The Centurion

GRACIE FAMILY HONORED WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Three members of the Gracie family, Carlos Gracie, Helio Gracie, and Carlson Gracie, were posthumously honored with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award in martial arts for their contributions to the creation of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The award was presented as part of the opening ceremonies at the 2016 Martial Arts SuperShow, a yearly martial arts convention presented by Century Martial Arts and the Martial Arts Industry Association.

WHY BUY CENTURY UNIFORMS? What would you expect from the makers of this star-spangled uniform? As you may have guessed, Century is proud to be an American company. We were founded 40 years ago in Oklahoma City by Mike Dillard, and we’ve been here ever since – although we did have to move to a bigger building to keep up with demand! Our 650,000 square foot complex houses the company headquarters, Showroom, manufacturing facility, and even on-site training facilities where more than a dozen martial arts classes are taught each week.  Here we make hundreds of the items Century sells including uniforms of all shapes and sizes.

Hey, martial arts school owners! You want to make your school to stand out from the competition and get more attention, right? If you don’t sell gear customized with your school’s logo in your pro shop, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity. Here are five reasons why every school owner (including you!) needs to offer custom products: 1)     It’s one of the easiest ways to market your business. What happens at your school shouldn’t stay at your school. Your logo on T-shirts, bags, and other apparel will be proudly worn and carried by your students everywhere they go. How frequently do you see Apple and Starbucks icons? Now imagine someone seeing your logo on the street and thinking, “Oh, yeah – that’s that karate school over on Main. I think Alex goes there.” Without you doing anything, someone is thinking of your school. They are associating your brand with martial arts. Boom, instant marketing.

Same Media, Different Arts Most martial arts have certain things in common. They sharpen the mind and strengthen the body. They teach self-discipline dedication, respect, and perseverance. And they can all be used to get out of threatening situations while minimizing danger to you and those whom you may be defending. When it comes to public recognition, Karate, MMA and Jiu Jitsu are all household names. And while the average non-practitioner has seen them on the big screen, they probably don’t know the difference between them.

Spoiler alert! Don’t read the following article if you don’t want to learn information that will help you improve your martial arts school, increase student retention rates, and boost business! The Martial Arts SuperShow is just around the corner. This July 5-7 at the MGM Grand Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, martial arts school owners will come from across the country to learn from the best of the best: business pros, highest-level martial artists, and school owners who have made their careers out of teaching their students martial arts, and their peers how to run a business. This year’s show is going to be spectacular! The details are too good to keep to ourselves, so without further ado, here’s a peek at just a few of the people coming to SuperShow this year. Eyal Yanilov

They say everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to die to get there. This tenet holds true on a smaller, earthly scale as well. We all want to get in shape, but not everybody wants to go to the gym to get there. Membership fees, lines for the machines, that one guy who takes all the free weights and never puts them back – pass. Fortunately there are a lot of great ways to get an effective workout without leaving the house. Since we created the first freestanding punching bag, Century has been a firm friend to the home gym crowd. Whether your exercise space occupies a full room or is a mat that you roll out when you need it, we have the equipment you need to boost your work out. One of the latest fitness products from Century is designed to allow you to get a full-body workout, without going to the gym or even leaving your room! Our Weighted Fitness Bags are available in 15 and 30 lb weights, for various degrees of difficulty. Six handles located along the sides and top/bottom of the bag allow you to switch your grip as required for different exercises. Here are a few examples of how you can use your bag:   UPPER BODY Standing Rows: Hold the top handle of the bag with both hands. Lift the bag by bringing your elbows up until they are level with your shoulders or head. Slowly lower the bag to its starting position and repeat. Overhead Press: This exercise can be done standing up, or lying down on a bench or the ground. Grasp the bag by either the top/bottom handles or two of the side handles, as you prefer. If standing, start with the bag held at chest level. Lift it up, raise it above your head, then slowly lower it to the starting position. If lying down, start with the bag positioned above your chest. Lift it straight up, then lower it until your elbows are at a 45 degree angle. Curls: Hold the bag in front of you by two of the side handles, gripping to your palms are facing up. Keeping your elbows at your sides, lift the bag and bring it in towards your chest. Pause at the top of the lift, then slowly return the bag to its starting position. Split-Level Pushups: Start in the push-up position, with one hand on top of the bag. Do a push up, then bring your other hand in so that it is now on the bag. Take the hand that was on the bag off and place it on the floor and do another push-up. Repeat, going back and forth between hands.   CORE

Prepare to Defend Yourself Hopefully you will never have to use force against another human in self-defense. However, there is a chance that someday you’ll find yourself in a situation where you have to protect yourself or those you love. If that day ever comes, be prepared. You want to maximize your chances of getting out of that situation safely. When it comes down to either you or them getting hurt, make sure it’s them. Here are some of the best basic self-defense moves. Palm Strike to the Nose According to urban legend, a palm strike to the nose can be lethal. While you shouldn’t expect such a dramatic result in the real world, this technique can certainly be effective against even the toughest assailant. Palm strikes are used in a wide array of martial arts disciplines, and with good reason. The soft tissue of the palm makes an excellent striking surface. It’s capable of delivering a high-impact attack with little risk of injuring yourself.

  Practicing a martial art is wonderful for physical health. But because martial arts techniques often involve physical motions outside of what most people do on a day-to-day basis, it’s important to warm up before practicing. Stretching helps build flexibility so you can become an effective martial arts practitioner. However, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Here’s the smart way to incorporate stretching into your practice routine.

Self-Defense Basics It is an unfortunate truth that many people, regardless of age, gender, race, size or appearance, will one day need to protect themselves from attack. In those instances, there is no substitute for defensive training or the study of a martial art. Trained or not, everyone should know the first basic tenet of self-defense: the best way to keep yourself safe in a fight is to avoid getting into one in the first place. Below are tips on how to avoid an altercation before it becomes dangerous. With a cool head, alertness, and a willingness to walk away, you can typically prevail in many situations.  

Since Century introduced the original BOB® Body Opponent Bag back in in 1998, and, later, the BOB XL®, we’ve gotten several requests for a BOB® with arms.  We decided to test out the old saying “the customer is always right” and gave our Research and Development team the task of creating a product that would give BOB® arms. They came up with this jacket, which fits on all BOB® and BOB LX® training dummies. So, besides giving your BOB® a hip new look, what benefits does the Jacket provide?