A spent force?

[ReD_mIst]

Problem is Chris, that most of the people around at the moment weren't even aware of MMA back in the late 90's. The fact that the Colosseum was one of a handfull of MMA gyms back then (Colosseum, London Shoot, Lee Hasell's... any more?) is not importnant to them.

A gym can't survive on history (take the Lion's Den for instance.... who?), it is recognised by it's fighters now. How well they perform, how many fighters there are, etc.

If you look at Roughouse, it's a relatively new gym, 2-4 years old? Yet it has a packed stable of fighters at many levels, competiting on an almost weekly basis. Therefore recognised as a top gym.

Colosseum has 1-2 active fighters and no up and comers. Rushton is likely to stop fighting pretty soon, leaving Matt, who will be forced to look at other gyms, simply to keep his level going.

When you look at the Cartel, the gym that truly let the idea down was the Colosseum. The Colosseum ceased to attract and develop new fighters, whereas Quannum has a packed roster of up and coming fighters.

Personally I am on the cusp of ceasing to train at the Colosseum, simpy because the lack of commitment frustrates me and I want to continue to support Matt, wherever he trains.

[David Butlin]

Been too busy doing this:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9600042023

[ReD_mIst]

Andy sent me that.... I was pissing myself!

Dave, are you on MSN, I need a quick chat

[dirty dick]

wholly agree with every single point you made there aaron, I think it is a crying shame for a town with the "combat heritage" that Leigh has for it to lose another high level club.

I wouldnt get wound up with others lack of commitment, that is their loss. But, i would be selfish and look after yourself and others that ARE showing the commitment.

Dave - that made me piss, i will have a play with it myself

[ReD_mIst]

wholly agree with every single point you made there aaron, I think it is a crying shame for a town with the "combat heritage" that Leigh has for it to lose another high level club.

I wouldnt get wound up with others lack of commitment, that is their loss. But, i would be selfish and look after yourself and others that ARE showing the commitment.

Dave - that made me piss, i will have a play with it myself

It is a great shame if the Colosseum ceased to be, I'm sure it will continue as most clubs do and possibly we will see a renaissance period for the club.

I wish I didn't get wound up by lack of commitment and passion, but I always strikes me as pointless to have guys training 1-2/month and who say they want to fight. Sometime I think they should just be dropped in to a fight so they can learn the hard way.

[widge milward]

i dont think the gym will cease, just that the Colosseum wont produce fighters for 2-3 years other than the current 2 (is Mong John wishing to compete again? streety?)

its another case of loyalty, do you stay loyal and compete at the gym or do you move on for personal gain to further your career?

[dirty dick]

I would suggest this widge - use different clubs but still fight for the colosseum, no obligation to represent other clubs if the colosseum is where your heart is.

[ReD_mIst]

O'Malley has said he wants to fight again, but he hasn't training for 3 weeks.

Streety is training regularly, but that still only means 2 sessions a week.

Thats it, no one else... although 2-3 people have stated that they want to fight, but they are no where near commited enough

Loyalty is one thing, but it should not be at the sacrifice of personal development or hapiness.

I don't think it's right to go training at other clubs but still fight under the Colosseum banner, surely if it is the other clubs that are giving you the skills to progress, you should be loyal to them and fight under their banner?

[widge milward]

it is one thing fighting for the Colosseum and training there as well as 2-3 other gyms, but you cant fight under a gym name and train at another, surely that is a kick in the dick for the other gyms?

[ReD_mIst]

Perhaps the answer is to increase the intensity of training on the Tuesday and Thursday sessions. When you did that at the beginning of the year, it made me seriously consider whether I had the right level of fitness to carry on training.

I don't think my fitness has improved since (in fact I think it has now begun to suffer from age -related decline)

If you make Tuesdays and Thursdays fighters sessions people have to make the choice; show commitment or train elsewhere or in the beginners sessions...or forget about their 'cagefighter' fantasy and go back to coffee and doughnuts

Problem is that most people go for the option of stopping training, which is what we have seen in the past. This leaves the people we have already discussed... i.e. Matt, Danny, etc