Team Clinch

View our current Pro-Fighters at the bottom of the page

WHAT IS TEAM CLINCH ACADEMY?
Due to the increased amount of students and interest at the Clinch Academy, I am proud to announce that we are starting an official Clinch Competition Team! The competition scene keeps growing and growing and now it is more available for anyone to go and compete without the proper guidance or training. The purpose of this team is to provide the proper guidance and training for those who wish to compete representing the Clinch Academy. With this in mind, no one will be permitted to compete in any event under the Team Name of Clinch Academy without being an official Team Clinch Academy Member.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Concerning MMA:

I have had students come to the Clinch Academy to train who have little to no experience and want to fight in MMA matches. They came to me looking for guidance and my guidance was that they shouldn’t fight. No one should fight unless they have been properly trained to do so. Our MMA Program at the Clinch Academy is divided into 2 parts.

1. MMA 101 - is the class where you learn all the foundational skills that make up a good MMA fighter and that allow you to advance to the MMA Combat Team Class.

2. MMA Combat Team – The MMA Combat Team class is the class where you take the skill set from MMA 101 and start putting them to the test through a much more intense level of training. This is the class where you actually start training for fights.

Learning moves and training for a fight are two completely different things and I do not permit anyone to fight under the name Clinch Academy unless I know we have trained them personally for a specific fight. I have a standard set for my MMA competitors that is in place both for their safety and for the proper representation of the Clinch Academy. I am not worried about whether a fighter wins or loses the fight, but I am concerned about your safety and how people view me as your coach. A good coach would never let a student fight who wasn’t properly prepared. For these reasons among others it is necessary to join Team Clinch Academy if you wish to fight under the representation and support of the Clinch Academy.

Concerning Grappling:

As far as grappling competitions, the risks of competing aren’t as high. I encourage students to compete in grappling tournaments. However, it is still important to be getting the right guidance and training if you do chose to compete especially as a novice. All Team Clinch Academy members will be given that proper guidance on how to compete smartly and safely. You will also be given an evaluation before your first competition as well as the proper training and strategies before competing.

One of my goals with the team is to get people on somewhat of the same training schedule. It is nice to know that when you are training for something that you have others right there with you training for the same thing. For the grappling tournaments it is nice to have a team train and compete together. For MMA you can’t always compete together but you must have other fighters there to help you train. It is important to at least take fights that are close to the same date so that you can train for fights hard together and then rest together. A fighter who just trained hard for 2 or 3 months isn’t going to want to jump right in and help you train at 100% right after his fight. Timing is important for proper training partners. I want you to get the most out of each other and thinking as a group or team is essential to that.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF JOINING?

When you join Team Clinch Academy you will:

1. Be allowed to compete under the representation of the Clinch Academy.
2. Be given the proper guidance and training for competing or fighting.
3. Be given warm-up partners and corner men to help.
4. Be supported by the whole Academy in your competitions.
5. Be given time to train for competitions with the other members of the Team.
6. Be able to purchase official Team Clinch Academy Gear for Competitions.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO JOIN?

It is easy to join Team Clinch Academy. Here are the requirements of becoming an Official Team Clinch Academy Member:

1. Beginner level students must train at least 3 hours a week at the Clinch Academy.
2. Int. and adv. level students must train at least 5 hours a week at the Clinch Academy
3. Members must train in the right classes for what they compete in.
4. Members must read and sign the Official detailed Team Clinch Academy waiver and regulations sheet.
5. Members must follow the TCA regulations.
6. Members must make a commitment to training in character values.
7. Members must commit to one another in training and competing as a team.

Current Pro Fighters.........More fighters and Competitors Coming Soon!

Jacob "The Hunter" Kirwan

Having been a wrestler since youth, Jacob has earned some considerable titles such as

12x Consecutive Junior State Champ in Delaware
4x Junior All American
3x High School State Place winner
1x High School State Champ

Within 2.5 years of Jiu-Jitsu/submission grappling training at the Clinch Jacob has won

Coming to the Clinch Academy in 2007 Jacob had already earned an Amateur MMA record of 4-0 due to his high level of wrestling experience. After training at the Clinch for 2.5 years in Jiu-Jitsu, Thai Kick Boxing and MMA Jacob now has an amateur record of 6-0 and a professional record of 
1st place in the 2008 Naga World Championships 2 year Submission Grappling Division
1st place in the 2008 Mission Submission Advanced Division
2nd place in the 2008 Mission Submission Pro Division 
1st place at 2008 Grapplers Quest U.S. Nationals Advanced light weight Division
3rd place in the 2008 Dog Fight in Dover Pro Division
View Jacob Current Fight Record


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Joey "Frontline" Kirwan

Joey Kirwan grew up in Rock Hall, Maryland and wrestled most of his childhood. He was an accomplished wrestler for Kent County High School as well as their community college. Joey was a:

2x 2nd ranked in state
1x 3 ranked in the state
High School All american
2nd place at High School Nationals

Joey also spent some time boxing before he began training in Mixed Martial Arts. Joey is currently a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt and is also exceling in his kickboxing.

In his MMA Career, Joey has stepped up to fight with some pretty tough talent. He has fought the likes of Marcus Foran, Elijah Harshberger, Drew Puzon and Ultimate Fighter Kris McCray. Joey has been known to step up to fight tough opponents on short notice which has earned him the nickname "Frontline" because he is always on the frontline of battle.

Currently as of (3/2011) Joey is the VFL 185 pd. MMA Champion! Joey Kirwan will be fighting in the Bellator Fighting Championships in October 2011!     View Joey's Current Fight Record

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"Stone" Cole Presley