by Allison Robertson
Photo by Allison Robertson. Central Pennsylvania Mixed Martial Arts owner/instructor Ryan Gruhn spars with students.
A class of about twenty kids sat on a red mat in the Central Pennsylvania Mixed Martial Arts, or CPMMA, gym. A blond boy, about eight years old, grinned as he stood in front of the class. Ryan Gruhn, his instructor, taughtwas teaching him how to tie his belt.
“This is the only time anyone else will ever tie your belt for you,” Gruhn said sternly as he tied the belt around the boy’s waist.
This rule, Gruhn said, will teach a child independence. He said he believes that kids need to do things on their own. Teaching kids independence is a big benefit for the youth, and even the older classes at CPMMA, Gruhn said.
“It’s not about the belt being perfect,” Gruhn said. “It’s about the kid being able to tie his own belt.”
Gruhn, who was born and raised in State College, was always connected to martial arts because his father was a “prominent figure in the State College martial arts scene,” Gruhn said. Inspired by his father’s participation, Gruhn began studying martial arts at 12, but more consistently when he was 16, Gruhn said.
CPAMMA, was refounded in 2009 with Gruhn as the head instructor and owner, he said. The group had been in the area since the early 90s.
When given the opportunity, Gruhn was very excited to teach, he said. He was inspired by one of his instructors to continue teaching.
“Before my instructor’s passing he said something very moving to me; ‘Ryan, do everything I have done and more,’” Gruhn wrote in an email. “I’d like to think that he would be proud of what Central PA Mixed Martial Arts has become.”
The main classes Gruhn teaches are youth classes, the 3- to 5-year-old “Mighty Mights” and the 5- to 12-year-old youth martial arts class. Gruhn also teaches Thai boxing, boxing, jiu-jitsu, reality based MMA and women’s kickboxing.
Gruhn has invented his own style of teaching martial arts to children and calls his method “Youth Martial Arts.” This method gives kids a taste of all kinds of martial arts, Gruhn said, so then after kids earn that black belt, he or she can narrow down what form of martial arts they want to practice.
These youth classes start with continuous movement as a warm-up. Then Gruhn talks about merit movements, which involve qualities like respect, discipline, focus. Gruhn said he believes these qualities are the most important for children to learn.
“I am always calling them by ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’ along with their name and demonstrating respect and discipline,” wrote Gruhn in an email.
To help reinforce the qualities Gruhn teaches at the gym, the kids work at home with their parents on merit badges to get the parents involved in the teaching process.
“I’ve had people come up to me out of nowhere and say “Some little boy with a Youth Martial Arts uniform held the door open for me at the grocery store this evening!”’ Gruhn wrote in an email.
Gruhn described seeing a little kid at the grocery store saying “yes, sir,” or “no, sir.”
“That brings a smile to my face knowing that they’re learning respect and discipline and focus,” Gruhn said.
After the merit movements, Gruhn teaches mat movements for jiu-jitsu and then the punches and kicks of boxing and Thai boxing.
For the youngest kids, Gruhn builds an obstacle course or uses parachutes with them.
After the merit movements, Gruhn teaches mat movements for jiu-jitsu and then the punches and kicks of boxing and Thai boxing.
Gruhn admits that with teaching classes for 20 to 30 hours, in addition to running his business, his life gets pretty stressful. His relaxation time comes when he travels to do martial arts in different tournaments around the country. These tournaments have brought him to all kinds of places, like L.A. and Toronto.
“I go a whole bunch of different places and that’s my time to, number one, do martial arts, but also to relax.”
But it’s not all relaxation time.
When Gruhn travels, he said he still trains with his instructors and continues to find out things that he hasn’t learned.
Though Gruhn has a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is a Full Dog Brother in Dog Brothers Martial Arts and a Full Instructor in Muay Thai, Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Martial Arts, he said he still has some work to do.
“I’ve been doing it since I was 12, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop learning, I’ll never stop growing,” he said.
Gruhn said he is still learning about his instructorship in Jeet Ku