunity to […]
Happy Monday Team! Last week was a great teaser to the beautiful weather (and therefore amazing training conditions) that are right around the corner. As the world and we move into Spring, let’s take a moment to consider the ideas of cycles and rebirth. As a coach I truly believe that progress looks like […]
Happy Monday Team! This week finds North Star athlete Gianna Vadino once again representing the USA at the IKSA World Muay Thai tournament in Phuket, Thailand! Gianna’s previous international run ended in a grueling six fight weekend and two title belts. We are sending G a ton of good vibes this week as she steps […]
Happy Monday Team! February’s Slamboree was a great success — congratulations to both Mike and Coltrane on their advancement to blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu! Although technically only the second adult belt in BJJ, the blue belt is not easy to achieve. It demands a working understanding of the basic mechanics of the art, […]
MONDAY MINDSET: TOUGHNESS 02.26.24 We often confuse the ideas of “toughness” and “dominance.” We see the big, scary bully, with giant muscles and fists the size of cinder blocks, and we think to ourselves: “that guy looks tough.” What we really mean is, that guy looks dominant. Dominance doesn’t require toughness. I guarantee […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE 02.26.24 THE STRIPE CHALLENGE THIS WEEK IS red FOR fitness Students can earn a blue stripe this week by successfully completing the following workout (in one session): 30 Jumping Jacks 30 Situps 1-Minute Plank (no knees touch the floor) Repeat 3 times through (a total of 90/90/3min)
Happy Monday Team! We are more than halfway through February already, which means Spring is just around the corner (at least, on the calendar — who knows, we may be besieged by snow for another few months the way this year is going). 2024 has been off to an incredibly strong start and I am […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE 02.19.24 THE STRIPE CHALLENGE THIS WEEK IS blue FOr initiative Students can earn a blue stripe this week by successfully completing a chore (or chores/tasks) of their parents’ choice. Students must fully complete the task in order to be eligible for the stripe.
Happy Monday Team! Today is almost exactly seven years since we opened our doors here at the North Star Academy. On February 11th, 2017, I ran an open house out of our former location inside of Balance Chestnut Hill. This event featured two guest instructors (Sam Oropreza and Joe Stripling) with over forty people in […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE 02.12.24 THE STRIPE CHALLENGE THIS WEEK IS greeN FOR technique Students: teach your parent the guard position (remember, “small is STRONG and big is WEAK”). Then, drill 20 guard passes on your parent’s guard. A guard pass is when we clear the legs and secure the side mount, knee on […]
THE RED CORNER 02.05.24 NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY Happy Monday Team! We are back from a quick trip down South for Gianna’s MMA debut. We didn’t pick up that Hollywood ending but in these combat sports, you go out there and play your hand and sometimes come up short. […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE 02.05.24 THE STRIPE CHALLENGE THIS WEEK IS RED FOR FITNESS Students can earn their red stripe this week by successfully completing 50 pushups a day for three days in a row. Must be consecutive!
THE RED CORNER 01.29.24 NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY IN PHILADELPHIA Happy Monday Team! As always you can find the Monday Mindset and Junior Samurai articles linked at the bottom here (and make sure to follow us on Instagram as well, we post everything there as well). We are wrapping […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE 01.29.24 THEME OF THE WEEK: INITIATIVE Our Junior Samurai stripe challenge this week is blue for initiative. Students can earn a blue stripe by taking it upon themselves to clean their room. The extent of the cleaning is up to the parent or parents’ judgment. Students will have until Monday, February 5th, […]
Happy Monday Team! We are fresh off a successful weekend of competition, seeing striking coach Trevon “Beast Boy” Scales pick up a dominant decision win over a very game opponent at Freedom Fighting Championships’ first event here in Philadelphia. Trevon has consistently leveled up fight after fight and was able to put his hands together […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK OF 01.15.24 Students can earn a red stripe for Physical Fitness this week by successfully completing the following workout: 25 pushups 25 monkey crawls 25 squats Repeat 4 times in a row. This workout must be completed from start to finish in one session and cannot be broken down […]
THE RED CORNER || 01.15.24 || NEWS AND EVENTS AT THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY IN PHILADELPHIA Happy Monday Team! We are finally back to our regularly scheduled programming here every Monday! In October, we were told that our gym management software — which basically runs scheduling, tuition, e-mails, and everything in between — was literally […]
Z THE RED CORNER RETURNS ON MONDAY! CLASS REGISTRATION AND ATTENDANCE TO BEGIN ON FEBRUARY 1ST Hey Team! Coach Jackson here — Wanted to give you all a few quick updates on what we’ve been cooking up in the back room (or, more appropriately, how we’ve been putting out the kitchen fires for […]
MONDAY MINDSET: THANKSGIVING Mental tips, tricks, and new perspectives Just want to give a shout out to everyone reading this that I am incredibly grateful that you are all part of this academy!. Visitors regularly compliment me on how awesome the gym is, and I am quick to tell them that it’s the people that […]
THE RED CORNER || 11.27.23 || JIU JITSU CLASSES News and updates from North Star Mixed Martial Arts Happy Monday Team! Sadly this will probably be the final Monday newsletter with this format — we are transitioning over to a new software and its e-mail editor kinda stinks. As with all good things, […]
MONDAY MINDSET: GRATITUDE MENTAL TIPS, TRICKS, AND NEW PERSPECTIVES Short one for you today. I just want to share a moment I had earlier this month: I had just parked outside the venue in Hatfield for the Tap Cancer Out tournament. The weather was beautiful. I had just trained a bit earlier in […]
THE RED CORNER || 11.20.23 || MUAY THAI CLASSES NEWS AND EVENTS FROM NORTH STAR MIXED MARTIAL ARTS Happy Monday Team! Big props to coach Tre who put it on the line this past Saturday night, fighting for the Gut Check Championships 115lb belt. Tre came up short in a 5 round full […]
MMA, JIU JITSU, AND MUAY THAI CLASS SCHEDULE FOR THE THANKSGIVING 2023 HOLIDAY WEEK Please note the following class lineup! Hey Team! With Thanksgiving on the horizon next week, I wanted to send over our adjusted holiday schedule. Beyond the schedule, I’ve included a copy of the billing update email I sent […]
MONDAY MINDSET: BE THE PROBLEM, DON’T SOLVE THE PROBLEM Mental tips, tricks, and productive perspectives. Monday Mindset: Be The Problem, Don’t Solve The Problem When stepping onto the mats or the ring canvas for the first few times, it’s easy to view the upcoming fight as a problem that you need to solve. I suppose that, objectively, there’s some truth to that: each opponent will […]
THE RED CORNER || 11.13.23 || PHILADELPHIA MUAY THAI News and updates from North Star MMA in Philadelphia Happy Monday Team! We are fresh off a long and productive competitive weekend with both our Jiu Jitsu team and our Striking Team putting in the work. On Saturday, we participated in the Tap Cancer Out Charity Tournament in […]
The Jiu Jitsu Competition Team headed up to Hatfield, PA for an afternoon of BJJ at the Tap Cancer Out Charity Tournament! Congrats to Dashaun Kimp, Ryan DeRobertis, and Kelsey O’Brien for their gold medal finishes. Action and silly shots below 🙂
MONDAY MINDSET || 11.06.23 || PHILADELPHIA MMA Mental tips, tricks, and productive perspectives Monday Mindset: You’re Both The Driver — And The Mechanic Imagine this scenario: you’re behind the wheel of an F1 race car in the most important race of your life. You pull into the pit stop and the lead mechanic slaps a few things together then offers you a thumbs up. “Hey […]
THE RED CORNER || 11.06.23 || PHILADELPHIA MMA News and updates from North Star MMA in Philadelphia Happy Monday Team! We are going to be firing off on all cylinders until we reach the Thanksgiving Holiday, so buckle up and get ready to roll! Our full event lineup is as follows: 11.11 Tap Cancer […]
Hey Team! Just a reminder that our new Friday night class starts this week! Friday Night’s Jiu Jitsu 101 “Nogi Live Drills” class will focus on positional, live drills both incorporating and moving beyond the position of the month. This class is open to all BJJ students with 1+ months experience, and the nogi apparel […]
Monday Mindset: Yin and Yang Lately, I’ve been fascinated with the Yin Yang symbol. For something so simple, the depth contained within could span entire book series (and, I’m sure, it has over the centuries). Today I want to speak on only one element of the symbol: the contrasting dot within the center of each opposing side. In the white side, there is a black dot; and in the black side, a […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND EVENTS FROM NORTH STAR MMA Happy Monday Team! Just wrapped up a great training session with the Tap Cancer Out competition team and everyone is looking super sharp! The TCO tournament is scheduled for November 11th in Hatfield, PA. If you would like to donate to the cause, you can visit the team fundraising page here (and donate […]
To be fair, it’s not a necessary requirement to be in elite shape to be successful in combat sports. Plenty examples exist of poorly conditioned athletes winning their fights due to disparities in skill, advantageous stylistic matchups, or just pure luck. With that said, good conditioning solves every problem that bad conditioning creates. One of the most […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND EVENTS HERE AT NORTH STAR MMA Happy Monday Team! Big congratulations to marquee fighter Gianna Vadino who went 6-0 with 3 stoppages en route to double gold in both the Muay Thai and K1 divisions at the ISKA World Championships in Munich, Germany. Gianna squared off against athletes from […]
THE RED CORNER News and events here at north star mma Happy Monday Team! Lots coming up this second half of October. Yeesh. Rather than drawl on and on about it, I’m going to organize everything into neat little bullet points below for your reference: Gianna Vadino heads to Germany to represent the USA […]
Monday Mindset: It’ll Never Be Good Enough — And That’s Great Quick perspective for you today: Imagine you’re an MLB pitcher with a 90 MPH fastball. By all accounts, that’s an amazing feat of athleticism, and yet in the MLB it’s pretty average. You’ve spent your whole life working on that pitch. Decades, even, devoted […]
FINDING THE RIGHT MMA GYM FOR YOU HOW YOU SHOULD PRIORITIZE THE QUALITIES OF EACH MMA SCHOOL NEAR YOU TO PICK THE PLACE THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU As a gym owner, I’m forced to be somewhat capable in all areas — of course, being a black belt in BJJ and a retired professional […]
MONDAY MINDSET: ONE STEP AT A TIME MARTIAL ARTS MINDSET FOR SUCCESS BOTH ON AND OFF THE MATS Short one for you this week. This is just a quick reminder to allow yourself to work towards your goals one small step at a time. We often paralyze ourselves by trying to conquer the magnitude of our […]
THE RED CORNER || 10.02.23 || UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR MMA ACADEMY IN PHILADELPHIA Happy Monday Team! Hard to believe we’re already in Spooky Season, aka October! It’s my favorite time of the month (largely due to Halloween and a much-needed break from the hot weather), and also one of my favorite times on the mats. People are […]
MONDAY MINDSET: SERVICE MARTIAL ARTS MINDSET FOR SUCCESS BOTH ON AND OFF THE MATS Too often we approach things we enjoy as if they exist to serve us. Truthfully (and to an extent, problematically), many of our pastimes and hobbies do. Video games, Netflix, snacking — these are indulgent behaviors and often serve their purpose well. For […]
THE RED CORNER || 09.25.23 || Updates from the north star mma academy in philadelphia Happy Monday Team! We have a HUGE week ahead of us in our Jiu Jitsu program. Before I get into details, let’s give a big congrats to our Jiu Jitsu competition team for a solid performance this past weekend at […]
Monday Mindset: Discipline Bridges the Gap I feel like we all know what we should be doing.Eating better, sleeping more, exercising often. It’s not complicated. And yet, most of us are probably not at the level of health and fitness that we’d like to be. Simply put, discipline is the bridge between where we are, and where […]
Happy Monday Team! We had an amazing turnout this Saturday for our Fall PRO/AM Invitational Sparring Meetup. Over 55 athletes, with over 230 combined bouts, were in attendance from the region’s top competitive gyms. Getting together for some friendly but hard rounds is what it’s all about! We’re already halfway through September (and the beginning […]
Monday Mindset: The Power of Self-Belief Earlier last week, I remarked how spectacularly Sean Strickland would likely fail on Saturday against the incumbent UFC Middleweight Champion, Israel Adesanya. And I wasn’t alone — Vegas odds had Strickland over +400 and the MMA community largely regarded this as a “shoe-in” for The Stylebender. Well, wouldn’t you […]
Happy Monday Team! Back for another tough week on the mat. This weekend, The North Star Academy will be hosting athletes from all across the tri-state area for another PRO/AM Sparring meetup. This event draws amateur and professional MMA, Kickboxing, and Muay Thai fighters from the top gyms in the region for a day of […]
Monday Mindset: Labor Day Today we’ll divert from the usual routine and instead take a moment to honor the members of our community here who are out there getting things done every day. The first responders, construction workers, truck drivers, and so on. The people who rarely get the spotlight but keep the wheels of […]
Happy Monday Team! We are CLOSED today for regular classes, but we’ll be hosting an open mat from 10am – 12pm (approximately). All students are welcome to attend and mess around on the mats! We’ll be running 5 minute rounds on the timer and the rest is up to you. Have any family or friends […]
Happy Monday Team! Wow! What a weekend! We had a great time at the WKA National Tournament in Delaware (well, outside of the 47 hours of waiting and all that.. IYKYK). Coach Tre went 1-1 in a stacked division and Gianna had a few dropouts in her division, but finished the finals match with a […]
Monday Mindset: Embrace the Chaos Every year we attend the WKAs, it’s a total mess. And every year we say we’re never coming back. Yet, here we are. (And yes, about 1000 times we said we’re never doing this tournament again but when it was all over we were like “Ok, that wasn’t so bad.. […]
Monday Mindset: Morning Routines Pretty basic, pragmatic one for you this week. What you do upon waking up sets the tone for the day. Personally, I walk the dog (she’s gotta go!) and reflect on the coming day, take my vitamins (10 capsules), and then do a quick 10 minute stretch routine. Every day. Why? […]
Happy Monday Team! I greatly appreciate everyone’s understanding this past Wednesday — we had to cancel classes due to a plumbing emergency. Luckily, we got everything under control before any damage could occur and the emergency repair team managed to fix everything up in its entirety. Crisis averted! I want to also highlight one of […]
Happy Monday Team! It’s going to be pretty smooth sailing these next two weeks until we return to action at the end of the month for the WKA National Kickboxing Championships in Harrington, Delaware. The distance and tournament format of this event doesn’t make it very spectator friendly, but we’ll keep you posted […]
Happy Monday Team! Back to work after a long but successful weekend in New York. Big thanks to the crew that spent their entire day driving in and out of NYC to catch Tre and Gianna make the walk into the ring. That’s a huge effort and I know the fighters are so […]
Happy Monday Team! We are back with another week of hard training on the menu. As this is the first week of a new month, you’ll notice major curriculum shifts in each program. Going to be some really good stuff shown so make sure you get in often! Let’s give a big […]
Happy Monday Team! It’s HOT outside so this is my annual reminder to stay hydrated. If you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated! Make sure to drink a ton of water throughout the day, and especially before (and during) training. If you are doubling up on sessions at the gym, take a hydration break in […]
Happy Monday Team! Big thank you to everyone who made it out for our 6 Year Anniversary Party! I promised everyone I’d go for an Irish Goodbye at some point, but when I attempted to escape it still took me 45 minutes I guess that’s how you know it was a good […]
It’s a tale as old as time — the new student wants to work on the advanced skills, but the coach stresses the basics. In two decades of training and teaching, I’ve come to just accept that this is the way things usually are. And that’s ok. But consider this: you can’t […]
Happy Monday Team! Congratulations to all our competitors from this past weekend at Grappling Industries! Both Dashaun Kimp and Joe Angelo placed first in their respective divisions with clean sweeps of their opponents throughout. Grant Boyd, Garret Powers, David Cross, Angus Perfect, Kevin Koch, and and Tenzin Wangdak also had strong performances […]
Happy Monday Team! I hope you all had an awesome weekend! Make sure to mark your calendars for the Six Year Anniversary Party rescheduled for Saturday, July 15th, from 2-5pm! More details to come but it’s a pretty simple affair 🙂 By the way, yes — we are open as normal today […]
Happy Monday Team! Rolled the dice on Saturday’s weather not being up to par and lost that one — after a torrential downpour it actually turned out really nice! Oh well, that’s how it goes.. there is probably a good “Monday Mindset” topic in there somewhere 🙂 We’re rescheduling our 6 Year […]
Happy Monday Team! Next weekend is our big Six Year Anniversary Party at Attic Brewing Company! Make sure to join us from 2-5pm (or later, you party animals) in the beer garden. Friends, family, strangers, interstellar aliens — everyone’s invited! All attendees will receive a free raffle ticket as well (winners will […]
Happy Monday Team! Thank you to all the students and staff who came out on Saturday night to support Coach Tre as he picked up a dominant and exciting win at Gut Check Championships! As a coach it’s always really fun to see your athletes specifically execute skills that have been rehearsed throughout […]
Happy Monday Team! We are fresh off a great week of training and competition, with six of our athletes participating in a sparring meetup at one of our sister schools. Joe, Nicole, Chris, Makhi, Dom, and Sam all performed excellently and demonstrated solid technique, good composure, and great sportsmanship! We have Trevon […]
You may notice that this Monday Mindset section is being delivered on a Tuesday. Well, I gave myself a break over the weekend to enjoy some much needed family time — and whenever possible, you should too. The goal of training in any martial art is not necessarily going to be a belt […]