Kaijin Closed
Kaijin will be closed Sunday and Monday for the 4th of July
Kaijin Mixed Martial Arts, located in Santa Cruz, CA, offers classes to children and adults in the disciplines of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, Boxing, Wrestling and Judo. Our professional instructors, Paul Schreiner and Garth Taylor are experienced competitors and look forward to training with students of the Mixed Martial Arts of all skill levels from Beginners to Advanced.
Sign Up a Friend
For the month of July if a current Kaijin student brings in a friend to sign up you will receive a free month on your next billing cycle.
Please contact Igor if you have a friend to sign up
Andy Hug
Epic Axe Kick on Peter Aerts
People come into our academy every day because they saw a UFC, want to learn to defend themselves, saw something in a movie, or just simply want an alternative form of fitness. What really got me into martial arts was watching K-1 fights in the late 90’s on ESPN 2 at 3AM. This was before you could check out all the fights on YouTube or other websites. Now as I was watching UFC 115 a couple weeks ago I saw Mirko CroCop unleash a sweet axe kick (or Otoshi Geri I believe ask Sam for confirmation) on Pat Barry. This made me want to post about one of the best practitioners of the axe kick and unfortunately little known early K-1 stars, Andy Hug.
Most people know Ernesto Hoost, Peter Aerts, Mirko Filipovic, Badr Hari, and Remy Bojansky. Unfortunately Andy Hug was at his best before K-1 was accessible by the masses. Our very own Sam Radetsky had a fight against him and I will let him tell you about it. Andy Hug was the first practitioner of kyokushin karate to compete against and beat the best kickboxers and thai fighters in the world. Andy won the ‘96 K-1 Grand Prix and finished second in ‘98. He holds wins over Hoost, Le Banner, Cro Cop, Leko, and Aerts to name a few.
Andy Hug died unexpectedly in August of 2000 from leukemia. Andy was the embodiment of what a martial artist is and should be. If you have some time read up on Andy Hug he really was a great man.
Boxing Schedule Finalized
Boxing schedule has changed again. After much input we feel this gives everyone the best opportunity to train.
Boxing is now:
Monday-Wednesday 8:30-10:00 PM and Friday 7:00-8:30 PM
There is no longer a Sunday class
World Championships Update
Congratulations are in order for 2 Kaijin students participating in this weekends World Championships. Jon Chiu made it to the quarterfinals before losing 0-0 by advantage. John scored 33 points in his matches without having a single one against him.
Marcus Sosa is bringing home another medal. Following his silver from this years Pan-Ams Marcus finished third at the Worlds. He won a total of 5 matches. That qualifies him for the open weight category which takes place tonight. Good luck tonight!