Full Contact Fighter Database

Home

>

News

>

Article

Media

Sunday, Dec 10, 2000

12/11/2000


From the event’s promoter:


1st Annual Hawaiian Grappling Classic
Superstars Hawaii Gym (Jesus Is Lord Training Facility)
Campbell Industrial Park, Kapolei, Hawaii
January 21, 2001

Weigh-ins: 9am
Competition starts: 12pm

Fee: $35.00 in advance
$40.00 Same day registration

Superfight
Marc Laimon
(2001 Abu Dhabi Qualifier Winner & 2000 Grappler’s Quest Tournament Winner)
vs.
Falaniko Vitale
(Rage in the Cage Champ & Warriors of the New Millenium II Superfight Champ)

No Gi and Gi Weight Divisions
150lbs and under
151lbs – 175lbs
176lbs – 195lbs
Unlimited (Over 196lbs)
Absolute (Open weight division)

There will be two divisions: Beginner and Advance.

The top 3 placers receive a medal.

Send checks or money orders to Brennan Kamaka at:
P.O. Box 970689
Waipahu, Hawaii 96797


NEW REVERSE FLEECE HOODED
Reverse Fleece Hooded SHirt

It just keeps getting better!

THE MOST COMFORTABLE GARMENT YOU WILL EVER WEAR!

Reverse Fleece Hooded SHirt
Color: washed Emerald Green

sizes: S/M L/XL XXL

Makes a great holiday gift!!!



For FASTEST service call in your credit card order
(516)922-1081
Or
Click here to order securely online with your credit card
or print off the order form & mail it in with your payment


Getting Schooled:
Jim "The Sleeper" Theobald

By Chris Onzuka – Chris@Onzuka.com

There have been a number of grassroots events all over the U.S. and from those events some big names have surfaced. A lot of people do not realize that there are still a number of great fighters out there who are not widely known for one reason or another. Jim Theobald came into the Ironheart Crown, like most of his other fights, as the underdog, even though he knocked out his opponent at last year’s Ironheart Crown in only 24 seconds. Everyone in the Chicago area knows he is a tough fighter, he has proven it on numerous occasions, but they did not think that he would win the heavyweight tournament. Jim Theobold catches Scott Henze in triangle choke Well, the "sleeper" in the tournament caught HooknShoot’s rising star, Scott Henze in a triangle [shown in photo at right by Mike Onzuka] and then arm locked Shidokan champion, Kestutis Arbocius to claim the Ironheart Crown 2000 Heavyweight Championship. This unassuming schoolteacher does not have high aspirations in NHB; he just loves to compete. Theobald comes from Bob Schirmer’s All American Academy, the same academy that has produced Shonie Carter and Brian and Wes Gassaway, along with other top-notch fighters in the Chicago area.

FCF:   You have been fighting in the Chicago area for a while now and last year when I came up, Eric Moon [IHC’s promoter] told me to watch you fight. What is your background?
Jim Theobold
Jim Theobold:   I started training when I was 19; I’m 23 now. I just wrestled one year, my senior year in high school and was pretty good at it. I needed some money to go to school and I heard about this stuff and one thing led to another. I just got me the right people through the years and they kind of molded me, like Chris Brooks, Tommy Bach, and Bob Schirmer recruited me out of a fight that he saw down in Indiana. Bob said that he could work with me so I started making the trip back up here. He’s a great coach and I have phenomenal teammates in Shonie Carter, Brian Gassaway and Rolando Higuerros. With teammates like that, you just can’t be beat. I have been fighting for those guys forever. I have been doing a lot of my training with Tommy Bach because Chicago is kind of a far drive, but I try to make it out to Bob’s, once or twice a week to work on my weaknesses.

FCF:   Is Tommy your stand-up coach?
JT:     Yeah, he’s a pro kickboxing, undefeated, 2 and 0. He just beat the middleweight or lightweight champ, Bunker.

FCF:   What is your current record?
JT:     You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. [laughs] I have way too many fights. I just do all the Chicago matches. So I don’t even know. I have well over 30 fights. Not all of them are close fist on the ground, some are open hand; some are no hitting on the ground. I’ve been all over, a lot of Jiu-Jitsu, a lot of Pankration.

FCF:   How about mentioning some of the more notable fighters that you have fought?
JT:     I’d like to think that everyone I have fought is notable because they have the courage to get in there and fight. The biggest name I have beaten is Adrian Serrano for the Total Combat title. It was a great fight. It was basically [a match up of] styles that won it. I studied him a lot. Adrian’s always been a hero of mine for a long time, so knowing him as well as I did, helped me to win it. I just fight all the time against people with good records. I just do what my coaches say and I do alright. I just beat Danger Zone champ Jason Hallard, Kyle Hennings and Hector Garza. I just beat some of the local fighters here. Roberto [Ramirez], I beat him twice. I won a Pan American Gold Medal. [laughs] Hey Bob, who did I fight?
Bob Schirmer:   He fights at a moment’s notice. A guy will call me and say, "Hey Bob, you got a fighter?" And I will say, "Hey Jim, you wanna fight?" And he’ll take the fight. He’s just like Shonie, he will just take any fight.
JT:     [laughing] I’m going to catch up to Shonie [to the number of fights that Shonie has].
BS:    Shonie was already bitching that this belt is better than his.

FCF:   Do you have any fight scheduled?
JT:     I’m going down to Mexico with Bob.
BS:    The World Pankration Federation’s tournament of the Americas on November 11th. We will be representing the United States.

FCF:   Do you have any more scheduled?
JT:     No, but there will be like ten more scheduled by next week. [laughs] I’ll probably get some calls.
BS:    We got a jiu-jitsu championship, my Christmas tournament on December 10th. It will probably have about 180 fighters. It’s straight jiu-jitsu.

FCF:   Where are you heading? You obviously have a bunch of fights, a lot of experience, and a lot of tools.
JT:     One of the things is that I have great training partners, like I said before. Shonie Carter, Brian Gassaway, Rolando, and all of them and great coaches, like Master Bob and Tommy Bach. Where ever they lead me to go. I mean, I do real well in practice when I roll with these guys and these guys go all over the world. Shonie should have won the Pancrase title. He was robbed. So I figure that if I can go into practice with them and can perform just as well, maybe I can be there, but I’m a schoolteacher first. This is for fun, something that I don’t actively pursue. I just talk to Master Bob and he gives me the okay, then we do it. It he doesn’t, then cool; I’ll just go to school and teach the next day.

FCF:   So you are not actively seeking a major title?
JT:     If one comes around, then I’ll take it. I won’t make a phone call, let’s put it that way.
BS:    If Pancrase or Shooto calls, or someone like that and they have something going, then we’ll weigh it and see if the time is right and he’s healthy, then we’ll take the fight. It depends on what comes up. And that’s the same with all of our fighters. If they have enough time to get into super condition, ready for the fight if it is a big fight with a super good fighter, then we’ll do it. We try to stay really focused on staying in great shape all the time, so if a fight comes along…that’s an opportunity. When you get an opportunity to fight someone with a lot of championships, you got to be ready to take it.

FCF:   Is there anything else that you want to add?
JT:     Thanks for coming out to the fight and giving me an interview. Thank you very much.


Epilogue (from Ironheart Crown promoter Eric Moon):

In the North American Championship tournament Jim fought up 3 weight classes in the 240+ division at a weight of 198 lbs. He had a bye for his first round, due to the weight disadvantage, then fought a single match against a Mexican fighter, winning by rear-naked choke at just under 2 minutes.

According to Jim, "They were tough guys, but they didn’t have much ground work… they seemed more like street-fighters. He was a dirty fighter… poked me in the eye, kicked me in the knee, scratched my face… he was real nice afterwards, but he fought funny."

He won a medal. So far, Theobald has won every pankration event he has entered. About 12 or 13 all together: Canada, Mexico, U.S.: Kansas City, San Diego, Chicago…

"Just about all of Bob’s guys won. Jay Estrada, George Spacek, Lincoln Mathews, Bob’s daughters, a ton of us won."

Jim is an elementary school (5th grade) teacher, and grew up on a farm, raising peas to sell to the local grocery stores. Oh, yeah, and he’s the 2000 IHC heavyweight champion!!!



"NO HOLDS BARRED" ON EYADA SPORTS,
THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 11-15:
UFC Japan Week!

by Eddie Goldman


"No Holds Barred" can be heard every Monday through Friday, 3 to 5 PM New
York time (Eastern Time – U.S.), only on eYada.com (http://www.eyada.com).

Al and Eddie
Monday, December 11Renzo Gracie joins us again to talk about a possible, er, “match” in something, shall we say, a bit different from mixed martial arts. Koichi Kawasaki, the NHB booker for Pride, helps us preview Pride 12, which will be held on December 23 in the Saitama Super Arena in Omiya, Japan. Miguel Iturrate, the new editor of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club News Page, shares with us his plans. And we also will feature on this busy Monday results and exclusive postmatch interviews from this past weekend’s International Pro-Am of Grappling and 8-Man Submission Wrestling Challenge in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Tuesday, December 12 — Today we feature several segments on the current state of the mixed martial arts. UFC matchmaker extraordinaire John Perretti helps us preview this Saturday’s UFC XXIX, to be held in Tokyo, Japan, and broadcast on tape delay in North America on Dec. 22. IFC commissioner Paul Smith reviews last week’s meeting of the California State Athletic Commission, and that body’s stance on regulation of amateur mixed martial arts events as well as grappling and jiu-jitsu. And Todd Hester, editor of "Grappling," the largest magazine in America of its type, reviews this past Saturday’s Gladiator Challenge, held at the Saboba Casino in San Jacinto, California.

Wednesday, December 13 — Today is a travel day to Japan for UFC XXIX, so we will repeat the show of December 5Tito Ortiz is the reigning UFC middleweight champion, and he will be putting his belt on the line against Yuki Kondo at UFC XXIX in Tokyo, Japan, on December 16. Today Tito speaks with us. Also, the ubiquitous Kid Peligro, the Pied Piper of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with the Abu Dhabi Combat Club, discusses the International Pro-Am of Grappling and 8-Man Submission Wrestling Challenge for Jimmy V.

Thursday, December 14, and Friday, December 15 — We will be webcasting from Tokyo, Japan, both Thursday and Friday, just before Saturday’s UFC XXIX (shown on tape delay in North America on December 22). We will have the latest news about the preparations for this show, including comments from Chris Thomas of DojoTV.com (our sponsor for this trip), the "Queen of the UFC" Paula Romero, as well as whatever other NHB luminaries we can keep from going to Roppongi and capture and drag to our hotel room.

posted by Full Contact Fighter @ 8:00 pm
Have a comment about this story? Please share with us by filling out the fields below.

Comments are closed.