On Saturday, August 4, 2007, four members of Lehigh Valley Isshin Ryu Karate (LVIRK) Training Center in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania competed in the North American Grappling Association (NAGA) Battle at the Beach 8 in Wildwood, New Jersey.  Three of the competitors from LVIRK Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Team Hammer placed in this nationally ranked grappling tournament.

LVIRK was recently named Best Martial Arts Studio in Lehigh Valley Magazine’s Best of the Valley 2007®.  Owners of LVIRK, Rodney Guignet and Rebecca Pizzolatto, attended the 2007 Martial Arts SuperShow in Las Vegas, NV in July.  At the SuperShow, Guignet and Pizzolatto participated in training sessions presented by former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions, Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell.

Guignet is the Master Instructor of the Isshin Ryu Karate and Mixed Martial Arts programs at LVIRK Training Center.  Guignet has been training in the martial arts and wrestling for over 20 years.  He is a fifth-degree black belt in Isshin Ryu Karate and a former wrestler for Central Catholic High School in Allentown.  Guignet recently led LVIRK Team Hammer to 2nd place at the Ultimate Grapplers Challenge (UGC) in the Poconos.

At the Battle at the Beach tournament, Guignet placed third in the Men’s No-Gi Directors Advanced – Super Heavy Weight division.  Guignet earned the respect of all of the competitors in his division when he chose to continue his match after his head collided with the concrete floor.  Even though Guignet was having difficulty seeing straight and was in extreme pain, he was able to control his opponent and take home the bronze medal.

In addition to Guignet, three of his Mixed Martial Arts students, Jeff Morber, Frank Piff, and Joshua Ballan, traveled to Wildwood to compete in the Battle at the Beach tournament.  Before the tournament, Guignet showed his students some of the new grappling techniques he learned from Matt Hughes at the Martial Arts SuperShow.

LVIRK MMA Team Hammer member, Jeff Morber, placed second in the Men’s Masters No-Gi Advanced – Cruiser Weight division.  Morber’s only loss in this division was to a competitor who had 60 prior grappling championships.  In the Men’s Masters Gi Blue Belt – Cruiser Weight division, Morber submitted his first opponent with a choke.     Morber placed second in this division after being submitted by the first place competitor.

Jeff Morber is a coach for the Whitehall Little Zephyrs wrestling team.  He has been coaching the Little Zephyrs for three years.  In his first year of coaching, Morber led the team to win their division.  Morber wrestled for four years in high school for Freedom High School in Bethlehem, PA and Blair Academy in Blairstown, NJ.  In college, he wrestled for one year at Moravian College.  After college, Morber competed in several grappling competitions, including NAGA and UGC.

Teammate Frank Piff submitted his first opponent and dominated his second opponent (6-0) in the Men’s No-Gi Advanced – Welter Weight division.  He lost his third match in points (3-2) after a controversial call by the referee.  Piff took third place in his division.

Frank Piff is a fifth-grade teacher at Whitehall-Coplay Middle School and an assistant coach for the Whitehall-Coplay High School wrestling team.  He previously wrestled for Catasauqua High School, where he was a 4-time state qualifier and 2-time state place winner.  In his senior year at Catasauqua High School, Piff was the state runner up in his division.  After high school, he was a member of the Lock Haven University wrestling team for five years.  Piff has competed in several grappling tournaments after college, including NAGA, UGC, and Lehigh Valley SportsFest.  Most recently, he won first place in his division at UGC in the Poconos and first place in his division at Lehigh Valley SportsFest.

Team Hammer member, Joshua Ballan, competed in the Men’s No-Gi Advanced Light Heavy Weight division.  Although he put forth a good effort, Ballan was defeated by points in the first round of the tournament.  In high school, Ballan wrestled for Whitehall-Coplay High School.  He is currently a wrestler for Wilkes College.  Ballan has also competed at several other grappling tournaments, including the UGC and Lehigh Valley SportsFest.  Ballan placed second in his division at Lehigh Valley SportsFest this year.

For more information about Team Hammer and the Mixed Martial Arts program at LVIRK Training Center, call 610-443-5107.