Jeff Matthysen says he started presenting classes after realising no MMA classes were available in the area. “It is something that my brother and I were passionate about growing up,” he says. He says they trained in judo or Brazilian jiujitsu, catch wrestling or luta livre, and Muay Thai boxing. “We went through the three stages of stand-up, clinching, and groundwork at Morne Swanepoel Combat Coaching with Manny da Silva, a wellknown coach,” he says.

According to him, he was also involved in charity events at the Anton Gilmore Boxing Gym in Johannesburg where they hosted armature competitions. He was also involved in training at the Shane Carr Valhalla MMA in Alberton. After moving to Kampersrus he started working with Felipe Costa in Kampersus, a four-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion.

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“It is a sport that grows on you and teaches you discipline. I wanted to train my sons, Troy and Eli, and we started in our backyard,” he says. “We learned a lot of groundwork from Felipe, and as more people got involved, we were invited to Mariette Boxing Gym by Ramon Bezuidenhout who owns the boxing studio in Kampersrus. “He helped us with mats and some of the sports equipment and it grew from there,” he adds. He says wrestling is especially popular with youngsters.

“It keeps the mind clean, and they body healthy.” They recently were part of a charity event held by Hoedspruit Paws where they exhibited their skills in a Caribbean fight scene. He says that he hopes to work more with children as he feels they gain immensely from MMA. “We make sure that they learn the basics of MMA, especially the groundwork,” he says. “I welcome everyone with experience in boxing and MMA to come and share their knowledge and skills. We will be presenting classes during the holidays and parents are very interested,” he adds. Contact him at 065 670 9642.