MMA in York

So I went over to Hooter's of York last night after work for a little UFC 90 action. There, I met James Olewiler, owner and head trainer at M.A.C.E., which stands for Martial Arts with a Combat Emphasis, located at 133 W. Broadway in Red Lion.

With Olewiler's place, George McGinnis' York Mixed Martial Arts Academy, and at least one traditional karate studio, little Red Lion is becoming quite the hotbed of martial arts in York County.

Anyway, Olewiler, through his friend Frank, who owns an Asian restuarant on the square in York City (Next to Marcello's), connected with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Daniel Beleza, and succeeded in bringing Beleza to M.A.C.E.

Although I hadn't heard Beleza's name before, his reputation preceded him. For months, I'd been hearing rumors that a BJJ black belt was coming to this area. When I didn't hear anything more, I throught they were just that, rumors. Turns out Beleza is for real:

Now that's gotta be one of the sickest flying triangles I've ever seen.

I spoke with Beleza, and he's a very friendly guy, totally passionate about BJJ, competing and teaching. Olewiler said he and Frank also plan to bring on board a muay Thai fighter to round out their MMA program, and then hope to put together an MMA fight team.

I also met Jason Lauer, who just opened up a crossfit gym at 1451 Spahn Ave., York. Crossfit is an excellent physical training regimen for fighters, those who want to train like fighters, or just those who want to get in shape, real shape - a true fusion of strength and stamina.

Years ago, Crossfit helped BJ Penn hone his cardio, putting him through a meat-grinder of a workout that he then labeled "Fight Gone Bad." The workout was three five-minute rounds with a 1-minute rest in between, the length of a professional MMA non-title fight.

I plan to get over to M.A.C.E. and Crossfit at some point in the future, hopefully with a vdeo camera to get some footage to post here. Great meeting everybody at Hooters and remember to keep it tuned here for all the latest on MMA, in York and beyond. Later.