Twin Wolves MMA Press
Twin Wolves studio boasts family atmosphere
150-plus students
By TJ Maxwell
Killeen Daily Herald
09 OCT 2010
Mixed martial arts, better known as MMA, is said to be one of the fastest growing sports around.
MMA's roots go back as far as the 1900s when Vale Tudo was a popular combat sport in Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim.
The term mixed martial arts was coined due to the various disciplines of martial arts being employed in the sport, including karate, jiu-jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, grappling, wrestling, sumo among others.
The sport gained popularity when the "first family of jiu-jistu" the Gracie family, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) joined forces and introduced the sport to a whole new generation in 1993.
The sport took on some harsh criticism for its lack of regulations and seemingly brutal style in the late '90s.
In 2001, the sport went mainstream when brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta along with Dana White purchased the UFC franchise and installed boxing-like regulations.
Since then, the sport has developed from where only tough guys, battling it out in the ring, were the ones training in the style to a sport the whole family can enjoy.
Children as young as 3 and senior citizens alike are involved in the sport. Not because they want to fight in the cage, but because it's an extremely effective way of maintaining a certain fitness level.
"I think it's so effective because it's hard," said Hector Ruiz, owner of the Twin Wolves MMA Studio in Harker Heights. "Your're constantly moving … every part of your body is used in MMA training. It's constant cardio … It's always about conditioning."
Most of the 150-plus students at Twin Wolves train in the MMA style for fitness reasons rather than aspiring to get in the cage said Ruiz.
"They like the way MMA fighters look, he said. They want to look like them, and they want to train like them.
"Twenty percent of our students want to get in the cage; 80 percent want to be a part of the class and get the training."
Another reason the MMA training is so popular at his facility, said Ruiz, is the one-on-one interaction and the close-knit relationships formed.
"We've become really close to our students," he said. "It's like a family atmosphere. We call it the TWMMA Family."
In three years, the Twin Wolves studio has expanded so much, a new facility is needed to meet demand.
"MMA has been good to us," Ruiz said. "We started with six students and now we have 150. We are going to expand to a 10,000-square-foot facility across the street in September of 2011."