Whether it’s through winning medals at grappling tournaments or adding King of the Cage Canadian titles to the team’s trophy case, more and more MMA fans are likely becoming familar with Prince George’s Sholty Jiu-Jitsu and MMA. Last week KOTC Canada posted the first in a two part series with the man behind the team, Murray Sholty, where the 36 year-old instructor discussed his own background in martial arts, as well as, the notoriety his team is increasingly receiving.  In this second part of the interview, Sholty elaborates on the philosophy he employs for teaching MMA, before discussing the careers of current KOTC Canadian Flyweight Champion Clayton Sheen and former Canadian heavyweight champ, Adriano Bernardo.

Prince George has for years now forged a reputation for producing highly skilled fighters, as well as, for being one of Western Canada’s MMA hotspots. This success in the sport has taken place, despite the fact that the Northern British Columbia community is located far from any major cities or renowned MMA centers, like Las Vegas or Montreal.

Since Trent Thorne began competing professionally in April, 2008, the 28 year-old-fighter has continued to work his way up the Canadian light-heavyweight division, despite having only trained in combative sports for a brief amount of time. The former 260lb. plus Edmontonian now turned 205lb. fighter, has not only put together a record of 5-2 since being stopped by Travis Quesnel in December, Thorne has won three straight bouts in 2010. Not a bad way to start your third year in the sport.

“I think my biggest improvement since last July is just my mental game,” Thorne said recently. “Every fight, until my last loss against Quesnel, I have always been going a mile a minute in my head wondering about every possible scenario. Let me tell you it doesn’t work, cause when I get in there my game plan, or whatever, goes out the window. All I want to do is finish my opponents as fast as I can!”

For some time now grappling enthusiasts and keen MMA observers throughout Canada have likely grown familiar with the name Sholty Jiu-Jitsu and MMA, as members from the Prince George gym continue to rack up wins while competing at various tournaments and cards. More recently the club further enhanced its reputation, as Sholty team members like Adriano Bernardo and Clayton Sheen added King of the Cage Canadian championships to their resumes. For the team’s head instructor Murray Sholty, the successes of his fighters, clearly resonate strongly with the 36-year-old martial artist.

“Winning the KOTC Canadian titles has been a very rewarding experience for me personally,” said Sholty. “We have always had great success with grappling and I felt that it was just a matter of time when we would succeed in MMA.”

“What it has meant to the club is that we have on location real life examples of normal 9 to 5 working type people that can achieve their goals while still contributing constructively to the community,” Sholty added. “This serves as a beacon of light to new students; this shows them that they too can train and win while living a productive lifestyle.”