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Article: Mixed martial arts A real knockout
- Article from:
- The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL
- Article date:
- March 6, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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An amateur fighter and wrestler since second grade, Jason Smith
didn't know what to do with his wrestling skills. "I needed to find
something to keep the competitive nature going," said Smith. "I kind
of felt like I wasted years of my life wrestling, but then I found
mixed martial arts (MMA)."
Mixed martial arts is a hybrid style of martial arts that
includes Muay Thai kickboxing, Jiu-Jitsu and grappling, said
instructor Eddie Shepard of the Academy of Mixed Martial Arts in
Bloomington. Shepard said mixed martial arts classes attract
everyone from college students to people in their mid-50s who want a
cardio workout.
While mixed martial arts training is demanding, "you get a lot of
friends ...