Training in Darwin, Australia...

These are the two gyms I've been going to since I got back to Darwin. Performance Gym for my kickboxing/muay thai and some mma/no gi and Marrara Martial Arts for mainly just grappling.

The martial arts community in Darwin is small so there really is only a handful of places to train and in my opinion these are the best two to train grappling and Performance Gym the best for kickboxing/muay thai. Other than that I know a few people to get some good boxing training from and the rest are traditional martial arts (karate, kung fu etc).

Performance Gym
View of the gym from Right to Left side.





I've been going to Performance Gym for nearly 3 years now and known the head instructor/owner, Michael Siebert, for even longer than that. I started training there to get better cardio when I was doing boxing and getting more serious about competition. After that boxing fight I then made the move over to kickboxing and have fought that the past couple years, but always with MMA in mind for the long run. However with the lack of grappling places to train at, at the time, I thought it was best to get experience in any kind of full contact competition and improve that part of my game.

A group of guys from the gym will usually travel to Thailand every year to train (or party) at WMC Camp in Koh Samui which I got to do in 2008, I'll save that for another blog post. We've also had guys fly down to other states to fight in local shows.

With Mark "The Hammer" Castagnini after training in at WMC Camp, Koh Samui.



It's not just a gym for fighters because there are many people that come without competition in mind. They just want to try it or get fit or just have a good time while working out. There's roughly two types of level training at the same times: beginners/novices and fighters. The novice group work alot of cardio, pad drills, bag drills and partner work. The fighters do the same but at a more intense level and include some sparring and competition in mind. Actually sometimes I find the beginners work out harder than the fighters one.

With that being said the gym organises local fight shows at least 3 to 4 times a year that have good crowds and atmosphere and include boxing, kickboxing (with modified thai rules), muay thai and MMA fights. So those that are keen to compete can do so if given the go ahead.

There's alot of talent in the gym from those that want to fight and even those that don't and I feel some sense of pride helping others out when I can and seeing them improve.

Training schedule
Monday: 5:30pm - 7pm (KB/MT)
Tuesday: 5:30pm - 7pm (MMA/No gi)
Wednesday: 5:30pm - 7pm (KB/MT)
Thursday: 5:30pm - 7pm (MMA/No gi)
Friday: 5:30pm - 7pm (KB/MT)

KB/MT = Kickboxing/Muay Thai
MMA = Mixed Martial Arts

Contacts:
Lot 1499, Winnellie Road, Darwin
Phone: 61 889 412 216
Website
Facebook group page

Marrara Martial Arts



I've known some of the guys that train at Marrara for over a year or two now when interest in the grappling scene in Darwin started to pick up. At first it was just a group of guys getting together to roll and now they've made it more official by becoming affiliated with Peter de Been in Melbourne and flying down to competitions in other states.

From what I gather some of the guys have black belts in traditional martial arts like karate and maybe some from traditional jiu jitsu(?). One of the guys has a black belt in judo and another guy is a blue belt from the US and has done some wrestling. So there's a good mix of backgrounds there to work with.

I've only been going for a week but the training has been good, everyone's friendly AND they're organising the first local grappling competition around March 13th. Hopefully there will be a good turn out and the interest for jiu jitsu in Darwin grows.

Training schedule
Tuesday: 6.30pm – 8.00pm (Gi/Kimono)
Thursday: 7.00pm – 9.00pm (No gi)
Saturday: 11.00am – 1.00pm (MMA/No gi)

Contacts:
Abala Road, Marrara (Via Darwin City), NT 0812
Phone: 0405 147 214 (Des Green)
Website


If anyone has questions on either club just ask me through the comments or flick an email my way.