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The Pit (mixed martial arts)
Encyclopedia
The Pit is a professional mixed martial arts
association and training camp that operates in Arroyo Grande, California
. Founded in 1986, its fighters have competed in various promotions all which have been trained by Justin Jeffrey Lucas, who has trained fighters such as Chuck Liddell
.
became UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion.
is a mixture of Kempo Karate, Tang Soo Do, Judo, Jujitsu, Chinese Kenpo, and Chinese boxing (Kung Fu), which was developed in Hawaii between 1947 to 1949 and which was developed specifically as a street fighting art.
In 1979, Hackleman enlisted in the Army in response to the Iran hostage crisis
. He spent three years as a member of the Army boxing team, during which time he won the state and regional Golden Gloves titles. After leaving the Army, Hackleman worked as a professional boxer under the management of Don King Promotions. Although, there is some speculation that Hackleman's professional boxing record consists of 17 wins, 3 losses, with 15 knockouts, this record cannot be verified. Hackleman's record maintained by BoxRec is 8 wins, 4 losses, with 7 knockouts and 1 draw. Two of his losses were by knockout.
http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=56303&cat=boxer
In 1985, Hackleman moved to California and renamed his martial arts style to Hawaiian Kempo. The Pit is the only Hawaiian Kempo school that uses the Ke-m-po spelling, instead of the more commonly used Ke-n-po. Hackleman describes his style as more hardcore than other Hawaiian Kenpo schools. He gave school the style name "KuZen," a word derived from mix "Ku," the Hawaiian god of war, and "Zen," for Zen Buddhism. This name was intended to attract children and families to his school.
, and the Gracie Barra Combat Team’s Renato "Babalu" Sobral
.
The change in Chuck Liddell’s career was part of a philosophy of John Hackleman’s to get back to the basics of what had built his career. Prior to his loss to Couture, Hackleman felt that Chuck had had too much training time taken away due to the need for publicity tours and other such scheduled events on the behalf of the UFC. He had felt that it was time to get back to the type of training that The Pit was known for.
Since then Liddell has opened his own school along with Scott Adams in San Luis Obispo, California
which focuses on kickboxing. Fighters from the Pit train at both schools but Liddell and other fighters from both schools fight as members of the Pit fight team.
. In order to add more time for a more fitness-oriented curriculum aimed at producing well-conditioned athletes, training kata
s were eliminated from the original KaJuKenBo formula. Practicality and usability are emphasized in the areas of striking and grappling. Bag training is emphasized both standing and on the ground.
Since the school began accepting non-fighters, they train students from the age of three years old and up. The school uses 3 separate belt systems; one for three to eight year olds, one for ages nine through 13, and one for adults.
, Liddell suffered a second consecutive loss to "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine
at UFC 76
via a split decision after three rounds. Despite rebounding three months later at UFC 79
with a win by unanimous decision against former PRIDE FC middleweight champ Wanderlei "The Axe-Murderer" Silva
. Liddell's next fight, which was against future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion "Sugar" Rashad Evans
at UFC 88
, ended in a brutal second round knockout loss. His next fight ended in a first round knockout loss to current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, as well as, former Pride and team Universidade da luta
standout Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
. In his most recent fight on the comeback trail, Liddell lost to Rich "Ace" Franklin
via a first round knockout at UFC 115
. Liddell announced his retirement at the UFC 125
pre-fight press conference and now works for the staff of UFC.
In 2007 of the Pit's younger fighters, Antonio Banuelos
received notoriety when he was featured on the Tapout
reality series. Although he lost his WEC 26
bantamweight matchup to Charlie Valencia
via 1st-round knockout, the showcase provided one of the Pit's top young prospects invaluable experience and notoriety as the team looked to build their next superstar.
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
association and training camp that operates in Arroyo Grande, California
Arroyo Grande, California
Arroyo Grande is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 17,252 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Arroyo Grande is a small coastal town with historic, suburban, and rural elements located at...
. Founded in 1986, its fighters have competed in various promotions all which have been trained by Justin Jeffrey Lucas, who has trained fighters such as Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
.
History
The Pit was founded in 1986 in Woodland Hills, California as a training gym that teaches the art of Kajukenbo, or Hawaiian Kempo as it is now known. Its founder, John Hackleman started the school as a means to teach a more straight forward, no-nonsense approach to martial arts. Initially, The Pit was intended to be a martial arts school for training serious fighters only, and employed a logo depicting a Grim Reaper-like fighter. Eventually Hackleman gave the school another name that would attract kids and families, and used the name "KuZen" when the school opened to the general public. The Pit currently operates out of Arroyo Grande, California and gained worldwide notoriety when Chuck LiddellChuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
became UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion.
The Pit boss
John Hackleman was born on November 21, 1959 in New York City but moved to Honolulu, Hawaii at the age of four. He began studying Judo when he was about nine years old. By the time he entered high school, Hackleman was a Golden Gloves boxer and a competitive kickboxer. He had some Shotokan Karate training, but by the age of 10 studied Judo and KaJuKenBo under Walter Godin, with whom he would continue to train until Godin’s death in 2002. KajukenboKajukenbo
Kajukenbo is a hybrid martial art that combines Western Boxing, Judo, Jujutsu, Kenpo Karate, Eskrima, Tang Soo Do, and Kung Fu. It was founded in 1947 in Oahu, Hawaii, at the Palama Settlement. The original purpose of the art was to deal with local crime and to help the people defend themselves...
is a mixture of Kempo Karate, Tang Soo Do, Judo, Jujitsu, Chinese Kenpo, and Chinese boxing (Kung Fu), which was developed in Hawaii between 1947 to 1949 and which was developed specifically as a street fighting art.
In 1979, Hackleman enlisted in the Army in response to the Iran hostage crisis
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...
. He spent three years as a member of the Army boxing team, during which time he won the state and regional Golden Gloves titles. After leaving the Army, Hackleman worked as a professional boxer under the management of Don King Promotions. Although, there is some speculation that Hackleman's professional boxing record consists of 17 wins, 3 losses, with 15 knockouts, this record cannot be verified. Hackleman's record maintained by BoxRec is 8 wins, 4 losses, with 7 knockouts and 1 draw. Two of his losses were by knockout.
http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=56303&cat=boxer
In 1985, Hackleman moved to California and renamed his martial arts style to Hawaiian Kempo. The Pit is the only Hawaiian Kempo school that uses the Ke-m-po spelling, instead of the more commonly used Ke-n-po. Hackleman describes his style as more hardcore than other Hawaiian Kenpo schools. He gave school the style name "KuZen," a word derived from mix "Ku," the Hawaiian god of war, and "Zen," for Zen Buddhism. This name was intended to attract children and families to his school.
Training a champion
Before UFC 47 both Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz had trained at the Pit. This would be a turning point in Liddell's career as he was coming off losses to both Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Randy "the Natural" Couture in two of his prior three fights. Before the fight Chuck had been a longtime contender who had never been given a shot at Ortiz and the title. Ortiz’ loss of the title to Couture made the matchup a no-brainer for both fighters. Chuck knocked Ortiz out in the second round and went undefeated for a subsequent seven fights before losing the title in a rematch to Quinton Jackson. During this time he avenged losses to Randy Couture (twice) and Jeremy Horn. He defeated members of two distinguished training camps in the Lion’s Dens own Vernon "Tiger" WhiteVernon White
Vernon Verdell White is a professional mixed martial arts fighter who has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship , Pride Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, King of the Cage, Pancrase, and the International Fight League . He lives in California, and belongs to the fighting team The Lion's...
, and the Gracie Barra Combat Team’s Renato "Babalu" Sobral
Renato Sobral
Renato da Cunha Sobral , also known as "Babalu", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, and former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. He is regarded as one of the best light heavyweights of the night, and noted for his aggressive style, grappling prowess, and high-caliber submissions. Sobral...
.
The change in Chuck Liddell’s career was part of a philosophy of John Hackleman’s to get back to the basics of what had built his career. Prior to his loss to Couture, Hackleman felt that Chuck had had too much training time taken away due to the need for publicity tours and other such scheduled events on the behalf of the UFC. He had felt that it was time to get back to the type of training that The Pit was known for.
Since then Liddell has opened his own school along with Scott Adams in San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...
which focuses on kickboxing. Fighters from the Pit train at both schools but Liddell and other fighters from both schools fight as members of the Pit fight team.
Training style
Hawaiian Kempo blends kickboxing, western boxing, Judo, Kempo, Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling, with a heavy fitness program developed by CrossFitCrossFit
CrossFit is a strength and conditioning brand that combines weightlifting, sprinting, gymnastics, powerlifting, kettlebell training, plyometrics, rowing, and medicine ball training...
. In order to add more time for a more fitness-oriented curriculum aimed at producing well-conditioned athletes, training kata
Kata
is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....
s were eliminated from the original KaJuKenBo formula. Practicality and usability are emphasized in the areas of striking and grappling. Bag training is emphasized both standing and on the ground.
Since the school began accepting non-fighters, they train students from the age of three years old and up. The school uses 3 separate belt systems; one for three to eight year olds, one for ages nine through 13, and one for adults.
Current and upcoming events
Since losing the UFC light-heavyweight title to Quinton "Rampage" JacksonQuinton Jackson
Quinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...
, Liddell suffered a second consecutive loss to "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine
Keith Jardine
Keith Hector Jardine is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division and is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
at UFC 76
UFC 76
UFC 76: Knockout was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship . The event took place on September 22, 2007 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California...
via a split decision after three rounds. Despite rebounding three months later at UFC 79
UFC 79
UFC 79: Nemesis was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , that took place on December 29, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
with a win by unanimous decision against former PRIDE FC middleweight champ Wanderlei "The Axe-Murderer" Silva
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva , nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship . Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in...
. Liddell's next fight, which was against future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion "Sugar" Rashad Evans
Rashad Evans
Rashad Anton Evans is an American mixed martial artist from Niagara Falls, New York, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Evans won the heavyweight division of The Ultimate Fighter 2. Evans lost the UFC Light Heavyweight...
at UFC 88
UFC 88
UFC 88: Breakthrough was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 6, 2008 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The event was headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans....
, ended in a brutal second round knockout loss. His next fight ended in a first round knockout loss to current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, as well as, former Pride and team Universidade da luta
Universidade da luta
Universidade da Luta is a team of Brazilian martial arts created by the fighters Mauricio Rua, Andre Amade, Mauricio Veio and Murilo Rua after their departure from the Chute Boxe Academy Team, in 2008. The name translates in English to "University of Fighting".The team’s headquarters is located in...
standout Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
Mauricio Rua
Maurício Milani Rua is a Brazilian mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion...
. In his most recent fight on the comeback trail, Liddell lost to Rich "Ace" Franklin
Rich Franklin
Rich Jay Franklin II is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion.-Background:...
via a first round knockout at UFC 115
UFC 115
UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 12, 2010 at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Background:...
. Liddell announced his retirement at the UFC 125
UFC 125
UFC 125: Resolution was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 1, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.-Background:...
pre-fight press conference and now works for the staff of UFC.
In 2007 of the Pit's younger fighters, Antonio Banuelos
Antonio Banuelos
Juan Antonio Banuelos is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division.-Mixed martial arts career:...
received notoriety when he was featured on the Tapout
TapouT
Tapout is an American business enterprise specializing in producing clothing and miscellaneous gear targeted at mixed martial arts fans who are generally males age 13–27 as well as a magazine devoted to mixed martial arts fighting .-History:Charles Lewis, Jr...
reality series. Although he lost his WEC 26
WEC 26
WEC 26: Condit vs. Alessio was the second mixed martial arts event held by the World Extreme Cagefighting under Zuffa management. The event was held on March 24, 2007. WEC 26 hosted three title fights on March 24. The first of the title fights was for the WEC Bantamweight Title, between challenger,...
bantamweight matchup to Charlie Valencia
Charlie Valencia
Carlos Enrique Valencia is an American mixed martial artist . He has fought for the WEC and UFC in their bantamweight divisions..-Early life:...
via 1st-round knockout, the showcase provided one of the Pit's top young prospects invaluable experience and notoriety as the team looked to build their next superstar.
Fighters who have trained at The Pit
- Chuck LiddellChuck LiddellCharles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
(UFC) - Tito OrtizTito OrtizJacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
(UFC) - Tony DeSouza (UFC)
- Ross PointonRoss PointonRoss Pointon is an English mixed martial artist who holds a record of 6 wins and 12 losses. He was a competitor in season three of The Ultimate Fighter, fighting in the Light Heavyweight division after premiering in the Middleweight division under Ken Shamrock...
(Cage RageCage RageCage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went bankrupt and is now no longer trading...
) - Bobby SouthworthBobby SouthworthBobby Southworth is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He fights as a light heavyweight. He has also fought in PRIDE FC and appeared on Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter...
(StrikeforceStrikeforceStrikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Zuffa, LLC...
) - Tim F KennedyTim F KennedyTimothy Fred Kennedy is an American mixed martial artist who currently fights for the MMA promotion Strikeforce. He is one of the only fighters to simultaneously serve full time in the United States Army while fighting professionally....
(StrikeforceStrikeforceStrikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Zuffa, LLC...
) - Jason Von FlueJason Von FlueJason Lee Von Flue is a mixed martial artist most notable for appearing on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, a reality television series produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and broadcast on Spike TV....
(UFC, StrikeforceStrikeforceStrikeforce is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California. It is headed by CEO Scott Coker and owned by Zuffa, LLC...
) - Court McGeeCourt McGeeCourtney Scott McGee is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, McGee mostly fought in local promotions in Utah before signing with the UFC....
(UFC) - Scott AdamsScott AdamsScott Raymond Adams is the American creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, business, and general speculation....
(UFC)