Cindy wins 1st in Round the Rock paddle boarding race

After 3 hrs and 49 minutes of paddling around Mercer Island, Cindy brings home 1st place in the 12'6" women's divsion. Check out a write up about the race at MI-Reporter.com. Thanks again to Cheka Looka Surf shop for all the support with paddling and training and everything else. Also a huge thanks to all the kids for all of the support and well wishes in the race! Hopefully one of these days I can get the kids out for a day of paddling before the winter fully sets in.

Cindy interviewed on KUOW about teaching, training and other stuff

KUOW 94.9fm, Seattle's local NPR affiliate, recently did a feature story on me and my past year of teaching, training, injuries, thoughts on jiu-jitsu and other random things. Please check it out here and let me know what you think.

Boy saves girl from dog attack with rear naked choke

9 year old Barkersfield, CA boy saves girl from dog attack by using a rear naked choke he learned in BJJ class.  Check out the story and video. 

Mike "The Mouth" Gavronski boxing in Golden Gloves

Mike "The Mouth" Gavronski is boxing in the Golden Gloves tournament at the Tacoma Dome this weekend. Mike is 23 years old and recently came to visit Gracie Barra Seattle kid's class to talk about positive self talk, having confidence and just to check out what the kids are up to.
On top of being a master of positive self talk, Mike has an impressive amatuer boxing record. Last year he won the prestigious Golden Boy award for being the Best Boxer in the entire tournament. Mike has a flair all his own and approaches everything he does with dedication, tenacity and, of course, humor.
Mike was my stand up coach and cornerman during my fight against Fiona Muxlow in the Princesses of Pain promotion in New Zealand. I won the fight in the 1st round after a great training camp with Mike. We ran in the woods, flipped tires, cut wood, boxed, kickboxed, grappled, sweat and cried together. It all paid off when we brought home the belt.
I look forward to having Mike coach me again and also hope that he is able to come back and visit the kid's class very soon. Best of luck to Mike.
Read Damon Agnos' blog about Mike Gavronski in the Seattle Weekly.

Kids class photos taken for the Seattle Weekly

Seattle Weekly came out to take pictures of the Kid's class for the January 7 cover story. I hope you enjoy the photos. Thanks to all of the kids and parents for helping Damon with the article and for being a part of the Gracie Barra Kid's Team! Keep up the good work and train hard.

Emmanuel grapples with legend Marcelo Garcia

In September of 2007, Emmanuel Ardena attended the Marcelo Garcia seminar at Shockwave BJJ in Olympia. Emmanuel was by far the youngest grappler at the event and impressed everyone with his technique, discipline and ability to learn new moves quickly. Check out the video of Emmanuel grappling with Marcelo. A big thanks to Robert Owens and Marcelo Garcia for a great seminar and for including Emmanuel.

Christian Martinez promoted to yellow belt

Congratulations to Christian Martinez for receiving his yellow belt!

Christian began training Filipino Kali, Jeet Kun Do, Muay Thai and wrestling at Martial Arts Training Center in Bremerton, WA when he was 4 years old. In July of 2007, he received his black belt in the kids program. Christian moved to Corpus Christy, Texas and began training BJJ at Paragon. He trained in Texas for 4 months and then relocated back to Seattle. From there Christian joined the Gracie Barra Kids Team. He quickly established himself as a leader in the program. He competed in The Revolution 11/08 tournament where he won a silver (no-gi) and bronze (gi) medal.

When he isn't training, Christian attends the 4th grade, enjoys reading and watching Naruto. He also plays basketball, soccer and gymnastics.

GB Kids team at Revolution 11/08

Check out photos of the kids at the Revolution Tournament 11/08. Congratulations to all the kids on a job well done. Gracie Barra Seattle won the overall title once again!

Seattle Weekly cover story: Cindy Hales - Spoiling for a fight

I was recently featured in the Seattle Weekly (January 7, 2009) story by Damon Agnos. This is an excellent story about my life, my BJJ and fighting career and my kid's program. The kids and I had a great time working with Damon and having him attend several classes. Please support the Seattle Weekly and Damon for their support of Gracie Barra Seattle.

Cindy Hales - Spoiling for a fight by Damon Agnos