Lightning Kicks Archived News

Lightning Kicks instructor on UFC 98 and 112 Countdown shows

Lightning Kicks' own, Amir Khillah, makes appearance in UFC 98 Countdown show as Matt Hughes' training partner. Congratulations to Matt Hughes for his victory this weekend. Great fight! Visit UFC.com to watch the video.

What Does A UFC Fighter Have To Say About Lightning Kicks Training?

"My name is Matt Veach and I am an American MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter. My record is 11-0 and I am 1-0 in the UFC. When I was training for my UFC debut one of my main training partners was Amir Khillah. When it comes to MMA this guy is very knowledgeable on the ground as well as on [his] feet. When we would spar, I would always have to be on guard because if not he would take my head off with a kick and on the ground if I wasn't paying attention I would get caught in a submission. He was also very hard to takedown and my wrestling is as good as it gets in the UFC. I would let Amir Khillah be my trainer any day."

More National Exposure for Lightning Kicks

Lightning Kicks' own, Amir Khillah, makes yet another appearance in the national press, this time in Men's Fitness Magazine. Click here to read the article.

Lightning Kicks dominates ADCC Regionals

We had five competitors represent us wonderfully. Out of five representatives we ended up five medaling slots including three first place winners! Along with our sister school GRBJJ, we were crowned team champions! congratulations to Jacob, Jessi, TJ, and instructor Mulili!

Rock the Cage a colossal success

Rock the Cage, hosted by Premier League Fighting and Grand Rapids BJJ was an amazing, high quality mixed martial arts event! Both Lightning Kicks and our sister school Grand Rapids Brazilian Jiujitsu fighters went' undefeated.

Stay tuned to www.premierleaguefighting.com for the next event.

Congratulations to Hector, Jessi, and TJ. Not only did these fighters win in dominate fashion but they represented what we are all about, great sportsmanship and respect.

Khillah has a new Manager

Khillah has made the switch to another team, Jeremy Horn's Elite Performance is now Khillah's new professional team. Khillah will be trained and managed by MMA's legendary Jeremy Horn, the fighter that holds the worlds record for most wins.

Children's Grappling Program to be Launched

The children's grappling class will be launched by the end of May 2009. Children will need safety gear and must be registered prior to the end of May to join the class.

Echols Captures Silver at AAU Regionals

Kelvine dominated his opponents, including the match that he "lost," at the score of 4-4 the match was stopped due to "disqualification," based on deductions, the referee was very liberal with deductions towards Echols, finally disqualifying him in the final match. Great job Mr. Echols.

Great Showing at Indy Cup

Ms. Olivia Hodge and Mr. Cole Wheatley had an excellent day at the 2009 Indy Cup, held in Indianapolis, IN April 18th. Both athletes captured bronze medals competing against larger and higher ranking competitors. Great job kids!

Filming UFC (Hughes vs Serra)

LK's own, Amir Khillah, is pictured below working with Matt Hughes (9 time UFC champion) in preparation for his May 23rd bout vs Matt Serra. The photo was taken during the filming of the countdown show scheduled to air on Spike TV just prior to the May 23rd bout. Check your local listings for times and dates.

MMA Team Secures LK Position in Michigan

Hector G., TJ K., Brandon B., and Dr. Joe all recorded multiple victories this year, the sweetest of which was in our home town. LK MMA walked out with a perfect 4 wins and no losses in March at Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, MI. The team turned around and secured more wins the following weekend in Grand Rapids, MI. Several of our fighters are being groomed to go pro in the near future.

Congratulations to the students who successfully completed their promotional exams

Wade P. earned his orange belt in January, Preston B. his green belt, and both Andrew P. and Sawyer P. their yellow belts, great job gentlemen. Keep up the good work!

Congrats to Matt Veach on winning his UFC Debut:

Special thanks to Matt Veach's sponsor's at the UFC (CageReady.com, Full Tilt Poker, MMA Overload, Fight Factory, Clinch Gear)

Congratulations to Lightning Kicks MMA Fighter Hector Garcia on his devastating Knockout victory in his first ever visit to the cage Saturday night at The Intersection in Grand Rapids, MI. His right hand ended the fight in brutal fashion only seconds after it began! For his performance, Hector was awarded "Knockout of the Night" honors and was named the Premier League Fighting Championship 155 pound Champion. Be sure to congratulate "The Phoenix" the next time you see him.

A.A.C.T.

(Active Aggressor Control Tactics) is a program designed to help officers deal with the most aggressive offenders through realistic interactive training. Once a year A.A.C.T. holds a grappling challenge to benefit the Battle Creek S.W.A.T. team.

Team Lightning Kicks dominates the A.A.C.T. Grappling Challenge

In a stellar display of skill and heart LK members demonstrated in their typical sportsmanship manner the caliber of training conducted at Lightning Kicks.

Dr. Joe won the under 160 weight class, yes, that is not a typo, under 160 pound weight class, showcasing not only his technical grappling but also his legendary weight-cutting skills.

G.R. Bentley won the 180-200 weight class, after a huge scare of him not making the 200 pound weight limit, he gritted and barred and got down to weight.

E.Z. also medaled in this division after a battle of epic proportions against LK's own Eric Leninga, one of the few Lightning Kicks fighters that does not go by a two-initial code name.

The team leader, Chad V., rebounded from a vicious illegal head kick that momentarily KO'ed him while securing an arm bar on his opponent, after some redirecting back to the mat by his teammates and the referee, Vklok found his arm raised to capture the bronze medal in his division.

In the absolute division LK locked down all places with all medals coming home to Kalamazoo. In the finals were Chad V., T.J., and G.R.

H.I.T. Squad fighters in Kalamazoo

July 19th. Seminars great success. Lightning Kicks students and friends had top notch MMA training right here in Kalamazoo.

Khillah joins the H.I.T. Squad

The newest pro fighter to the Hughes Intensive Training Squad is our very own Amir Khillah. He is training full time in Granite City for his upcoming fight. Khillah, representing Lightning Kicks and the H.I.T. Squad won his last fight in Effingham, Ill a minute into the second round by way of rear naked choke. Visit www.thehitsquad.com or www.amirkhillah.com for updates on fights and appearances

Fulltime H.I.T. Squad Pro Fighters in Kalamazoo

Saturday, July 19th, at Lightning Kicks, Hughes Intensive Training fighters will be conducting multiple seminars. Registration forms will be available at the front desk soon.

Presenters (all full time pro fighters from the H.I.T. Squad):

Justin Robbins from the WEC and Elite XC

Matt Veach (All American Wrestler)

Jeremiah "Mississippi" Riggs (The Ultimate Fighter - season 7)

Amir Khillah (US National Collegiate Champion)

www.thehitsquad.com www.lightningkicks.com

Echols reigns as AAU Michigan State Champion

Congratulations to Kelvine Echols for capturing the gold medal on May 10th, at the Michigan State Championships. Echols dominated over three opponents to qualify for AAU nationals and win the junior 157 lb division.

Echols preformed in outstanding fashion and represented Lightning Kicks perfectly. His technical components as well as his physical conditioning were both far superior that th rest of his division.

A special thank you to assistant instructors Jenni and Andre for driving to Mt. Pleasant and supporting Kelvine.

Amazing Turnout for the Ultimate Khillah Premier Party

Shakespeare's Pub and Grill did an amazing job hosting the premier of our reality show. It was a very good time. The show will continue to air on Charter's new station, Charter Main St. ch. 24. New episodes will be released soon. A special thank you to all the guests including the mayor, the parents, and all the Lightning Kicks family members who attended.

Fights at Wings Stadium

Outstanding performance by Mr. Ivan, Mr. Kirk, Mr. TJ, Mr. Brandon, and Mr. Jesus, the Lightning Kicks fighters rocked Wings Stadium. Great job by all Lightning Kicks team members preparing and supporting the fighters.

Interview with Mr. Echols

Recently Lightning Kicks Online (LKO) had the opportunity to interview Mr. Echols, a second-degree black belt, and one of Lightning Kicks’ top junior competitors. Mr. Echols will be representing Lightning Kicks at the upcoming U.S. Junior Olympics, to be held in Detroit, MI in July.

LKO: How do you feel about representing Lightning Kicks at the USA Junior Olympics?
Echols: I feel happy representing lighting kicks at Jr Olympics and i will try my best

LKO:   What are your thoughts on training at Lightning Kicks?
Echols:  I love training at lightning kicks....TLK [Team Lighting Kicks] has the best trainers in the Midwest

LKO:   What is the most enjoyable part of training?
Echols: Water break

LKO: What is the most challenging part of training for you?
Echols: When I’m at my breaking point and I can’t stop

LKO: Why do you train?
Echols: For my physical and mental health, I also like to compete.

LKO: Why did you decide to compete at such a high level?
Echols: I like playing sports and I love to compete with the best

LKO: What is your long term goal with Taekwondo?
Echols: To be the best that I can be

LKO: How do you prepare physically for the Junior Olympics?
Echols: Working hard in the gym and pushing myself to the limit

LKO: How do you prepare mentally for the Juniors Olympics?
Echols: Hard work in the gym.....if I can make it through training, then I can defiantly make it through a match because training at Lightning Kicks is way harder than fighting

LKO: What do you think is your biggest strength?
Echols: My ability to take constructive criticism and turn it into a positive

LKO: What is the area you want to most improve?
Echols: Every aspect of the game, I have so much to learn still

Lightning Kicks reality show, Ultimate Khillah, watch your local listings for times.

This exciting season will start airing in March of 2008, watch your local listings for times. Want to know what it

takes to be a pro mixed martial arts fighter? watch the show and find out first hand!

American Standup to release Lightning Kicks Signature Line

"I'm very proud to have one of the leading fight gear and apparel companies carry our signature line. American Standup is a great partner, we look forward to serving our fighters with their help." Amir Khillah, Lightning Kicks, owner.

"We feel that the continued success of AmericanStandUp.com is directly attributed to strong partnerships with reputable organizations such as Lightning Kicks. Both companies have one goal, to support the sport and the fighters, and I think you will definitely be able to see that in the upcoming Lightning Kicks/American Stand Up line. It is promised to be one of our sharpest yet." Tommy Brooks, American Standup, Director of Marketing.

American Standup, one of the leading fight gear company in the world is releasing a Lightning Kicks signature line. The line is due to be released by early December 2007. The line will be available for purchase at Lightning Kicks headquarters in downtown Kalamazoo as well as world wide via www.americanstandup.com

Master Amir Makes the International Fight League (IFL) Draft

Congratulations to Master Amir for making the IFL draft in Chicago this past weekend. This achievement puts him in the pool of starters and alternates for the 2008 IFL season.