Medal winning fighters in club

From humble beginnings, Rimbey Mixed Martial Arts Club is steadily moving ahead and its fighters are becoming forces to reckon with.

The club, the brainchild of Gordon Nordquist, a truck driver who pursues mixed martial arts fighting with a passion when he’s not out on the road, began in his garage two or three years ago.

“It was a hobby thing,’ he said. “I just wanted a place where anyone who was interested could get together and work out.”

While this arrangement worked for a while, it became clear a few months ago more room was needed for mats, punching bags and other training equipment. This space was found in an empty building located between Fas Gas and Rimbey Auction Mart.

Here, the dozen or so club members, ranging in age from nine to 23, can work out as long and hard as they want to.

And they do.

“They’re here every day. Sometimes for four or five hours a day. It’s worked out great,” said Nordquist.

Nineteen-year-old Lane Hall from Rimbey is one of the dedicated members of the martial arts club. Hall, who recently won first in kickboxing and middleweight grappling at an Open Martial Arts competition in Sylvan Lake, loves the sport.

“It’s a physical challenge,” he said. “You have to think and you have to be strong.”

Hall was surprised at his wins because he was up against more experienced competitors.

“There was really tough guys there; guys who were more experienced.”

But even though Hall, who is a volunteer firefighter with plans to become a professional firefighter, has been training in mixed martial arts for only four months, he has spent many hours training to perfect his skills.

“He will become a lifer at this,” said Nordquist. “He loves it and he’s very good.”

Adam Walsh, 19, took third in the heavy weight grappling and 16-year-old Jaret Matthews took fourth in kick boxing at the competition.

Like Hall, Matthews has only been taking mixed martial arts for about four months, but has advanced quickly.

“I like the physical challenge of it and I like the idea that you have to think. It’s definitely a thinking man’s game.”

Matthews spends as much time as he can training, but going to school, working part-time and teaching guitar also take up many hours in his day.

Twelve-year-old Dallas Herman from Bluffton is one of the club’s youngest members. He trains twice a week and enjoys the challenge.

“It’s not boring, that’s for sure,” he said.

Nordquist has been a long-time lover of mixed martial arts. In 1997 he filled out an application he found in a black belt magazine to go on a Jamaican cruise and train with Hellio Gracie and his son, Rorion. It was an experience he will never forget.

“That was what got me started with MMA.”

Nordquist also became a participant in Toshido Submission Fighting and free style grappling tournaments.

In 2001 he won a silver and a bronze medal in the Western Canadian Martial Arts Competition in Vancouver, B.C.

Nordquist continued to train in MMA, focusing, in the later years, on the coaching aspect of the sport.

He now enjoys coaching the young athletes in Rimbey and is proud of their accomplishments.

“I video their matches at the competitions and then we go back and go over everything. We look at the mistakes and work on fixing them.”

He is grateful to Arashi-Do Clubs for putting on tournaments such as the one held in Sylvan Lake recently.

“It gives the guys a chance to showcase their skills and the bond that they develop with other competitors is unbelievable.”

Working with the young athletes and helping them achieve their personal best is challenging and rewarding for Nordquist.

“I’d like to have fighters in the UFC,” he said.

The Rimbey MMA Club is now privately owned, but Nordquist plans to open the club to the public in the spring and expand his training to include women’s self-defense classes if enough interest is shown.

Anyone who wants more information or is interested in joining, may contact Gordon at 403-704-3089.