Lets welcome Team USA WAKO Kickboxing’s new head coach, Mark Greubel.
Stephanie Schneider: Mark, can you give us a little history into your background in Martial Arts?”
Mark Greubel: Sure Stephanie, I started training Tae Kwon Do at age 9, did some karate as well until age 12. For a few brief years I took a hiatus from martial arts, then I was involved in a few street fights which were racially motivated. A couple of the guys beat the daylights out of me because I was a “Chink”. This was just around the time the first UFC fights came out, after watching Royce Gracie dismantle much bigger, stronger opponents with his Jiu Jitsu I was intrigued.
I stumbled upon a tiny martial arts school called D&D Martial Arts. That is where I met the man that truly taught me to believe in myself and become a warrior, James Skinner. He taught the art of BOJUKA which was a combination of boxing, Jiu Jitsu, and Karate used mainly for street protection, not for sport. While at D&D, I won the GA. State PKC Lightweight Kickboxing Title. I won a couple of gold medals in the Georgia Games Boxing, and would eventually go on to win the IKF Jr Welterweight U.S. Title in 1999. That was the same year WAKO U. S. head official Tim “Zurk” Mazurkiewicz won his title. The following year I competed in the PKC National Tournament. My opponent was from Ray Thompson’s gym, Ray Thompson is the father of Stephen Thompson who is currently fighting in the UFC. He was 2 weight classes above me and had 14 lbs. on me. Even though I was nervous I did it anyway. That was a huge turning point in maturity for me as a martial artist. At the end of the 2nd round my arm was broken, I chose to fight on, luckily the Lord looked over me that afternoon and I went home a champion.
SS: You have a few gyms, can you tell us how many and what they offer?
MG: I have three facilities. Greubel’s MMA’s adult facility which offers MMA, BJJ, Judo, Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, circuit training, and cardio classes. The Greubel’s kid’s facility offers BJJ and Kickboxing. I also own Superior Academy which is a JKD (Jeet Kune Do) based close quarter defensive tactics school.
SS: Can a student receive their belt/credentials through training at your gyms?
MG: Currently only the children can, I will be implementing a belted system for the adults as well. I realize that not everyone has aspirations of being a fighter, I know the benefits a belted system would provide for those individuals.
SS: How many students would you estimate you currently have and what ages do they range?
MG: I don’t want to give exact numbers, but probably over 300 combined. Our kids classes start at age 5 and we have adults that attend class that are in their 60’s.
SS: Do your students compete outside of gym events?
MG: We literally take our competitors all around the world to compete.
SS: How often do your students compete in competitions around the country and world?
MG: We usually compete several times a year nationally and internationally.
SS: Is there something that you would say makes you and your team standout from other gyms that teach Martial Arts?
MG: Personally, I have made it my life’s mission to help as many people as possible become the strong, confident individuals they can be, and to never be victims (of bullying or anything physical) again. I feel that attitude and mindset, combined with the competitive knowledge and experience are the key factors in our success and our student’s success as well.
SS: Is your gym affiliated with any national/international organization?
MG: We are currently an Alliance Jiu Jitsu affiliate academy and we are a WAKO registered gym.
SS: Congratulations on being named the Head Coach for Team USA WAKO Kickboxing, what has it meant to you and your gyms?
MG: Thank you. It is a huge honor to represent my country and the experience has made my life and the life of my students more meaningful and complete.
SS: I understand that some of your students or team members are employees of Greubel’s MMA, How different would you say the coach and boss rolls are? If at all.
MG: I’m definitely a better coach than a boss. Lol, coaching is my passion, being a boss is something I have to do.
SS: What is your gym doing to stay current in the fields of Martial Arts that you and your instructors teach?
MG: I periodically research different topics and techniques to try to keep the creative coaching juices flowing.
SS: What do you think is the toughest part of owning multiple gyms and being the head coach for a team that represents The US?
MG: Probably the fact that I have a lot of irons in the fire at once. It can be a chore to balance everything, but I always manage to pull it off.
SS: Has being the head coach for Team USA posed any problems for you in training your students for competitions that are not related to WAKO?
MG: No, not at all. I do however delegate some of the corner man duties to some of the more experienced fighters now.
SS: Who are your heroes and Why?
MG: My mother is my hero. She is such a strong incredibly driven woman. Raising my two brothers and I was tough enough, but with 3 jobs, zero extra time, a language barrier (Korean mom) she still managed to get us to all of our little league games and provide everything we needed growing up.
SS: What was the best advice you were ever given?
MG: Treat others like you would like to be treated.
SS: What is on the horizon for Team USA and Greubel’s MMA?
MG: As far as kickboxing is concerned we have the WAKO U. S. NATIONAL Tournament in Vegas this July, the WAKO WORLD FULL CONTACT RULES championships in Ireland, and the WAKO K1 AND LOW KICK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in Serbia. Also in the not so distant future kickboxing will be in the World Games in 2017.
SS: Thank you so much Mark for taking the time to grant me this interview, I am truly honored. Good luck in the future with all of your endeavors and especially as Head Coach of Team USA, I will be watching! Is there anything else you would like to add?
MG: First of all I would like to say thank you for allowing me to do the interview. Also, to let the world know… Augusta GA, Greubels MMA and WAKO TEAM USA are coming for you! We are coming for the Gold, we will be better prepared than ever!
God bless.
