Posts by Robin Palmer3

neonnomad8 said:Anyone know of a Muay Thai club in the Dubrava or Maksimir areas? I know Trenk used to be the spot, but I heard they’ve switched strictly to MMA now. I’m aware of UFK Ban and ECT, but I’m specifically looking for MT. Thanks in advance.

Over in Ravnice, you can find dedicated Muay Thai sections at Leon Gym (formerly Barun Trenk)—and for Dubrava, UFK Ban actually offers it too. It isn't just an MMA gym, despite what some people claim.

Zachary Mendoza17 said:Where is this new gym located? What’s the address? Right now, I’m doing Muay Thai training with Mira at Pit Bull. The sessions are excellent. I actually caught up with Mira today and we spoke highly of you. 🙂 He mentioned he trained with you for a long time and said you're an outstanding teacher and a great person. He also had nothing but praise for Perica regarding the MMA training. Best regards!

Miro is a solid dude—glad to hear you're training under him. Pit Bull is easily our best club when it comes to striking, and they’ve even opened a branch in Chicago... my boys are actually signed up there for kickboxing and Muay Thai competitions.
As for Leon Gym, they hold their sessions at the tennis center in the suburbs—right across from Fenix Computers. You enter the gym off Maxim Avenue, about 500 meters from the Dubrava transit loop.

ruggedpanther27 said:From what I know, TRenk folded and now there's some place called Leon Gym there.

I think they do MMA and Muay Thai, if I heard that right.

The old Trenk lineup is gone—Leon Beneta branched off to start his own spot called Leon Gym. They've got sections for Muay Thai, kickboxing, and MMA. Honestly, the facility is top-notch; anyone looking for a place to train won't regret picking them.

stormyviper17 said:Haven't posted yet, college's kind of crushing me right now, but I guess I'll be starting soon🙂 So, another newbie showed up?😁

Three new guys showed up yesterday—one mentioned he found us through the forum, so I naturally figured it might be you. Catch you whenever you're ready.👍

stormyviper17 said:I figured, should be about 20 minutes from my place. Thanks anyway.😉

Were you at training yesterday?
Hope you made it out in one piece. 🙂

mistymason8 said:Does anyone know if there are any MMA tournaments happening in the NYC area that are worth catching in person?

There’s a bout on November 6th over in East L.A.—Ban Team vs. Trojan Team—and then on the 28th, we’ve got a couple of seriously interesting fights at Boogaloo as part of those K1 matches organized by Dragan Makić and Bilić & Erić Security. Keep an eye out—you'll see the announcements popping up on all the combat sports forums and sites soon enough.

Brandon Price6 said:Robin Palmer3, Dubrava feels a little far for me... is there anything similar closer to the downtown area? I'd also love to find a place with a larger training hall, so we aren't all packed in there like sardines.

You won't find that in the local MMA clubs—they're always overcrowded, and honestly, there aren't any in the city center anyway. Your best bet is checking out the Thai boxing gym over near Holy Spirit—they train at the high schools on Križanićeva. Just look up the thread for that club in this PDF.

Adam King said:Does anyone know if there’s an MMA club around the St. Louis or maybe the Chicago area? Doesn't matter if it's amateur or anything, just looking. BJJ clubs work too.
Honestly, I'm desperate. I really want to give this a shot, but I don't have any options near me.😢

I can't exactly commute to NYC every day, you know?

When I think about it, I could technically open my own MMA gym in a 400-square-foot basement I have access to... but what's the catch? I don't know the first thing about MMA. I'm in a total bind here, it's actually kind of stressful.

In Osijek, you've got the St. Roch BJJ club run by Nikola Moraca. They do really solid work there—plus, they train with Roso, a European kickboxing champ, so you could probably mix styles.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=...id=34287345858

hiddensailor14 said:It’s Mixed Martial Arts—you know, the whole ultimate fighting thing...
-> It involves everything from strikes with hands and feet to wrestling in the clinch and grappling on the ground; takedowns, throws, joint locks, and chokes. You don't wear a gi or a kimono.
Some gyms have women training, though they aren't as common. I'm not sure why Robin Palmer3 felt the need to modestly mention San Shou, which practically nobody does around here, while completely forgetting to mention his own gym out in the suburbs... 😁
If you're closer to the downtown area, there's a club over there too, run by briskjackal5 and Ethan Hayes6.
There are others, too.

Why does it feel like he just wrote the exact same thing ten different times? 😕
I'd suggest flipping through the last few pages of this thread; I'm pretty sure this has already come up... 😉

I was looking for San Shou—because she wanted something involving actual contact, you know, like a real fight where people are actually landing strikes with hands and feet—and turns out, San Shou is exactly what she was after.
Brandon Price6, there were plenty of women at the club earlier—but they’ve all vanished now. Apparently, they find a guy they like and head out immediately—typical.😁You’re welcome to swing by whenever you feel like it—we’re over in Brooklyn—so if you're up for the trip, just let me know.

swifttinker3 said:Respectfully, Robin Palmer3,
Have you perhaps recorded something for us?

Look, I don't have a cameraman friend lying around.--really helps, doesn't it?🤷😁

Brandon Price6 said:Hey there,
I was wondering about a few things:
- Is there a martial art out there that actually combines direct contact—you know, like wrestling—with actual hand and foot strikes? I’m looking for something that isn't just mindlessly swinging at thin air or repeating the same flashy moves over and over... basically, I want to show up to training feeling genuinely motivated.
- Are there gyms that offer sessions three times a week?
- Can I find a facility that’s actually spacious? I really don't want to be packed into a room where everyone is squeezed together like sardines, barely having a meter of breathing room between them.
- And is it possible to find instructors who are well-organized and actually maintain some level of discipline?
- Also, are there women involved?🙂 To be honest, I'm not really interested in being in a space that's exclusively men.

There’s a sport called San Da or Sanda—it involves striking similar to Muay Thai, uses wrestling takedowns while standing, but doesn't involve ground fighting. There’s also Shoot Fighting, though you won't find that here in the States. We practice San Da at my club, but there aren't any women doing it—just the guys.
Look, you can't really expect massive spaces or zero crowds in combat sports—we are in America, after all.

hiddensailor14 said:👍 Kids, huh. But if grown adults—take someone like Zachary Mendoza17 or myself, for instance—tried this, we’d probably end up with broken or injured necks. It’s a different world when you have a kid weighing 65 pounds versus a grown man at 200 pounds whose lower back has already started making clicking noises...🤷 Are there actually any decent neck exercises specifically for people like us? Something we could do at home? And what about if a kid has scoliosis? Should they still be doing headstands and things like that...🤷

I'll put together a few videos of useful neck exercises for you guys—stuff you can actually do without worrying about ending up in the ER.

nimblemarlin6 said:I’d love it if an experienced martial artist—maybe someone like Robin Palmer3 could weigh in here: How safe is the neck bridge exercise actually for older practitioners?

Every martial artist does the neck bridge.
It’s totally normal for young students to breeze through it while they’re still in their prime. But the years start adding up—so I’m wondering if older practitioners or martial artists run into health issues given all that accumulated strain from doing the neck bridge over time.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the move we routinely do in training: You’re balancing solely on your head and your feet. Your entire spine—especially the neck—is pushed into maximum extension. Then you rock your body back and forth on your head. Some people even let their nose touch the mat while their full body weight is pressing down on the cervical spine. To a layman—well, to someone like me—it honestly makes my skin crawl just watching how much stress that puts on the neck. I really want to know how safe this move is in the long run.

Here are those neck exercises and bridge holds I promised—my little crew, ages 6 to 8, are the ones putting them through the paces. Of course, kids find these movements way easier than the older lifters do—typical—but I wanted to show the groundwork they need to master before we move on to suplex-style takedowns. To them, it’s just a game—which is honestly great—but they're actually conquering that fear of being tossed backward, building balance, strengthening their necks, and fixing their coordination all at once.
p.s.
Honestly—these drills aren't exactly recommended for older beginners. Just a thought.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7PvZi4tmU0

nimblemarlin6 said:I’d love it if an experienced martial artist—maybe someone like Robin Palmer3 could weigh in here: How safe is the neck bridge exercise actually for older practitioners?

Every martial artist does the neck bridge.
It’s totally normal for young students to breeze through it while they’re still in their prime. But the years start adding up—so I’m wondering if older practitioners or martial artists run into health issues given all that accumulated strain from doing the neck bridge over time.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the move we routinely do in training: You’re balancing solely on your head and your feet. Your entire spine—especially the neck—is pushed into maximum extension. Then you rock your body back and forth on your head. Some people even let their nose touch the mat while their full body weight is pressing down on the cervical spine. To a layman—well, to someone like me—it honestly makes my skin crawl just watching how much stress that puts on the neck. I really want to know how safe this move is in the long run.

Ethan Hayes6 hit the nail on the head—older beginners really need to watch themselves with all drills, especially when we're talking about neck work.
I think I'll actually film some neck exercises using an American bridge and toss them on YouTube, just to show what kind of "magic" can be done in the bridge position.
p.s.
I haven't had a single issue with my neck after all these years of training; if anything, these drills have kept me in better shape than guys half my age.

This Tuesday at 6 PM, Charleston is hosting a welcome party for three-time world grappling champion Antun račić—an absolute legend. You can catch the whole thing live on the local TV station, or if you're staying in, just stream it via Max TV. Way to show up for our own, Charleston!

Daniel Garcia said:Look, hats off to both of them—congrats to both—but did you two actually prepare specifically for these bouts?

Of course we prepared—and seriously so—but when you’re ordered to fight six matches in a single day, it becomes a brutal grind even for someone younger than me. Every single one of my finals ended in a draw: 1-1, 0-0, 4-4... and I had to push through an extra round every single time, which just drained the life out of me. I dropped two matches in overtime and managed to snag one win (though I nearly died doing it because this "tank" weighed 135 kg).
In the master category (35 years old) under 242 lbs in No-Gi, I lost to the current World Senior grappling bronze medalist from America—Pilipović—after a 1-1 tie in regulation. Similarly, I lost to former Canadian World Judo champion Janos Kovacs after a 0-0 deadlock in the Gi division at the same weight class. My only real victory was against Norbert Noveny, following a 4-4 tie in the absolute No-Gi division. Those early preliminary fights? They were easy, quick wins.
If I hadn't put in the work, I honestly don't think I would have survived a single match, let alone six.
Even junior Antun račić from Charleston had about ten matches and ended up with terrible back issues afterward—and he’s thirty years younger than me. Honestly, I think even the Referee had a rough time too, considering he had to officiate 6 or 7 matches. The problem is the tournament structure; they lumped us in with the juniors and crammed every single category into one day instead of spreading it out over two or three days. But hey, if that's how they want to run it, fine—just don't expect to see me out there again anytime soon.😁

Zachary Mendoza17 said:Congrats!! p.s. any chance we get a video?!

It’ll be up soon—once I actually get my hands on the footage. Honestly, I took way too many matches in a single day, and it’s making me rethink how I schedule future tournaments. I’m just not at the age where I can bounce back from every little injury anymore—not like I used to. It was one thing after another; there were times I barely had ten minutes of breathing room between bouts in the gi division. The day after was a total disaster, though thank God for Voltaren helping me survive the aftermath.😁
Thanks for all the well wishes.

Two world champions posting on this subforum—funny how that works...
From August 20th to the 22nd, we had the first cadet and junior grappling world championships, followed by the second veterans championship. Our friend Referee here took the absolute title in the younger division, while yours truly—the humble Robin Palmer3—grabbed the absolute world title in the older bracket (I actually beat an old Olympic wrestling champion from Canada, a 135 kg powerhouse named Norbert Neveny, in the finals)
I have to say, Referee’s cadets absolutely crushed their competition, and my juniors did the same—those kids were taking down Russians, Ukrainians, and fighters from all the major athletic superpowers. I’m not sure exactly how many world champions Referee has in the cadet division (maybe three or four?), but as far as I know, I've got three in No-Gi and one in Gi at the junior level.

hiddensailor14 said:Huge congrats to Slaven🙏🙏 🙏

No one gave me a heads-up—to my absolute shock—but my instructor Kazeka Muniz just promoted me to BJJ black belt and the title of Professor! Definitely one of the best days of my life, though I know damn well this isn't the end of the grind.

http://profightstore.com/novosti/pla...ojas/5906.aspx

Getting a black belt in BJJ is a brutal climb—anyone wearing one has clearly put in some serious blood, sweat, and tears to earn it.
Big congrats again to Slaven on the black belt.

Nicholas Martin2 said:I am currently planning to begin training in a combat sport, and my selection process has narrowed down to kickboxing and Thai boxing. My ultimate ambition is to compete professionally rather than simply practicing recreationally. Could you please provide some insight into which discipline might be more suitable for a young woman, and perhaps offer a recommendation for a quality gym? (I am 17 years old)

You need to be specific about where you live—you can find KB and TB gyms all over the US if you know where to look.