HOME

By ADAM LAPIERRE
News staff writer

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, and after a 10-year hiatus on the small south Pacific island of Guam, Brandon Boots is bringing his experience with the sport back to his home town.

The 1998 graduate of Hood River Valley High School has been studying MMA, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai extensively for the last six years, most of which was under the highly respected Carlson Gracie Jr. Academy.

Starting this week, Boots will be teaching a variety of classes in town that focus on bringing the basic elements of those disciplines to the Hood River community.

Under the name “Knuckle-Up Academy,” Boots (and assistant instructors) will offer classes in Jiu-Jitsu/grappling, boxing, Muay Tai, MMA and wrestling at Big Gym in Hood River. Classes will run Tuesdays through Saturdays, with separate sessions for each style. Training will be taken at a slow pace; and don’t let the name scare you, classes are open to individuals of all interests and ability levels.

“We’ll be starting everyone at ground zero,” said Boots, who is also busy training for the world Jiu-Jitsu championships this summer. “The idea is to have classes that encourage people of all levels to participate. Whether it’s simply for a great workout, for learning basic defense techniques, or to train for actual MMA competition; classes will have something for everyone … And, regardless of your impressions of what MMA fighting is all about, if you come try a class or two, I’m sure you’ll want to come back for more.”

Boots plans to run sessions for an hour and a half each, with two classes a day. Each class will focus on a designated discipline, giving people the ability to choose from a variety of different styles. He will also offer a female-only class on Saturdays.

“For Hood River, I think it’s going to be a fun way for people to get a good workout and learn a new sport,” Boots said. “There are probably not a lot of people in town seriously interested in competitive MMA fighting. I can certainly train people at that level, but I think it’s going to be more about teaching the basics of these sports; at least in the beginning.”

The martial arts climate on Guam is a polar opposite of that in Hood River. The island, which is roughly the size of the Hood River valley between Mount Hood and the Columbia River, has dozens of gyms, clubs and academies, many of which put out top-notch fighters who compete around the world. Pride and respect are big parts of the local culture, and for much of the island’s history, fighting has been a way to get it.

“It’s engrained in the culture,” said Boots, who moved to Guam after high school because he had family on the island. “You have to be tough to grow up there. A big part of the culture is about respect, and sometimes getting that respect means fighting for it.”

Fighting, as most people would define it, and combat sports are two very different beasts; and that’s a fact Boots is quick to point out.

“A lot of people see MMA as very violent,” he said. “I’ve think the definition of violence, in that respect, is not accurate. When two people are trained, conditioned and prepared, and they go up against each other in a controlled environment, with rules; I think it’s a legitimate sport, not violence.”

When Boots moved to Guam in 1999, he was a skinny, wiry guy who looked very little like the 190-pound rock that he is today. After a couple years of playing bass guitar in various bands on the island, Boots attended a trial class at the Carlson Gracie Jr. gym. The class changed his life.

“I was pretty much hooked right away,” he said. “The first few classes I took were probably the hardest times I had ever been through; but I was still hooked.”

Down the road, Boots broke his elbow in training, and that’s when he started coaching.

“Coaching while I was injured turned into me coaching all the time,” he said. “It was more fulfilling for me than training to fight, so that’s the direction I went … I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t have the natural ability to do something, and to have to work harder to do it. Coaching, and helping others push and improve themselves, is something I find very rewarding.”