Thursday-December 11th, 2008

Undisputed Boxing Gym
883 East San Carlos Ave.
San Carlos, CA 94070
650-631-3781

On this episode of THE LPL, we bring you interviews with Brain “The Mad Stork” Schwartz, Jesse Jones, and Dave Martin. All three train out of Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos, California. I recently had the opportunity to visit the facility and watch these Mixed Martial Artists train and teach.

This facility is well appointed and has 9000 square feet of training space. With classes in Kick-Boxing, Boxing, MMA, traditional martial arts, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Strength and Conditioning, there is something to suit pretty much anyone.

The night that I visited the Cardio Kick-Boxing Class it was, what I like to call, “Sold Out”. It was completely full of students ready to train and get out the stresses of the day. The audio system in the facility pumped out music as a motivational tool for the students, and they were game.

THE LPL-MMA PODCAST
(Brian Schwartz, Jesse Jones, Dave Martin)

Download | Duration: 00:41:35

I witnessed one student that arrived a few minutes late to class and was more-than-ready to join the group. She pulled her boxing gloves out of her bag and threw it to one side. Before the bag even hit the ground she was kicking her shoes off and simultaneously putting her gloves on as she made her way to the heavy-bags.

This group of strikers was led and instructed by Brian Schwartz. Brian is the proprietor of Undisputed Boxing Gym. He is a former World Kickboxing Champion and is a professional Mixed Martial Artist with a record of 1-1. During our interview, we discuss his last fight with Lemont “Bad Boy Davis” at the Strikeforce “Destruction Card”. Schwartz faced Davis back in November of 2007 and was handed a loss by way of unanimous decision.

Schwartz sought redemption for their first fight in their second meeting, and it was achieved. Although Brian was behind in points due to fouls in the second round, he continued to put pressure on Davis and ultimately knocked him out in the third round. The local crowd was behind Schwartz and cheered him from the moment he walked out to the cage.

I asked Brian what he thought about the cheers.

“I feel very lucky that I have a good following from the peninsula, fortunately for all of my kickboxing career, it was like that. So, any time that a fighter came into the bay area it was a pretty uncomfortable situation, because of our fans that we have, and the energy and spirit that they bring to the fights. I mean, it’s unlike any other.”

Brian spoke to us about some of the challenges and benefits of owning a business.

“I guess the challenges just were, how much actual work there was….there is just a lot of grind on it, with everything, whether it’s cleaning the gym, or doing stuff with memberships, working out with different instructors…whatever it is. There is just a lot of stuff. I don’t think that anyone realizes how much work there is in owning your own business.”

“On the plus side, we took off right away, people really liked the concept that we had going, so we didn’t really hit any hard times where a lot of new businesses feel. We were busy from the minute we opened, people were coming in, and we don’t do any advertising or anything. It’s all word of mouth and we have been really successful that way.”

Like any successful business, there must be a solid support team, and Brain is supported by a devoted staff of friends and colleagues.

Dave Martin is head instructor of Undisputed’s MMA class and shares his Mixed Martial Arts education with students and other fighters. His demeanor is approachable, which is a great asset for any instructor.

A former student of Eugene Jackson and Tim Lacyk, Dave started training at Undisputed Boxing Gym 2 years ago to work on his stand-up, and since has become the Mixed Martial Arts instructor. Dave is currently working with Shingo Kohara and Jesse Jones for their upcoming fights with M-1 early next year at The Playboy Mansion.

I asked Dave what his methodology was in teaching his students.

“I have always been pretty laid back, I don’t have attitude like some guys do, so I just teach them what I know. I’m a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu, I mean there are hundreds of guys out there that are better I am.  I just teach them what I know works, and what doesn’t, and let them go from there.”

I asked Dave what his thoughts were on training with fighters like Jesse Jones.

“Training with Jesse, has made me so much better, the guy is so explosive…his speed is just on another level, he’s so fast.  It’s been making me get a lot faster on my techniques.”

Jesse Jones is a professional Mixed Martial Artist who has fought 3 fights for Strikeforce and has a record of 2-1. Jesse’s aggressive style, combined with his quickness and heavy-hands make him a formidable opponent.

Coming off of a loss back in June to Cyrillo Padilha, Jesse is hungry to get back in the cage and fight. He trained aggressively during my visit, preparing for his fight early next year with M-1. Although Jesse is a focused and dedicated competitor, he is not lost on the concept of camaraderie. During my visit, he was helpful to other students, giving them advice while they “rolled” with other students.

Jesse gives us his thoughts on watching his training partners and students fight.

“Once you sit on the sidelines and watch your buddies… you can only watch them fight so many times and then you get the itch.”

I asked Jesse what his main focus was for this fight.

“You just want to go out there and put together all the stuff you have been training on and make each fight better and better, and beat the guy up harder and harder each time.”

“You don’t want to look like a fool in front of 15-20,000 people.”

Brian Schwartz, Jesse Jones and Dave Martin are prime examples of the great talent that is to be found in the Bay Area. I look forward to Shingo and Jesse’s fights early next year and wish them a great showing.

I would like to thank Brian, Jesse, and Dave for the interviews and the hospitality I received during my visit.