Watching over his students, mixed martial arts instructor Travis Davison points out how well the fighters’ pink shirts contrast with the darker hues of the gym’s mat.
“The pink and the pistachio green go together well,” Davison says. “Don’t you think?”
Kalispell’s Straight Blast Gym, with its appeal for both fashion and ultimate fighting, might not be what you expect. Davison understands that some people have preconceived notions of MMA, which has been popularized through the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). But he seeks to emphasize the “arts” in martial arts and the finer points of his complex discipline, as well as the all-important team aspects of a sport often viewed as an individual endeavor.
At Straight Blast Gym, the most experienced students clearly embrace the concept of team, while the newer guys are getting the idea too. The gym’s top fighters practice together six or seven days a week and spend much of their free time together. As Zack Dickson, a 28-year-old mechanic, jokes: “All these losers are the only people I hang out with.”
“We have all of this common,” Dickson said at a recent practice, motioning to the gym. “If people don’t like it, they don’t stick around.”
They are concrete workers, tile experts, mechanics and students, but for a couple hours every day they are teammates and grapplers. They range in age from Logan Hunter, a 16-year-old student at Flathead High School, to the older guys like Dickson. These are the everyday guys, but anybody is encouraged to participate in the classes – Brazilian jiu-jitsu, submission wrestling or mixed martial arts.
Straight Blast Gym opened in December. Along with Davison’s classes, his wife Kisa also teaches Iyengar Yoga. For the fighters, their foundation discipline is Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which emphasizes posture and position. Jiu-jitsu students also learn about breathing techniques, flexibility, joint structures and defense maneuvers during the hour or hour-and-a-half sessions.
For those who choose to try out MMA, striking techniques are taught in addition to jiu-jitsu’s grappling fundamentals. Davison himself is an accomplished competitor who won a bronze medal at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship last year in California.
The students share a common attitude of respect for both their sport and each other. Like Davison, Jake Oyler – one of the gym’s rising stars – is jovial and soft-spoken, even as he describes a leg injury that necessitated draining fluid from his knee. His square-jawed face is punctuated by a wrestler’s ears and a boxer’s nose. Dickson and fellow blue belt Ryan Asay have similar features, and similar personalities.
But if you get them to talk about their physical traits, you won’t hear much about the hard edges – they like to tell you about their flexibility. After all, that’s what the yoga is for. Two to three times per week, most of the guys go to Kisa Davison’s yoga classes, which also help with breathing techniques.
“I look at it like: Football players do ballet, we do yoga,” Dale Joy said.
Dickson is a bit more begrudging.
“I don’t like it,” he said with a smirk. “But I do it.”
The Straight Blast boys have been making a name for themselves over the past year, winning or placing high at tournaments across the Northwest United States. They earned the top prize at a tournament in Portland in February and then in early March they brought home six gold medals from a competition in Helena.
Oyler recently took his 8-1 overall record to Portland to face a highly ranked opponent in a regional title match for the 170-pound division. He lost, but showed how far he has come since he began training a little over two years ago, when he said: “I just got bored, so I decided I’d start fighting.” Just as he has grown as a fighter, he said his loved ones have grown as spectators. His family made the trip to Portland.
“My sister still doesn’t like seeing me get hit in the face, which I can understand,” Oyler said. “But she comes.”
On April 25, the Majestic Valley Arena will host a large mixed martial arts event featuring fighters from multiple states and Canada. The tournament, organized by a group called Fight Force, costs $25 for single entry or $500 for a ringside table that seats 10. Tickets are available at Straight Blast Gym. Oyler, Dickson, Joy and Asay, all blue belts, are slated to participate.
Straight Blast Gym is located at 419 First Avenue East in downtown Kalispell. Jiu-jitsu, submission wrestling and mixed martial arts classes are open to all ages of all abilities, female and male, as are the yoga classes. For more information on the gym or the upcoming tournament, call 250-2380.