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Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) — a combination of boxing, wrestling, karate, jiujitsu and kickboxing among other combat styles — tends to get a bit of gruff for being “excessively violent.” But Brainerd Lakes Fight Mafia (FAFIA), an MMA training center located in downtown Brainerd, is proving that the newly popularized sport is just as much about family as it is about fighting.
“We’re really just a giant and somewhat dysfunctional family,” said Alicia Nauheimer, whose fiance Steve Foslien owns and operates FAFIA. “You see how hard they train, and how much time is put into it, you become so close to everyone involved.
“We’ve become a family, watch each others kids, bring the kids to the gym and overall just really care about each other...watching them fight has brough that to us.”
Foslien, who hails from California, moved his MMA aspirations from Dallas to Brainerd just over three years ago. Starting from humble beginnings in his longtime friend, Christopher Santiago’s sister’s basement in to the building on Front Street that FAFIA is now housed in, the space allows everything from merchandise, to watching and of course actual training, as Foslien’s vision has now become a reality.
“This has been my passion and my livelihood for as long as I can remember,” said Foslien, who began his MMA training at the age of 8. “We’ve grown so much over the past three years, going from just a couple fighters on a (competition) card to nine for our latest (Savage Entertainment) upcoming event in April.
“And while we’re mainly an MMA school for guys who want to fight in the cage, lately we’re picking up a lot of moms and kids which has been awesome.”
FAFIA offers four different options outside of MMA training, with FAFIA (for adults interested in learning and training for MMA) lil’ FAFIA (MMA courses for kids 4-16), women’s power hour (self-defense and kickboxing) and men’s jiujitsu/boxing/self-defense. A little bit of something for everybody.
“FAFIA is really specifically designed for people looking to get in to cage fighting,” said Foslien, who has a purple belt in jiujitsu. “We do a lot of take down defense and cardio to train how to keep standing up and throwing punches.
“In our women’s class we do a lot of kickboxing, as that seems to be what they really want to do but we like to mix it up and do something new and different each time, especially trying to focus on getting out of a physically dangerous situation.”
“And then we’ve got 10-12 children in our lil’FAFIA right now, with our youngest being a four-year-old girl. They have a lot of fun in there, Matt Thurstin, one of our MMA fighters teaches that course and the kids have a great time with him.”
Apparent from the moment two lil’FAFIA members walked in to the studio, Nicki and Jill Glomski, was the amount of fun to be had by all ages.
“I love playing dodgeball in class,” said Jill with a giant grin on her face and who quickly added, “except when (Matt) Thurstin cheats!” To which he replied, “I don’t cheat I’m just that good.”
Comments (153)
Add comment@oldfarmboy
no idea where your going with anything you say
Practicality, I have no clue what your personal issues are
but take your immature and personal attacks to another forum. I have so little time for people like you that offer nothing to a conversation.
Practicality, I have no clue what your personal issues are
but take your immature and personal attacks to another forum. I have so little time for people like you that offer nothing to a conversation.
It really is a moot issue...
Handgun permits are up exponentially in the county.
@eyolf
That is an unfair statement, this is not how our family works.
if its not how your family works
please explain the incident and the party involved, actions?
I
will not assume guilt until court proceedings have taken place. I believe that's the way the laws are written. I also will not question the values of a group as a whole or hold over 40 people accountable for the actions of one.
That being said, I do send my prayers out to the victim.
there may be trouble abrewing
if this is the case, and I believe it is.
pdnet15 | 03/18/12 - 09:21 am
.... I think my only problem with this whole scenario is the ultimate fighting, or mixed martial arts, aka MMA.
From what I understand it is really no more that vicious street fighting, or what Senator McCain called "human cockfighting"! Ultimate fighters do not wear helmets or shoes or full, padded boxing gloves. They attempt to win the bout by: concussing an opponent into defencelessness through blunt head trauma; disabling an opponent through joint subluxation, dislocation, or soft tissue trauma; causing unconsciousness through a neck choke; or forcing an opponent into submission through a variety of the above techniques......
From the Zorba attack story, it sounds like he used the methods he was "trained" for. Some lawyer may have a bit of a field day with that.
@352 Cubes
If they don't even know all the facts yet how can they possibly explain?
We are doing our best, but
We are doing our best, but anyone knows that no one just attacks out of nowhere, no one does!
All we can tell anyone right
All we can tell anyone right now is that someone came up starting in on Will, two other guys were with Will (not FAFIA members) and they all left because of the situation with this guy starting in on Will. That guy followed him into the parking lot, we always tell our guys to leave, and he did, he followed what our rules are when you are in public and someone acts confrontational, but this guy kept talking and tearing Will down, of course there is more details I cannot share, but Will was in NO WAY looking to fight, especially after we FINALLY get recognized for the good.
beware
when punks get too much undeserved attention it goes to their heads. hope others don't get hurt! mafia=punks
It seems like the biggest shame to me,
..is that on FB and here, Will's friends and family are playing the "don't judge unless you were there" card seemingly absconding their Will of any responsibility or guilt because the general public "doesn't know the facts".
The most resounding fact to me is that a man was airlifted with a broken skull because of Will's fists and training. Will isn't the victim here. I really hope the real victim doesn't suffer brain damage or become disabled because of this.
I don't care how drunk and disorderly and antagonizing and annoying someone is, they don't deserve their skull cracked open.
Well
the fight in Lake Shore couldn't have come at a worse time. I was starting to believe in this whole Fafia thing after my experience with them. Now I just don't know. No, obviously not all of them are bad, but this didn't help my opinion at all. There is a difference between self defense and beating someone until their skull fractures. Just like if you have a problem with someone for some unknown reason there is a difference between dealing with them and having four of your buddys try to start a fight with him.
It probably would have
been better to submit the guy or at least just hold him down, than to beat him until you fracture his skull. If you are training to be a MMA fighter maybe alcohol isn't the best idea.
Self-defense?
If this was a case of self-defense, why did he flee the scene? It was only because of witnesses to what happened that police were able to track him down. Doesn't sound too upstanding and brave to me.
Leftover....
A person's training has nothing to do with the injuries sustained, if I remember correctly someone was KILLED in Brainerd from someone's punch and this person had no training that I am aware of. It is unfair to blame a sport for someone's actions.
?
These guys are thugs. They enjoy beating up on each other that is why they join. I know a few of them and thug is the only word I can think of. If these clowns are told to just leave a situation, then why didn't he? Hard to throw punches while driving away in a car. Also, they run around wearing there gym clothes announcing that they think they are tough guys. Thugs. Period.
Let's get a few things straight
First off, if I was running the Dispatch I would be issueing a formal apology immediatley to the owner of the FAFIA. There was ABSOLUTELY no reason to have included his business in the recent article because of an idividual who trained there, HIS business and what he provides should not suffer because of an "individual". As a business owner myself, I would be contacting my attorney about be defamed.
Secondly, this article only states one side of the story (and vague at that), it seems to me this Renee is someone who just doesn't like MMA and jumped on the opportunity to bash it and particularly the FAFIA. I see these names being tossed around except the other parties. Why is that? Seems a little fishy to me.
Thirdly, again FAFIA teaches self-defense, what that individual does with it after he/she learns is there responsibilty, not the business entity itself. Everyone who is blaming and puting the FAFIA organization at fault for incidents by individuals need to stop and think more.
Front Page News
I think the only reason the business was named is bacause this particular individual's picture was on the front pageof the paper the day before, promoting said business.
I am
so sick of sue happy people. This is a small town, like it wouldn't have been mentioned somehow. If a cop, or a teacher, or a firefighter etc messes up everyone knows what they did, who they worked for and no one cries over that.
Would they say the name of
Would they say the name of someone who trained at Snap Fitness and blame Snap Fitness for any guy that got really big lifting weights and working a little boxing for training there?
The Fafia
is a specific group that does specific training who want to be recognized. People who go to Snap or Anytime do just general working out for the most part. I hate that they are receiving bad recognition because of some of these guys but they wear their shirts out to the bars a lot and some are not respectful at all. I am in a group and we are not allowed to wear our shirts to drinking establishments. You get in trouble while wearing our shirt you are out for good.
Tones changed?
Well this incident definitely gives the gym and the sport a black eye. You can say whatever you want about the person being responsible with the things they learn...yada, yada, yada, but this young man and his felonious action will be directly linked with his ties to the gym. I feel sorry for the rest of the team that do walk the straight and narrow, only to have the actions of one provide this much negative publicity.
You cant make it up
Get all these "Mafia" guys on here saying that we dont allow fighting, and that the guys are "stand up people" What a Joke! These punks work out a little and get a big head then want to show it off not matter in a ring or not.
Dont give me this crap that guys seek out FAFIA guys to fight them, "they come up and slap guys in the bar" BULL!
Nobody could care less who you are or what group you are with, just an excuse to get in fights and not hold personal responsibility for your actions. Keep it up, always someone out there stronger then you, I hope you have the chance to meet them.
Back in the day they used to have ditch diggers now they have been replaced with these guys.
@ lil_cowgirl
We're talking about a business here, someones livelyhood. It's not sue happy I was getting at, it's the principal of potentially losing business because of something like that. So for example lil_cowgirl, let's say you own a business and someone goes out and buys a potentially hazardous product from you if used incorrectly, they use it incorrectly and get seriously hurt and write an article because their mad. Now, it's not your fault that happened, it's theirs. Why should your business suffer because of that persons mistake and paper coverage ,that should not have included the business' name? It's easy to say what you did because your not in that position, but If you were you cannot tell me you would dis-agree with me.
"Got sucker punched and fell
"Got sucker punched and fell back and hit my head. Got two fractures to the skull and a few stitches to the lip" Quoted from the guy that got hit's own facebook page, also a picture of him in the hospital bed with comments next to it with his friends talking about how they got some "good licks in" on Will.....www.facebook.com/thefafia
"Got sucker punched and fell
"Got sucker punched and fell back and hit my head. Got two fractures to the skull and a few stitches to the lip" Quoted from the guy that got hit's own facebook page, also a picture of him in the hospital bed with comments next to it with his friends talking about how they got some "good licks in" on Will.....www.facebook.com/thefafia
"Got sucker punched and fell
"Got sucker punched and fell back and hit my head. Got two fractures to the skull and a few stitches to the lip" Quoted from the guy that got hit's own facebook page, also a picture of him in the hospital bed with comments next to it with his friends talking about how they got some "good licks in" on Will.....www.facebook.com/thefafia
@rejo0203
Rejo, your comment made you sound like a disgruntled 45 year old still living in his parents basement. Please, the next time you comment have something worthwhile to say. Because "all" of them are not bad and to have said they are, was one of the dumbest comments I've read.