Ted Czech, author of the MMA Explosion blog at yorkblog.com wrote an in-depth article on Titan MMA fighter, Tyler Saltsman.  It is definitely worth the read as is keeping up with everything going on in PA mixed martial arts at Ted’s blog.  Enjoy the article.

http://www.yorkblog.com/mma/2010/06/tyler-xuan-saltsman-taking-his.html

Though our blog is usually reserved for discussions relating directly to martial arts or fitness, we also like to acknowledge milestones accomplished by our members.  Long-time member, Murali Haran received tenure from Penn State today.  Murali is a statistics professor in the College of Science.  Murali has been a boxing student and a personal training client for over five years.  All of us at Titan would like to congratulate you on this great achievement.

On Sunday, April 25, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and MMA Professional Fighter, Tim Carpenter paid Titan a visit and conducted a BJJ/MMA seminar.  The seminar was well received by the students of both the Gi and No-Gi training sessions.  We look forward to having Tim back again in the near future for another day of great instruction from one of the finest practitioners in this part of the United States.

At the seminar, Titan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu student, Alex Romanenko, was promoted to the rank of Blue Belt.  Congratulations from all of us at Titan for this accomplishment.

Two Penn State boxers earned All-American status at the NCBA National Championships at West Point this past weekend.  Long-time Titan members, AJ Williams (165 lbs.) and Jay Petraitis (175 lbs.) both advanced to the semi-finals of their respective weight classes to become All-Americans.  We at Titan Fitness & Martial Arts would like to congratulate the fighters.  Additionally, kudos must go out to Penn State boxing coach and Titan Boxing instructor, Dave Vacco, in guiding his fighters to such an excellent season and result at Nationals that also included two other national qualifiers, Matt Roy and Justin Portal.

Titan Fitness & Martial Arts Youth Jeet Kune Do students received their yellow belts Monday, December 21.  The children completed their tests Wednesday, December 16.  We congratulate them on their achievement and look forward to next semester as they continue on to training for their Orange Belts.

Titan Fitness, located in downtown State College, sent four of their amateur Muay Thai athletes to fight in Philadelphia at the renowned “Evolved Fighting” Thai Boxing event.  Steve Mayzack, Jay Kearns, Mike Putnam, and Tyler Higgins fought some tough competition against opponents from Boston, Philadelphia, and Reading.  Collectively the fighter’s, who have been training with Bruce Lombard at Titan for less than one year, had an impressive showing going 2-1-1.

Mayzack, Putnam, and Kearns are all Penn State University students, as Tyler Higgins is a college student at Lock Haven University.

As was previously reported, Titan Fitness & Martial Thai boxing member and Penn State student, Jordan Katz won his first ever Thai boxing bout this past July by TKO in the third round.  A better has since popped up, and we thought it would be a better way for you to see his clear domination of the fight.  So once again, check out the video and enjoy.

After a four and a half month layoff since his last fight, Titan Fitness boxing instructor and Penn State boxer, Dan Testa won a decision in his return to the ring at an amateur event in Uniontown, PA last Sunday on August 16, 2009.  After a slow start, Dan dominated his opponent Eric Parker in the second and third rounds with a barrage of attacks to the body.  Dan raises his record to 7 wins against only 2 losses.   With one more fight, Dan qualifies for the open division of the amateur level.

Titan Fitness & Martial Arts Thai boxing student Jordan Katz won his first fight at a United States Kickboxing Alliance (U.S.K.A.) event held in Hamburg, PA at the Hamburg Field House on July 25, 2009.  Jordan dominated the action for the three rounds leading up to a third round TKO.  We encourage you to watch the youtube video of Jordan’s fight.  We at Titan Fitness & Martial Arts congratulate Jordan on a great effort and victory in his inaugural bout.

After much hard work, two Titan Fitness members are ready to fight in their first matches.  Shawn Slater, 24, and Jordan Katz, 21, are competing in a Muay Thai fight on Saturday, July 25 at the Hamburg Field House, where they will see if all their training and hard work has paid off.

Slater, originally from State College, Pa., graduated from Penn State in 2007 with a  degree in Crime, Law and Justice.  He’s been training at Titan Fitness since January of 2007.

Katz is currently a Penn State student from Monroeville, Pa. majoring in Information Science and Technology.  

Thai boxing, or Muay Thai, differs from traditional western boxing by allowing eight points of contact; the hands, elbows, knees and shins are used in Thai boxing, compared to just fists in western boxing.

To get ready for his upcoming fight, Slater has upped the intensity of his workouts, and has added extra workouts twice a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays for about the past two months.  During training, Slater likes to see how far he can push himself mentally and physically.

“I’m confident in my abilities, (but) this is my first fight so I don’t completely know what to expect… I’ll do my best,” Slater said.   “When I’m sparring hard, I try to think about nothing and use the openings my opponent gives me.”

Katz also said that “ideally nothing” will be going through his head during the fight.  “Hopefully I will have drilled and sparred enough times that I will just react,” Katz said.

Katz, who’s been training at Titan Fitness for almost a year, has been training between eight to ten times a week for the upcoming match, compared to usually having only three Thai workouts a week when he’s not preparing for a fight.

“I enjoy being part of a sport again; I haven’t had that since high school… Mostly, I enjoy the nature of the sport. It’s one on one, there are no assists.  You’re either to blame or to congratulate, its all on you,” Katz said.  “Knowing that I am prepared is all the confidence that I’ll need.”

Despite their confidence, neither Katz not Slater know much about their opponents, both of who are also facing their first fight. 

Slater is already looking ahead in his career, hoping to have more Muay Thai fights and eventually start competing in mixed martial arts after more training.  Throughout his training at Titan Fitness, he’s said he has had great experience with both Bruce Lombard, martial arts director, and Paul Zelinka, who created lifting and conditioning routines for Slater, as well as being knowledgeable with nutrition.

While training in Muay Thai, Katz is also in Titan Fitness’ Elite Training and said being a part of Titan Fitness has been a great experience and recommends it to anyone interested in martial arts.

When he’s not training, Slater enjoys watching successful fighters John Wayne Parr in Muay Thai fights and Sean Sherk in mixed martial arts events.