GR Head Instructors
Jason "Dynamite" Dent "Owner"
Owner,
Head Instructor, and driving force behind our Muay Thai,
Mixed
Martial Arts, &
Jr. MMA programs. Jason has been involved in the Martial Arts
for 20 years getting his start in traditional Karate
achieving his Black Belt before moving into Muay Thai, Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu, & MMA. He has
about 17 amateur Muay Thai fights, is a Brown Belt under Jeff Starr/Relson
Gracie, and currently competes
Professionally in MMA. Jason has fought internationally and in large
events such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship, King of the Cage,
SuperBrawl, and Apex just to name a few.
Aaron Veverka "Muay Thai"
Co-Instructor of our Muay Thai program here at the GriffonRawl
Academy. Aaron has been training, fighting, and teaching here
at GriffonRawl since the winter of 1999. Aaron brings a vast amount
of experience with him as he currently has about thirteen Muay Thai
fights under his belt. In addition to training under Dan Rawlings
and Jason Dent, Aaron travels to seminars and camps directed by
Ajarn Chai (Founder of the Thai Boxing Association) to further his
studies of Muay Thai and is now a certified Thai Boxing Association Instructor under
Master Chai.
George Comer "Adult MMA"
Assistant
Instructor for our MMA program here at the GriffonRawl Academy.
George has been a part of the team since 2008 soon after finishing
his competitive wrestling career at Mount Union College. George has
16 years of wrestling experience, starting back in 1990. He is the
only fighter to win the NAAFS Amateur title two years in a row in
two different weight classes both the 155 lb. and the 170 lb.
classes. He also won the 155 lb. title with the now defunked UMAXX
organization. George is also a certified personal trainers and
brings his fight experience and work ethic into each of his classes.
Michael Lachina "Junior MMA & Judo"
Mike has been active at GriffonRawl for well over a decade. He holds a Black Belt in Kodakan Judo as well as being very proficient in BJJ. Mike is the Head Instructor for our Jr. MMA program as well as the Head Instructor for our Judo program.
Donny "Eagle Eye" Walker "USA Boxing"
Head
Instructor of our USA Boxing program here at the GriffonRawl Academy.
Donny has over ten years experience in the Martial Arts and is a
certified Instructor under the United States Amateur Boxing, Inc.
Donny runs classes in the sweet science three days a week and is
also involved with our Muay Thai & MMA programs. Many of our
fighters work with Donny to polish their boxing techniques and
combos in addition to everything else we work.
Jeff Starr
- "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu"
Head
Instructor of our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program here at the GriffonRawl
Academy. Jeff is a member of the Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Association
and is a Black Belt directly under Relson himself. Jeff has plenty of BJJ competition
experience and still currently competes. Jeff prepares those wishing
to compete in grappling tournaments and MMA fights. Jiu-Jitsu
classes are adaptable to both Gi and No-Gi. Even if you are not
looking at competing these classes are great for self defense as
well.
Nikolai Gionti "Combat Conditioning"
Head Instructor for combat conditioning at Griffonrawl MMA Academy. He has been a certified personal trainer for about a year now with a focus on utilizing bodyweight along with other “unconventional” objects to create a well-balanced and functional program. The methods that he uses in personal training are the same that he uses for MMA strength and conditioning on his way to becoming 3-0, but can be scaled to any age or body type. Nikolai plans on continuing his personal training by adding more certifications to expand his knowledge in fitness.
Rocky Nelson "Gym Affilliate/Sponsor"
Rocky
Nelson Med., LMT, CSCS is GriffonRawl's Strength & Conditioning coach as well as our
official Rehabilitation expert. In addition to training in
MMA himself Rocky owns and operates his own weight lifting and
fitness gym located in Painesville, Ohio. Rocky helps our students
and fighters work on developing explosive power, stamina, and
conditioning, along with developing rehab programs for fast recovery
from injuries. For more info on Rocky or his
gym you can visit his website at
rockhousefitness.com
GR Florida Academy
Dan "Tanis" Rawlings "Muay Thai"
Founder of
GriffonRawl Academy here in Ohio back in 1997. Griffon is a
mythological creature that serves as our mascot, and obviously Rawl is the
beginning of Danny's last name, thus our team name GriffonRawl. He now resides in Brookesville, Florida and has continued to spread the GriffonRawl name and open two academies in the area, one being in Brookesville and the other in Tampa. Dan is a Pro Muay Thai fighter and has competed internationally for years. He is also a certified Muay Thai Instructor under Kru Vut Kamnark of the U.W.M.T.A. If you would like more info on the Florida schools or would like to contact Dan, please visit the
official GriffonRawl website at
griffonrawl.com