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Joey Clark; Article on USA World Greco Team Member now MMA gym owner/competitor.
Topic Started: Dec 17 2010, 04:53 PM (925 Views)
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Hey, y'all. I know this part of the forum doesn't get a lot of love, but if you could share this article on your Facebook/Twitter pages and on here, it'd be much appreciated. Very interesting and well-written on Minnesota's own Joey "The Sandman" Clark.
Joey Clark article from MNMMANews.com

Text from the article:

Clark shows Ambition at Penn's camp
Written by Tony Nguyen
Thursday, 16 December 2010 19:08

Please welcome Tony Nguyen to the Minnesota MMA News family. An avid MMA fan, Nguyen will be doing some freelance work for the website. He's also a wrestling enthusiast and writes for intermatwrestle.com. (Photos provided by the great Brian C. Olsen of flashfillfoto.com)

Webster defines Ambition as "a strong desire for success, achievement, or distinction." To understand the journey and story of the gym's inception, one has to understand the dream, career, and vision of its main founder, Joey Clark.

Clark, a St. Paul native, was a Greco-Roman wrestler for the U.S. Marines from 1996 to 2003. He placed multiple times for the U.S. Nationals and U.S. World Team Trials. After his wrestling career and service with the Marines, Clark started his MMA career.

While still in the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Spring, Colo., he got a call from a man on the cusp of beating Matt Hughes and becoming the UFC's welterweight champion: B.J. Penn.

"It's crazy, B.J. came out to Colorado Springs looking for someone to help him train his wrestling, and someone gave him my name," said Clark. "I got a call one day and he says, 'This is B.J. Penn. I was given your name and number. Will you come to Hawaii and train with me?' "

Clark, fresh off of competing at the Trials for the Olympics, relished the opportunity and in training B.J. Penn, a friendship was born and his MMA career was kick-started. After his return from Hawaii, Clark took odd jobs and fought to make ends meet. While selling tickets and promoting his fights, an opportunity arose for him to sell houses and find better mortgages for people stuck in bad housing situations.

Fast forward to present day. Clark is still a professional working alongside his longtime girlfriend and recent fiancé in assisting people to refinance their mortgages in this trying economy. During this time, Clark was trying to find balance between fighting, and being a mortgage broker.

"Man, it was tough," said Clark. "I'd put a lot of effort into my mortgage business, and then my MMA

career would suffer because of it, and vice versa."

During the course of Clark's MMA career, MMA did not have a governing body and the sport was in its infancy. Fights were not regulated and there were no pre-fight physicals or drug testing. In 2007, with his mortgage career taking off, Clark decided to focus on other things and retired from MMA.

As he was working his way into his re-found real estate career, the itch of MMA and competing was never far from Clark. Sure enough, a group of people got together and began discussions about the possibility of creating an MMA gym.

As things progressed, the dream that Clark envisioned was fully created — Ambition Training Academy. Equipped with an MMA fight team and fitness Body Blast studio, the gym, which is located in Eagan, opened its doors with huge potential and tons of promise.

During his MMA career, Clark took part in many of former lightweight and welterweight UFC champion B.J. Penn's training camps. Clark just got back after the Thanksgiving holidays from Hawaii training B.J. for his recent first-round victory over Matt Hughes in their rubber match at UFC 124 in Montreal.

"We didn't train B.J. for the two Frankie Edgar losses," said Clark. "We had stuff going on here with our gym, so we couldn't make it out there. When B.J. trains, he is unstoppable. He's scary. I was very happy with the recent knockout win, at the same time I wanted him to show off his awesome takedown defense and how prepared we were. I think when B.J. lets his hands go, he's confident with his wrestling. The guy's unreal in what he can do when he's training the right way. I came back after the holidays, Jake (Clark's younger brother, a two-time U.S. World Team member in Greco-Roman wrestling) stayed out there in Hawaii to continue training with B.J.'s camp."

Clark remembers all the trials and tribulations in the earlier days of his MMA career, even sharing a light-hearted story about a B.J. Penn visit and training session in Minnesota.

"I had B.J. here once a few years ago in a double garage where we were training," Clark said. "One of my training partners didn't know who B.J. was, so he's in there giving B.J. pointers on things, telling him how to throw punches and whatnot. I stood back and tried not to laugh. Then B.J. wanted to spar with him. I still laugh when I think of that story … It wasn't pretty. Even afterward I didn't tell him, he ended up seeing B.J. on TV a few months later and figured it out."

The friendship bonded out of helping train B.J Penn will also help his gym in the upcoming spring.

"I was hoping to get B.J. to Ambition after this last fight, but he was offered the Jon Fitch fight in February in Australia that same night he beat Matt Hughes, so we will reschedule his visit and seminar," Clark said. "Look for B.J. Penn to be a guest and hold a seminar at Ambition come Spring 2011."

Ambition has grown by leaps and bounds as a business and MMA gym after that small meeting started years ago. The gym has parlayed all adversities to become the flourishing facility you see at present day. Ambition would not have succeeded, without partners Mark and Teri Dale, or coaches and friends Mike Reilly or Gabriel Hobbs, Clark said.

"The Dales are great people," said Clark. "I can't say enough great things about them, but the major thing is that they are amazing people. Mike Reilly, huge piece of the puzzle. The guy is all heart and has so much experience in not only the fight game, but manages the fighters and their careers. Gabriel Hobbs, who works with our youth and the technique he brings. We are blessed to have such a great team."

So what does Clark bring to the table? Outside of his wrestling background with the Marines and being a former fighter, Clark mentors fighters on the mental aspect of fighting. He protects them from the hardships he faced as a local fighter, and gets them mentally and emotionally sharp before fights.

With Ambition, Clark desired to create the best fitness facility in the Midwest, not just a fighting facility. At Ambition Training Academy, one can find full cage training, Local Zebra Mats, Local TV weight loss winners, massage therapy body restorations, a professional nutritionist, professional athletes such as current Minnesota Vikings players and much more.

"We are so much more than a professional fight team," said Clark. "In our Body Blast studio, we have great circuit training starting at 5:30 a.m. to aerobics, Zumba classes, TRX training, yoga, kettle bell training, and a favorite, pole dancing classes. It's a little risqué, but I have bachelorette parties booked all the time and the ladies love it."

Wishes for the holidays? Have a weight loss New Year's resolution? Or want to train with or like an MMA professional?

"Right now, I want to offer a promotional deal to all mnmmanews.com readers," said Clark. "Come in, check out Ambition, and I'll give you a month free (valued over $92, plus I will waive the $150 one-time membership signup fee) if you mention the article."

All things aside, Clark reveals that many of the fighters are close to big fights. He expects a few of his up-and-coming undefeated fighters to get opportunities to fight in bigger promotions soon.

"Brett Rodgers will be back soon, Kelly Kobold will be fighting in a major organization soon," said Clark. "Our heavyweight, Kevin Asplund, brings it every fight. Pat Schilling and Jeremy Hamilton are both undefeated. They will be in a big show soon. I'm just scratching the surface. We have great fighters."

When asked about the possibility of fighting professionally again, Clark responded, "I fought last January mostly as publicity for Ambition. At the time, I only did it to promote Ambition, but a return to the cage has always been in the back of my mind. Look for me to return to a major promotion shortly."

Joey "The Sandman" Clark plans on returning to the MMA cage, but then again he never left MMA, not entirely. Not only was it always in the back of his mind, but in his heart.

You can follow Tony Nguyen on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TonyNguyenMMAhttp://twitter.com/TonyNguyenMMA
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