The mind behind the movement

By Brenda Ahearn

The Daily Inter Lake

To an outsider, Mixed Martial Arts can look excessively violent, it has even been called barbaric and at one point Senator John McCain famously called the sport “human cockfighting.” But for Matt Thornton, founder of Straight Blast Gym, everything comes down to the fundamentals of movement.

“Mixed Martial Arts is an empirical science,” Thornton said. “What I teach doesn’t change if I am teaching a room full of people who have never studied any marital arts, or a room full of black belts. Adhering to the fundamentals is what keeps the techniques alive.”

This month, Thornton will be bringing his moves, message and most importantly, his philosophy to Straight Blast Gym in Kalispell for a two-day workshop.

The acronym SBG is getting harder and harder not to notice. Even someone who does not follow MMA is likely to have heard the name Connor McGregor, the first fighter in history to hold two Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titles simultaneously. McGregor is the student of coach John Kavanagh of SBG Ireland. Kavanagh was the second student of Thornton’s to reach the rank of black belt. So in the game of six degrees of separation, the best fighter in the world is connected to Thornton with only one middleman.

Thornton is preparing to return to Montana this weekend for another workshop at Straight Blast Gym in Kalispell on Saturday, from noon-3 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The workshop is $100 per day, or $150 for both days.

“I look forward to Matt’s visit every year,” Travis Davison, owner of SBG Montana as well as vice president of SBG International, said.

“He’s my coach, mentor, friend and business partner.”

“Matt comes up every summer for my birthday and teaches a seminar. Having Matt up every year provides a great opportunity for our Tribe to connect with its roots.”

Interest in the martial arts has been a life-long passion for Thornton. Even as a child he was drawn to the forms and what a person was capable of doing. When he completed his time serving in the United States Army, he came back to the States and began studying. Thornton started with boxing and Jeet Kune Do, the art form created and taught by Bruce Lee. After that, he became an instructor and taught full time.

But then Thornton became disillusioned with what the art form had become.

“I saw a lot of deception and hypocrisy,” he said. “They had the right message, but behind the scenes their message wasn’t congruent.”

Thornton realized that Jeet Kune Do had become ensnared in the same “dead patterns” that Lee had warned his students against.

“The message and the heart had been lost,” Thornton said.

“I can’t teach something I don’t think is real, and I’m not going to lie to people.”

So he broke off going his own way. He crossed paths with Fabio Santos. Then Rickson Gracie. Finally he opened up the first Straight Blast Gym. The name is both a nod to his roots in Jeet Kune Do, the Straight Blast was one of Bruce Lee’s signature moves, and to what he wanted to build.

“I didn’t want an academy or an institute,” Thornton said. “I called it gym intentionally so people would know it was a place to go and workout and sweat.”

Over the years Thornton has made workshops a significant part of his business model. That tradition grew from his time in Jeet Kune Do. It began as strictly a business decision, but it has become an invaluable tool.

“The workshops are where I get to see the instructors, their school, their students, it is where I get a real sense of who they are, what they value and how they operate,” Thornton said. “The workshops allow me to see how the participation and ethics and performance standards are playing out in real scenarios. When I see a diverse community, of both hobbyists and professionals, where all are good and getting better, when I see that everyone is learning and that there is a concern for both health and safety, then I know a coach is doing a good job.”

Every year the workshops have grown. They are a key ingredient in the “Tribe” environment that SBG strives to create. Not only are the workshops a learning opportunity for both coaches and students, they are a chance to gather and socialize. They gym owners use the time for a business meeting.

“Anyone who attends can expected to have their Jiu Jitsu improved and their mind expanded,” Davison said.

“[Thornton] teaches in a way that helps people decipher fundamentals from fluff. In other words they are less likely to fall for flashy moves, they stop seeing techniques as the fastest way to get better and start focusing on the fundamentals.

“A couple of years ago I started getting very specific about what I am teaching,” he continued.

“I pick something that is important and foundational, often it is something I’ve had coaches ask me for more information on, and then I spend a year investigating and breaking it down into its core fundamentals so I can figure and explain why it works when it is working at its best. Then I take it to my own students and my gym and continue to experiment. After a year, I have it, and then it is ready to present at the workshops. Last year the move we worked on was Top Mount. This year it is the Close Guard Bottom. By spending a year with the move I am able to hone in am able to help every student, at every level, get better, in just two days.”

This workshop in Kalispell will be open to the public.

“One of the messages I am constantly trying to get across is that there is no such thing as advanced technique in functional martial arts,” Thornton said.

“The fundamentals don’t change,”

For Thornton and all of the Straight Blast Gyms, the mentality is equally as important as the movements.

“The first thing is always the truth: the importance of the truth, why truth matters, and sticking to the truth.” Thornton said. “Truth is a measurement that will admit to every increasing complexity.

“It turns out that there is a better way to choke a person unconscious,” he continued. “Unfortunately there is a wishy-washy philosophy that flows through some of the martial arts. Holding on to the standard of truth is also foundational. There are better ways, less dogmatic, and better means greater efficiency, requiring less strength, less motion, less risk.”

“Everyone is encouraged to attend regardless of experience, size, shape, age or sex. It’s open to the public and non-members are encouraged to attend as well,” Davison said.

“If you are interested in getting better at Jiu Jitsu, learning to train smarter or challenging yourself to be a better person, then this seminar is a must.”

SBG Montana will host another seminar Aug. 18-19 with John Frankl, a fourth degree black belt who brought Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to Korea.