Mr Matt Thornton. The man, the teacher, the author.
We talk about his book 'The Gift Of Violence', about Straight Blast Gym, Jeet Kune Do, martial arts, self defense, combat sports, jiu jitsu.
But also about philosophy, psychology, the need to learn to fight in modern society and the peaceful warrior within.
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MATT THORNTON
Matt Thornton was one of the early group of American’s to become involved in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having been introduced to it in 1991. He was also the first person from the State of Oregon to receive a black belt in the Art.
As a teacher he produced a video set in 1999 titled simply, ‘Aliveness’ which became one of the top sellers of all time within the industry. It set off a firestorm of controversy, and remained a central catalyst in a Martial Arts training revolution that is still taking place all over the world. They were voted as one of the top five self-defense videos of all time by Black Belt magazine.
As a coach he has awarded fifteen of his own Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts. That list includes famed UFC coach and the father of MMA in Ireland, John Kavanagh. Who is the trainer to UFC legend Conor McGregor. The UK’s most successful MMA coach, Karl Tanswell; and other great teachers, competitors and trainers of champions.
Over the decades Matt has worked with some of the best MMA fighters, grapplers and combat athletes in the world, including UFC hall of famers Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, and others. He has also produced Oregon’s first and so far only, Mundials world champion.
Matt has been hired to teach seminars on functional martial arts all across the USA and the world; that list includes, Germany, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Denmark, the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Reunion Island, Thailand, South Africa, Chile, and France, just to name a few.
In addition to that, he was the first Instructor to bring the arts of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA to the Nation of Iceland, where he met his wife, Salome.
In 1993 Matt received his blue belt from the legendary Rickson Gracie. He met his main coach, Chris Haueter in that same year. Chris was one of what is called in the BJJ community, the dirty dozen, the first twelve Americans to earn a black belt in the art. Matt appreciated Chris’ conceptual and no nonsense approach. Chris became a regular guest in Oregon for seminars and training.
Matt’s school, SBG, became Oregon’s first MMA style gym. Eventual spin offs included Team Quest, Impact Jiu-Jitsu, Nemesis Academy and many more.
On top of running his own Academy, located in Portland Oregon for over twenty years, acting as the Head Coach for SBG, an organization with over 50 affiliate academies located on every continent on earth, coaching top- level athletes, and giving Aliveness workshops around the world, Matt has also been published in multiple Martial Arts publications. These include Black Belt magazine, Inside Kung Fu, Martial Arts Legends, Fighters, Martial Arts Illustrated, and many more.
On top of running his own Academy, located in Portland Oregon for over twenty years, acting as the Head Coach for SBG, an organization with over 50 affiliate academies located on every continent on earth, coaching top- level athletes, and giving Aliveness workshops around the world, Matt has also been published in multiple Martial Arts publications. These include Black Belt magazine, Inside Kung Fu, Martial Arts Legends, Fighters, Martial Arts Illustrated, and many more.
personal website: mattthornton.org
gym website: sbguniversity.com
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book:
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