For the past 50 years, Western Massachusetts has been blessed by the presence of some giants in the field, including Lorraine DiAnne, Wendi Dragonfire, Paul Gallagher, Kalaii Kano Griffin, Larry Kelley, Noriyasu Kudo, Melissa “Dr. Ruthless” Soalt & Mike Haynack, Paul Sylvain, Dr. Marion Taylor, and Kimo Wall, among others. Heck, Bruce Lee even demonstrated at the Big E! Their legacy continues through their students, and as well great new teachers have emerged.
Below are links to some of terrific schools of different martial arts in the area, with a few accompanying words.
Aikido
Developed by Morihei Ueshiba in Japan a century ago, the practice of Aikido centers on non-violence and spirituality. There are multiple excellent options in the area, including:
•Aikido of Amherst
•Valley Aikido (in Northampton)
Boxing
Boxing is strangely not considered a martial art in some quarters. Boxing very explicitly fosters character development, has proven to be the best means of defense against multiple opponents, and has a profoundly aesthetic side as well. So boxing is unequivocally one of the greatest martial arts. The Whitley brothers are lifelong martial artists, and share their profound, multi-generational knowledge of the sweet science, at their highly-regarded Holyoke gym.
•Whitley Brothers Boxing And Fitness
Capoeira
Created by enslaved Africans in the early 1500s in Brazil, Capoeira is the most beautiful martial art of all, and much more. It is an extraordinary cultural heritage, a tremendous form of exercise, and a powerful means of self-defense.
•Capoeira Gunga Do Vale (in Northampton)
Jiu-jitsu
If your interests lie with Brazilian jiu-jitsu as practiced in a gi, Team Link is an extraordinary option. Founder Marco Alvan came to the USA with little but a black belt, ambition, and love; today he inspirationally heads a chain of over a dozen academies, including a number in Brazil, and has put students into top MMA promotions like the UFC and Bellator MMA, and all the top jiu-jitsu competitions.
•Team Link Noho, run by a black belt couple, one of whom is a world champion
•Team Link Ludlow, run by the association founder Marco Alvan himself.
Another great option is Gabriel Gladiator Training Center in West Springfield, run by the eponymous pioneer of the sport.
West Springfield is also home to the great Alexandre “Vaca” Moreno’s Vaca BJJ & MMA.
And if no-gi jiu-jitsu is your passion, check out the local affiliate from the great and powerful Eddie Bravo’s 10th Planet system.
•10th Planet (in Agawam)
Judo
Judo, the gentle way, is a not-always-gentle Olympic sport that centers on throwing an opponent wearing a jacket, as well as pins and submissions. It also offers a central ethical pedagogy. Modern mixed martial arts developed directly out of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which in turn formed after Judo founder Jigoro Kano sent experts across the globe. One of them, Mitsuyo Maeda, moved to Brazil, where he taught the Gracie family Judo, plus in all likelihood catch wrestling and techniques he developed through his own experience in no-rules contests. Kano is the most influential martial artist in the last 100 years, and his art is undeniably one of the greatest and most respected.
•Kuma Judo (in Florence)
Karate
While many of the aforementioned martial arts like Aikido, boxing, jiu-jitsu, and judo are relatively uniform from school to school, the term karate is applied to a wide variety of practices, which evolved from indigenous striking-based martial arts in the Ryukyu Islands, which in turn were influenced by interaction with China. Wendi Dragonfire, mentioned above, was a direct student of Robert Trias, the first person to open a karate school in the mainland USA. Excellent local karate schools include:
•Amherst Shotokan Karate Dojo
•Northampton Karate
Kung Fu
Kung fu is a general term used widely in English for Chinese martial arts, and the practices are even more varied than in karate. While kung fu has a reputation for not being as practical as some other approaches, its combat sports aspect, Sanda, is drawn almost exclusively from traditional Chinese martial arts, and it is likely the most underappreciated base in MMA. Reputable options in the area include:
•Shaolin Kung Fu Center of Hadley
•Chinese Kung Fu Wushu Academy (in Chicopee)
MMA
This writer has been licensed in the martial arts space in 15+ states, and has worked professionally in 30+ countries, and can say definitively that Jeremy Libiszewski is one of the best coaches in the entire sport. And he is a humble, life-long martial artist, who is amazing with world-class fighters, and equally fantastic with kids.
•Fighting Arts Academy (in Springfield)
Muay Thai
For over 20 years, Aaron Snow has trained internationally, plus refereed, judged, and coached in the national sport of Thailand, the science of 8 Limbs. He now runs a vibrant Muay Thai program in Leverett, Massachusetts.
•Sitmanpong
Self-Defense
Walt Lysak teaches a comprehensive self-defense system that begins where combat sports end – with eye gouges, biting, and worse. As UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock put it, “for the street, there’s nothing better.” In addition to his ferocious self-defense system, Lysak is also a 3rd-degree black belt in jiu-jitsu.
•Sento MMA Academy (in West Springfield)
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean, striking-based martial art with an emphasis on kicks; it is reportedly the most popular on Earth. As expected for a martial art of this popularity, there are multiple excellent options in the area:
•Amherst Martial Arts
•Elite Taekwondo (in Hadley)
•Northampton Martial Arts
•Greenfield Taekwondo Center
Wrestling
This is the most vital part of mixed martial arts, as wrestling determines where the confrontation takes place – in the open, on the ground, or against a wall. Further, wrestling is an epic art and combat sport in its own right, arguably the greatest. And lastly, the indigenous form of wrestling in the USA, folkstyle, is even better a base for MMA than are the internationally practiced forms, freestle and Greco-Roman.
•Grit and Gratitude (a non-profit in Springfield, with programs for 5 year olds, through adults)
Yoga
Yoga is very much a martial art. However, unlike many dubious martial arts approaches, yoga has integrity, and does not falsely claim to directly impart self-defense skills. That said, in addition to peace of mind and spiritual elevation, the practice of Yoga imparts terrific conditioning, and as the “God of Wrestling” Karl Gotch famously explained, “the greatest hold is conditioning.” If you are a martial artist and want to improve your practice, try yoga.
•Shiva Shakti Power Vinyasa Yoga
If one of these martial arts is important to you, but you’ll have to drive a ways to make it, then drive, don’t settle. The practice of martial arts can be really important in our personal development, and going out of your way to find what you want, well, you’re worth it.
Please note, there are undoubtedly tremendous programs in the area that are not mentioned above. If a great local class is not mentioned, the oversight is not pointed, but is simply due to an unfortunate lack of knowledge. Please feel free to leave your suggestions below in the comments section.