Spring Break
Cage Fight
Marshall students train to be Ultimate Fighters
Dustin Hazelett
Issue date: 9/22/05 Section: Life!
Ground Zero Fighting Systems, located above the Rio Grande restaurant on Fourth Avenue, is barely noticeable to those who are not seeking it. The sounds of students in this Brazilian Jujitsu school, however, can often be heard from the restaurant below.
Ground Zero Fighting Systems head instructor Ashley Lockwood said the school trains students in boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling takedowns, and cage fighting, but they focus on ground-fighting Jujitsu.
"Jujitsu is a system of fighting for fights that hit the ground," Lockwood said. "It is the fighter who is trained on the ground who will win a fight on the ground."
The group also trains students in cage fighting, also known as NHB or "No Holds Bar" fighting. Cage fighting is a match between two people, but with limited rules held inside a cage.
"I think cage fighting is actually a lot safer than boxing," Dustin Hazelett,
a sophomore undecided major, said. "I fought in a ring once and my opponent and I rolled off the side. In the U.S. it is extremely safe and sterile, it may look brutal, but it's not actually that bad."
Ground Zero Fighting Systems has been open for six years and trains a
variety of individuals including four to five Marshall University students. According to the official Ultimate Fighting Championship Web site, there are five weight classes in which students may compete, lightweight (145 to 155 lbs), welterweight (156 to 170 lbs), middleweight (171 to 185 lbs), light heavyweight (186 to 205 lbs) and heavyweight, (206 to 265 lbs).
"Ages range from 13 to 38," Brian Longstreet, Ground Zero student, said. "My son came straight from football practice tonight. He's 13-years-old."
Students in this school began training for various reasons.
"I have lost 30 pounds since I started here," Longstreet said. "I trained as a boxer and then came here and kind of pulled it all together."
"I saw the first couple of UFCs on tape and I just wanted to do it," Hazelett said. "I researched online and found out this was the best place. Basically this is how I selected college. I could easily be training in Kentucky and paying in-state tuition, but I decided to keep training here."
Ground Zero Fighting Systems head instructor Ashley Lockwood said the school trains students in boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling takedowns, and cage fighting, but they focus on ground-fighting Jujitsu.
"Jujitsu is a system of fighting for fights that hit the ground," Lockwood said. "It is the fighter who is trained on the ground who will win a fight on the ground."
The group also trains students in cage fighting, also known as NHB or "No Holds Bar" fighting. Cage fighting is a match between two people, but with limited rules held inside a cage.
"I think cage fighting is actually a lot safer than boxing," Dustin Hazelett,
a sophomore undecided major, said. "I fought in a ring once and my opponent and I rolled off the side. In the U.S. it is extremely safe and sterile, it may look brutal, but it's not actually that bad."
Ground Zero Fighting Systems has been open for six years and trains a
variety of individuals including four to five Marshall University students. According to the official Ultimate Fighting Championship Web site, there are five weight classes in which students may compete, lightweight (145 to 155 lbs), welterweight (156 to 170 lbs), middleweight (171 to 185 lbs), light heavyweight (186 to 205 lbs) and heavyweight, (206 to 265 lbs).
"Ages range from 13 to 38," Brian Longstreet, Ground Zero student, said. "My son came straight from football practice tonight. He's 13-years-old."
Students in this school began training for various reasons.
"I have lost 30 pounds since I started here," Longstreet said. "I trained as a boxer and then came here and kind of pulled it all together."
"I saw the first couple of UFCs on tape and I just wanted to do it," Hazelett said. "I researched online and found out this was the best place. Basically this is how I selected college. I could easily be training in Kentucky and paying in-state tuition, but I decided to keep training here."