Mahlow Strikes a Knee to the Chest

A couple of weeks ago I went to Back Alley Brawl (a Left Hook Production) and met XTREME FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP’S Lightweight Champion John Malhow. Malhow was gracious enough to let me have an interview with him the following week.

Twenty eight year old John Malhow is a native of Detroit, Michigan. He currently lives in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Since moving to Ft. Lauderdale, John is training with American Top Team.

John started training in Jiujitsu at the age of nineteen with a Machado Jiujitsu affiliate east west martial arts. He then went on to train with Team Mash and UFC/ Pride fighter James Lee. One year later at the age of twenty, Malhow was fighting at the pro level. He would fight in venues such as King Of The Cage, Gladiators Challenge and many more.

John took a two year layoff after sustaining an orbital injury. The doctors suggested that he shouldn’t fight anymore so he moved to St. Augustine Florida to get away. Malhow did a little bit of training and teaching as well when he stayed in St. Augustine. The competitive fire never left John. As matter of fact, the itch to compete had returned to John and it was driving him crazy. John decided to go to Jacksonville and have his eye checked out by a specialist. The specialist said his eye was fine and there was no reason he shouldn’t be fighting. John worked his way in slowly by competing in amateur events. A few months later he was back in the MMA scene.

I asked John what made him get into the Mixed Martial Arts. Malhow said he was the kid in school who got tossed into the lockers and garbage cans. He went to Blockbuster and rented tapes of UFC fights. Back then Royce Gracie was the Champion. John was amazed how Gracie dominated every challenger no matter how big the opponent was. Jon decided to take up Jiu-Jitsu. His days of getting thrown into lockers and garbage cans were over.

John won the XFC lightweight championship open title from Eben Oroz on June 28th at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa FL. I asked John who would he like to fight next. His answer was Mark Bocheck. John fought Bocheck a while ago in Canada. He took the fight in just a two weeks notice. He did not prepare himself properly for the fight. John also did not realize Bocheck was a phenomenal fighter. He went into the fight blindly not knowing anything about Bocheck and got beaten badly. Now that John is training with American Top Team he feels he is at a higher level and will have by far, a better fight against top fighters like Mark Bocheck.

I asked John what he thought about amateur MMA coming to Florida. He thinks it’s great as long as they regulate it correctly and the right people run the program.

When John is not training or fighting he enjoys snorkeling and motorcycle riding.

John’s future plans besides fighting is to become a police officer. He will be enrolling into the police academy in February.
John wants to stress, especially to the young crowd, that just because you know how to do an arm bar and wear a tap out shirt doesn’t mean you are an MMA fighter. You have to train hard, have a lot of heart, and give one hundred and ten percent. You need to give it your all even when you are in the worst case scenario. An example that John gives is kids stealing at Walmart while wearing MMA apparel. That is sending the wrong message and giving Mixed Martial Arts a bad image.

If you would like to visit John you can visit him at American Top Team of Sunrise. 5357 Nob Hill Road Sunrise, FL 33351 or you can log on to www.attwolfpack.com .

John will also be at the Dania Card show at Dania Jai-Alai on Sunday September 7, 2008 from 1:00 P:M to 3:00 P:M. Besides signing autographs, John will be conducting a thirty minute seminar. For more information call (954) 696-5774 or log on to www.daniascardshow.com .

I recently had the privilege to visit Carlos Rollyson at his school in Hollywood Florida. Born in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Carlos started his journey with Jiu-Jitsu at the early age of 7 by his father Geraldo Rollyson. Soon after he began training with 9th degree black belt Grandmaster Carlson Gracie. Carlos was also fortunate to learn Judo from 7th Dan Master Takise Ueda. Before we get a little more into Carlos Rollyson, let’s give the readers who don’t know about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Carlson Gracie a brief description.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art which focuses on grappling or ground fighting. The goal is to gain a dominant position, and then force an opponent into submission using joint- locks and choke holds.

Carlson Gracie is the man who ushered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu into the modern era. He has trained many top competitors such as Allan Goes and Murilo Bustamante. He also trained Stephan Bonner, a finalist in the UFC reality show The Ultimate Fighter. He was in Bonner’s corner during his legendary fight against The Ultimate Fighter winner and now Light Heavyweight Champion Forest Griffin.

Carlos described Carlson as a second father. He would always tell people that Jiu-Jitsu is a continuous journey. Carlos moved to the United States in 1997 and started teaching at the Popovitch school in Pembroke Pines FL. He then opened up his own school in Hollywood. After moving back to Brazil and then returning to the United States, Carlos once again opened up a school in Hollywood. Carlos feels that if you’re going to open up your own school, you shouldn’t do it just for the money.

First and foremost, you should have the love of the art itself, then the love to teach. Only then will the rest come in to place. Carlos has done seminars for Hallandale’s Florida S.W.A.T. He has also done seminars for the D.E.A as well. I would like to note that Carlos has done a public service by doing these seminars for free.

Carlos plans for the future are to bring his family members from Brazil into the United States so he can open up another school. He has a nephew who is a black belt and has the passion for MMA. Hopefully we can see some of tomorrow’s stars come out of the Rollyson camp.

Carlos hopes that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu thrives and becomes as popular here as it is in Brazil. With a Brazilian federation in Florida supporting the traditional Brazilian martial arts schools, Carlos believes that can happen.

Carlos runs the school with his wife, Megan Rollyson. They have their one year wedding anniversary coming up this month.

“We run a family business. When you join us, you are part of the family. We show good technique as well as good work ethic”.

Carlos would like to thank Zenaric.com for all the support they have given Team Rollyson. If you would like to no more about Team Rollyson you can find them at 4443 Hollywood, Florida 33021. (754)235-6029. www.myspace.com/teamrollyson .

Apply Martial Arts to your life. Martial Arts is not just about kicking, punching and throwing. Life is like a good technique. With practice, training and patience it will all fall into place, and life is that way. It’s a lot simpler than most people make it out to be. Life is about simplicity and a lot of people don’t realize that. When you are talking to an instructor and he gives you advice, carry that into your life. Hopefully, not only will that help you make a good decision, but a wise decision as well.

That is one of the conversations I had with a man who is passionate with what he does, Dr. Philip Chenique. Dr. Chenique is the creator and founder of Atemi Ryu Jujitsu. Atemi meaning striking vital parts of the body. Ryu meaning style. I asked Dr. Chenique what made him take up martial arts. To my surprise he simply said “James Bond” (Sean Connery). “I would see him using judo and of course I wanted to be just like him”. Who didnt? Dr. Chenique notes that Sean Connery was the best James Bond of them all.

Dr. Chenique studied under Richard Adams and then later under his mentor the late Dr. Moses Powell. The biggest memories and impressions that Dr. Chenique has about Dr. Powell is that he taught how to be creative, always move, never stay in the same position, and that every strike that an opponent makes is an opportunity for you to go ahead and achieve your goal.

In honor of Dr. Powell there is a seminar held every November. A lot of the best instructors and Grand Masters come to south Florida for this tribute to Dr. Powell. Dr. Chenique best describes it. “We have a lot of 10^th degrees black belts all in a single place at one time. It’s like everyone singing karaoke. Everyone has their own flavor but when they come together it’s like a great harmony and that’s what I think martial arts should be”. This has been a tradition for twenty years. Although Dr. Powell has passed away, the tradition continues.

Three times a year Dr. Chenique’s good friend Professor Roger Braswell invites him up to North Carolina to help train the special forces. They have been training the military since 1999.

I asked Dr. Chenique what was next for him? Besides dying (jokingly), to continue teaching and hope when he is gone Atemi Ryu will live on. “I hope Atemi Ryu Jujitsu and Chendokan Akido will last for a hundred years. The test of all martial arts is when the instructor dies. If I have a good strong art then it will be here a hundred years from now. If it’s not around then I did not do a good job teaching”.

Dr. Chenique’s advice for anyone who wants to take up martial arts is not only looking for the style that would be best for you, but also look for the right instructor. “Martial Arts is nothing without the right instructor. There are people that will tell you that even a bad instructor can teach you something. I’m sure people would rather have a good instructor. With a good instructor you will get the right message and the right attitude, so shop around before you make a decision.

Besides Jujitsu, Dr. Chenique teaches Chendokan Akido, Arnis, Swordsmanship and Kickboxing. If you would like to visit Dr. Cheniques Atemi Ryu Jujitsu school you can go to either of his two locations.

• 2091 West 76th Street
  Hialeah Gardens, Florida 33016

305.825.4063

• 6936 Stirling Road
  Hollywood, FL 33024

954.967.8272

Armando Takes the Title in the Teens Advanced Division

Got Jits! That’s the sticker Armando Herrera Sr has on the back winshield of his car. Something his son Armando III has plenty of JUJITSU! Seventeen year old Armando Herrera is one of the hottest jujitsu artist to compete in his class. He is ranked number twelve in the state of Florida (No Gi), and ranked number ten in the state of Florida (Gi) by the North American Grappling Association (NAGA). 2007 has been a great year for Armando. He came in first place at the 2007 Miami Grappling Championships (GI and No Gi), and at the 2007 State of Florida Championships (Gi and No Gi).

Since competing in 2004 Armando has always placed in a tournament. He plans to continue this streak in October when NAGA returns to South Florida. Armando credits his dad for getting him into Jujitsu which was at the age of fourteen. He was taken to the One Dragon Martial Arts under the tutelage of Luis Gutierrez. Training at the One Dragon has given Armando confidence, discipline and a never quit attitude. All of these tools which he now applies to his life. I asked Armando if the constant training gets old for him or if he has ever thought of giving up Jujitsu. His reply was “No, I still have the same burning desire now from when I started training. Don’t get me wrong there are times that it’s just hard to get up and start training but you go anyway. Once you go and compete and then win then that’s when the pay off is all so satisfying”. Armando notes that he is amazed by the growth in attendance at the tournaments. Every year he competes he sees more competitors and spectators, so if you are curious to see what jujitsu is about go to one of his tournaments. Naga will be returning October 20^th at Dr. Krop High School in Miami.

Armando will be graduating this year from St. Thomas High school. His plans after high school are to go to college and take pharmaceutical or engineering. He also plans to take up wrestling in college. Just another weapon to add to his arsenal. I asked Armando if going to college would hamper or prevent him from continuing his jujitsu. He said if he goes to a college that is not local and can’t find a dojo to train then yes it could be a problem. Armando plans to go to a college that has a wrestling program so it could be possible he would concentrate on wrestling for the time being. When asked if he would like to get into MMA Armando’s reply was “Probably not. If I was to try something it would probably be Abu Dhabi”.