John Bronson

I sent this press release to the local newspapers and TV stations in 2009.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Local Mixed Martial Arts school to hold open house and student testing.

Portland, ME – January 10, 2009 – The Academy will be hosting an open house at its Portland location on 512 Warren Avenue Saturday, January 10 at noon. Students of all experience levels will be testing for belt promotions. The public is invited to enjoy a demonstration of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and those interested in training are encouraged to come and check out the school.

“We just started testing students at all levels, from white belt right up to black,” said Jay Jack, founder and co-owner of the school. Before now, only new students were tested on the basics of self-defense. “There are going to be a lot of advanced guys who will be just as nervous as the new guys,” laughs Jack. That means the testing will feature demonstrations of the full spectrum of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, from basic self-defense to advanced sport fighting and mixed martial arts techniques.

The Academy offers self-defense, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and Crossfit conditioning and fitness classes for people of all ages, fitness, and experience levels. The school prides itself on its welcoming, family-friendly environment and the world-class experience of its instructors.

Jay Jack, head instructor, holds black belts in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo, and has fought in dozens of mixed martial arts bouts. Amanda Buckner, co-founder, holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and is among the best female mixed martial artists in the world. Students trained at the Academy have won numerous awards at grappling competitions and mixed martial arts bouts.

The Academy’s Portland school is located at 512 Warren Avenue in Portland (next to Jokers). The Lewiston school is located at 134 Main Street in Lewiston (behind Espo’s Trattoria). For more information, visit http://www.ammaonline.com or call 207-615-0060.

Contact:

Jay Jack

academyofmma@gmail.com

512 Warren Ave

Portland ME 04103

207-615-0060

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Bronson press releases

I sent this press release to the local newspapers and TV stations in 2008.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

———————

Of interest to editors and journalists covering: Pets and animals, local philanthropy.

TOUGH LOVE

Local martial arts school saves two abandoned dogs

PORTLAND, ME – Apr. 25 — The students and owners of The Academy, a local martial arts school (http://www.ammaonline.com/) have raised almost $1000 for the veterinary care of two abandoned pit bull puppies in nearby Poland, Maine. Jay Jack and Amanda Buckner, co-owners of the school, started the fundraiser after seeing the dogs while visiting the Poland Animal Hospital with their own dog Ollie, also a pit bull and mascot of the school.

Jack taught a special hour-long Judo class for a suggested donation of $20. Over 30 students attended the class and many donated  more than the suggested amount. The school’s fundraising efforts brought in $950.

“When I saw these dogs I wanted to kill the owner,” Jack said. “It turns out this lady had rescued them.” The veterenarian explained that a local woman had seen the dogs chained by the side of the road from her vehicle. They are suffering from the worst case of mange the vet has ever seen.

The family who rescued the dogs found themselves in over their heads; the estimate for their veterinary care is estimated to be between $760 and $1000. The money raised by the Academy this week ensures they will receive the care they need.

The dogs, named Brandi and Lexus, will undergo treatment this weekend. One will require major eye surgery in addition to the vaccines, heartworm and lyme disease screening both will receive.

The Academy, located at 512 Warren Avenue in Portland, ME offers instruction in Brazillian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai Kickboxing for practitioners of all levels. There is also a  satellite school in Lewiston, Maine. School website: http://www.ammaonline.com/

Photo of the dogs: http://theacademy.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/04/20/gedc0344.jpg

Media Contact:

Jay Jack and Amanda Buckner

207-615-0060

Poland Animal Hospital

207-615-0060

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Bronson press releases

The Ultimate Fight

How mixed martial arts changed my life

I’d envisioned stepping into the cage so many times that when I finally entered the fenced-in, octagonal ring, it felt like déjà vu.

But nothing that followed went as expected.

For example, I’d thought I would feel the sensation one experiences when the roller coaster reaches the top of its first ascent and you gape at the sight of the tracks falling steeply away below — how you realize at that moment there’s no going back, and how that moment stretches on and on. But it wasn’t like that. As happens in other stressful situations — say, driving through a blizzard — time flowed with a maddening normalcy.

With a wave from the referee, my opponent and I approached each other and touched gloves. I remember only a vague anxiety that I would not perform at my best, and then we were punching each other in the face.

I fought my first mixed martial arts (MMA) bout last April at a Holiday Inn in Massachusetts, the closest state where it’s legal to host MMA fights. As of this writing, MMA events are illegal in Maine (and a shrinking number of other states) because, as with my personal experience, there’s still a big gap between people’s expectations or perceptions of MMA and what the sport is really about.

For me, fighting has been a spiritual journey that’s transformed me from a squirmy computer jockey into something resembling a real person.

As my University of Southern Maine undergraduate education drew to a close a few years ago, I was plagued by a vague but growing dissatisfaction with the way my life was unfolding.

Those around me slid smoothly from keg parties to button-down office work — some squeezing out offspring at the earliest opportunity — but I was skeptical. I thought there was supposed to be something more. I had assumed that life, or at least some substantial part of it, was going to feel like a righteous ’80s rock-guitar solo. Instead, it felt more like blown-out stereo speakers playing the saddest Coldplay tune ever, on repeat. I would wake up, put in a day at school and work, and go home feeling no closer to the person or the life I’d gone to USM hoping to find. I was a nebbish geek with bad posture, an expanding gut, and a future in some fluorescent-lit cubicle banging out computer code or sales copy or whatever.

(Read the rest of the story on the Bollard’s website here.)

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