Clarksville Fight Club - Team Wildside BS sambo and everything else

[SSF]

Original post:http://teamwildside.com/staff.html

These guys are at it again. Eric Chester claimed one of their BJJ instructors was a black belt but he was only a blue belt and not a very good one at that. Now they are claiming that Mike Merriman is a Sambo brown belt, Sambo doesn't have belts!!!!! He bought it off a guy for $50. They have never trained a day in Sambo. This so called gym/Fight Club is a total joke and should be avoided at all cost. They are liars. I am a member of the American Sambo Association and I have written an article for TapouT magazine along with Sambo Steve about this very issue and it's happening in my very own town. These lying gyms that have no certifications to teach have to be pointed out and put out of business. I am angry that crooks like Mike and Eric can get away with stuff like this. People research your instructors.

Eric Chester just recently put on a MMA show in Nashville TN and it was suppose to be a fund raiser to help out Joe Lewis with his medical cost and he never gave Joe any money.

* edit http://teamwildside.com/staff.html

Clarksville Fight Club/Team Wildside of Clarksville TN has an instructor name Mike Merriman who they are claiming is a Sambo brown belt. He has never trained Sambo and I know for a fact that he bought the belt from John Ivey for $50. I know this because Ivey use to teach at their gym but is now a fighter at my gym.

In the past this same gym (owner Eric Chester) claimed to have a Royce Gracie Black Belt teaching BJJ at his gym. My friend Max Bishop called Royce in front of Eric and a bunch of other guys at a fight show and asked Royce if he knew this black belt. Royce didn't and later it came out that the guy was just a blue belt in BJJ.

[Omega Supreme]

http://teamwildside.com/staff.html

These guys are at it again. Eric Chester claimed one of their BJJ instructors was a black belt but he was only a blue belt and not a very good one at that. Now they are claiming that Mike Merriman is a Sambo brown belt, Sambo doesn't have belts!!!!! He bought it off a guy for $50. They have never trained a day in Sambo. This so called gym/Fight Club is a total joke and should be avoided at all cost. They are liars. I am a member of the American Sambo Association and I have written an article for TapouT magazine along with Sambo Steve about this very issue and it's happening in my very own town. These lying gyms that have no certifications to teach have to be pointed out and put out of business. I am angry that crooks like Mike and Eric can get away with stuff like this. People research your instructors.

Eric Chester just recently put on a MMA show in Nashville TN and it was suppose to be a fund raiser to help out Joe Lewis with his medical cost and he never gave Joe any money.

Whoa wait a minute. Where as you probably have a sound argument, stating SAMBO doesn't have belts is erroneous. I think you may want to clarify your statement.

[SSF]

No, I stand behind that statement. Sambo does not have belt rankings. Some schools have started offering "house" belts that hold no weight outside of their gym. Most of the time these Black Belts have little to no training as in this case and they think they can pull the wool over the face of ill informed public. Sambo Steve and I have an article coming out in TapouT about this very subject.

[Omega Supreme]

No, I stand behind that statement. Sambo does not have belt rankings. Some schools have started offering "house" belts that hold no weight outside of their gym. Most of the time these Black Belts have little to no training as in this case and they think they can pull the wool over the face of ill informed public. Sambo Steve and I have an article coming out in TapouT about this very subject.

Great, feel free to go **** yourself.

[Soldiermedic]

If you want this to be considered seriously, why would you post it in the comedy section of the site? Are you trying to do a legit investigation, with evidence to back up your claims, or is just hearsay?

[Omega Supreme]

He put it in MABS originally. He had no proof so I moved it.

[Uncle Skippy]

No, I stand behind that statement. Sambo does not have belt rankings. Some schools have started offering "house" belts that hold no weight outside of their gym. Most of the time these Black Belts have little to no training as in this case and they think they can pull the wool over the face of ill informed public. Sambo Steve and I have an article coming out in TapouT about this very subject.

SAMBO at one point did have a belt system but it was abandoned. Some schools continue to use it. A more poignant line of questioning for Mike would be to ask him who he trained under. Lineage counts.

Also, do you have any proof of Eric claiming one of his instructors is a BJJ Black Belt? On their website? Written somewhere on a forum? On video? Bullshido works on evidence of claims. Verbal claims with nothing to back it up doesn't go anywhere.

Have you tried asking Eric and Mike about the claims in their Bio?



Like, what is his "3rd Degree Black Belt under Joe Lewis" ?

The "Pound for Pound Fight Trainer" ?

The "Distinguished Fighter Gallantry" award?

etc.. etc...

Work with what is there and follow through with what new information surfaces once you start. New information ALWAYS surfaces.

[Dr. Sleepless]

No, I stand behind that statement. Sambo does not have belt rankings. Some schools have started offering "house" belts that hold no weight outside of their gym. Most of the time these Black Belts have little to no training as in this case and they think they can pull the wool over the face of ill informed public. Sambo Steve and I have an article coming out in TapouT about this very subject.

I have a yellow belt in SAMBO.


MYTH BUSTED.

[lionknight]

http://teamwildside.com/staff.html

These guys are at it again. Eric Chester claimed one of their BJJ instructors was a black belt but he was only a blue belt and not a very good one at that. Now they are claiming that Mike Merriman is a Sambo brown belt, Sambo doesn't have belts!!!!! He bought it off a guy for $50. They have never trained a day in Sambo. This so called gym/Fight Club is a total joke and should be avoided at all cost. They are liars. I am a member of the American Sambo Association and I have written an article for TapouT magazine along with Sambo Steve about this very issue and it's happening in my very own town. These lying gyms that have no certifications to teach have to be pointed out and put out of business. I am angry that crooks like Mike and Eric can get away with stuff like this. People research your instructors.

Eric Chester just recently put on a MMA show in Nashville TN and it was suppose to be a fund raiser to help out Joe Lewis with his medical cost and he never gave Joe any money.

Point by point because I'm in a mood...


You need to calm down.

You need to provide some proof of your statements.

Where do they claim / have claimed they have a BJJ black belt on staff, I see nothing in the link provided.

SAMBO does / did have belts, some like Omega still use the belt system, so it's not unheard of, though rare. How do you know he bought it off a guy for $50? Proof.

Being a member of the ASA does not give you any more authority than anyone else; same goes for writing an article (even with Steve) for TapouT. Just who are you anyways?

…and last do you have proof he never gave any money to Joe Lewis or that he even put on a charity event?

**Crap I just noticed your join date, you should know this crap already.

[Tom Kagan]

Lion Knight, Uncle Skippy:

To clarify: No, SAMBO did not have a recognized belt ranking system.

At one time, *one* organization with *some* authority over SAMBO *only* in the United States tried to institute a belt ranking system and self-issued their newly minted rank to many SAMBO competitors and coaches. Their actions went over like a lead balloon at the international level. Consequently and due to other factors, that organization no longer has any real authority over SAMBO.

For whatever reason, *some* gyms in the U.S. which *used to* be under that old organization continue to use that belt system or have instituted their own. Why do they do that? Who the **** knows. Maybe those gyms like collecting colorful things.

SAMBO only has two recognized belt colors: red and blue. Which one to wear is matched to the red or blue kurtka a competitor would wear in a sanctioned match. Their opponent would wear the opposing color.

The only recognized ranking system for SAMBO is based on the old Unified Sports Classification System of the former Soviet Union. It is as follows:

• Third-Class Junior Sportsman
• Second-Class Sportsman
• First-Class Sportsman
• Candidate for Master of Sport
• Master of Sport
• Merited Master of Sport

Master of Sport (MoS) would equate to a nationally ranked champion. Candidate for MoS would be the same at the regional level.

There is also an Honored MoS and a Distinguished MoS rank, too. But, due to 'merited', 'distinguished', and 'honored' in nearly all contexts is the same word in Russian, the rank causes confusion outside of Russia. However, they are honorary titles. In the context of the ranking system, a different word is actually used. These ranks can be awarded to anyone making a substantial contribution to whichever sport in which it is awarded and is not limited in its award solely to the sport's practitioners.