This past Sunday, I had the distinct pleasure of spending an afternoon with “The Last Emperor”.  That’s right, I spent three hours with the man, the myth, the legend himself: Fedor Emelianenko.  Fedor was in NJ for the M-1 Global Selection Semifinals the night before in Atlantic City.

What very few knew was that there had been a plan in place for Fedor to do a private, invitation only seminar at his friend and fellow Sambo competitor, Oleg Savitsky’s academy in Middlesex, NJ.  The site was Zealous Nation MMA and this state of the art facility hosted a rare, once in a lifetime experience that had grown adults looking like children in Toys R Us for the very first time.  Proudly, I was one of them.  As soon as Fedor walked into the room the entire atmosphere changed and there was a long pause of dead silence before the room erupted with a warm, welcoming ovation for the school’s guest of honor.  All the while, it was we who were honored to be there with Fedor.

Fedor was very humble and spent a generous amount of time socializing before getting down to business.  Fedor and Oleg (pronounced Alec) got the participants loosened up with some stretches and some exercises to get the blood flowing, including some wrist rolls (varied, but similar to Wanderlei Silva’s) and some intense neck bridging exercises that brought me back to my old wrestling days.  From there Fedor demonstrated various aspects of his striking repertoire, including some very impressive speed and footwork.

The great part about watching and learning from this legendary MMA icon was his patience and how overly meticulous he was with making sure everyone in the room was going through the motions correctly.  Fedor actually stopped the class several times to point out improvements that could be made and was so “hands-on” with some of the school’s students.  It was quite intriguing to watch.  Fedor’s eyes scanned the entire room and made sure everybody got the hang of it before moving on to the next technique.

Emelianenko proceeded to demonstrate some clinch work with take downs.  The students were showed the proper methods to use for checking kicks as well.  Fedor and Oleg also displayed various grappling techniques, including some work from mount, side mount, crucifix, and counters/sweeps from top and bottom positions.  While working from the crucifix position, Fedor displayed different ways to attack including using your legs to secure a straight arm bar on the arm you are locking up.  The sweeps Fedor demonstrated from the bottom were also very impressive, utilizing constant movement, leverage, and momentum rather than the typical “bumping” that is often used.

It was truly surreal to be there witnessing all this happen first hand.  I was blown away being in the same room learning from this incredible fighter that I’ve admired for so long.  I was also a “sponge” of sorts, absorbing and processing everything Fedor was saying and doing.  At various points during the seminar, fellow “Team Garv” member KahL-One and I dropped our equipment and stepped in to participate.

The opportunity was too invaluable not to.  Not having trained on the mats in almost 5 years, I felt right at home at Zealous Nation.  It felt like I never missed a day.  It was long overdue and I could not have asked for a better time and place for my “comeback”.  “Perfect” is not even a good enough word to describe how that felt for me. What a fantastic group of students and teachers at Zealous Nation MMA.  There was a family-like atmosphere and everyone was respectful and courteous to each other.  I look forward to visiting those guys again in the very near future.

Despite having a plane to catch, Fedor spent as much time as he could with everyone.  Once the seminar was done, Fedor posed for pictures with every student and guest, including yours truly.  He also signed more autographs and got in the middle for one big team picture.  This will be a cherished moment for everyone in that building for years to come.  I would have loved to sit with each participant from that seminar to find out what they took away from their experience of a lifetime.  That would have taken quite some time though.

One of the greatest things that I will personally take away from this amazing experience was how down to Earth and personable Fedor was.  The seminar was never about him.  Not for one second.  Once Fedor demonstrated what he planned, the floor was opened up for students to request what they would like to see him demonstrate.  Things that the students themselves wanted to work on to make their weaknesses into strengths.  Fedor took ample amounts of time doing just that.  Not only is Fedor Emelianenko an exceptional athlete and fighter, but he appears to be an even better human being.

In closing, I would like to thank Oleg Savitsky and Zealous Nation MMA for inviting us to come to their academy for this historic occasion, letting us cover the event, and participate.  This was a day I will not soon forget.  I also want to thank Fedor Emelianenko for sharing his valuable time and wealth of knowledge with all of us that were there that day.  It was truly an honor.

You can check out Zealous Nation MMA on the web for more information.  They offer free trials as well so stop by the academy if you’re in the neighborhood.  They can be found at:

Zealous Nation MMA
288 Lincoln Blvd
Middlesex, NJ. 08846
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: (908) 405-8814

Keep scrolling down for some pictures I took during the seminar…

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