Featured affiliated academy: Arctic Combat Fitness & MMA, Canada BJJ
Where is the gym located?
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
How many people train there?
Currently we have approximately 17 regular members in our BJJ and MMA classes.
Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Our attendance fluctuates, with many of students moving away or into town at any point in time, but we seem to be picking up a couple of new members each year.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
Right now our members rank from white to brown (I quite recently received my brown belt from my coach Jeff Wiley). We also have three awesome purple belts who help instruct. One of them has four stripes and over 12 years of experience.
When did the gym open?
Arctic Combat Fitness & MMA, Canada BJJ opened in 2014.
Some facts about you:
Name: Landen Powell
Age: 30
Belt: Brown
Profession: Geologist (Geoscientist in training)
Years in BJJ: 8 years
Other martial arts: Kickboxing, MMA
Currently living in: Yellowknife, NWT, Canada
Originally from: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Name: Celia Harding-Russell
Age: 31
Belt: Purple
Profession: Middle school teacher
Years in BJJ: 7 years
Other martial arts: Kickboxing, wrestling
Currently living in: Yellowknife, NWT, Canada
Originally from: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence:
Yellowknife is a community of independent weirdos who find companionship in the odd conglomerate that has formed on the shores of Great Slave Lake. The city came into existence as the result of a small gold rush in the 1930s. The first residents were prospectors, bootleggers, pilots, and local First Nations. The city didn’t have year-round road access until 2012. This history may seem irrelevant but it will help you make sense of the oddities that characterize Arctic Combat Fitness & MMA, Canada BJJ.
Like almost all Yellowknife organizations, the gym was founded by resourceful locals who ramshackled something workable together, and eventually developed into a beautiful non-profit gym. Arctic Combat Fitness’ founders include a construction mogul, a corrections training officer, and an IT expert. The gym is located on the edge of town inside a converted cold-storage shack within the lot of a construction firm, and was something of a hidden gem until last month when we finally got around to putting up a sign.
Arctic Combat Fitness & MMA, Canada BJJ
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
Typical Yellowknifers – scientists, government workers, students, teachers, construction workers, aviation workers, medical professionals, nannies, travelling musicians and law enforcement officers. Our students are an eclectic bunch and are all a little too quirky to be found anywhere south of the 62nd parallel.
Why do they train?
Fitness, fun, and a love of aggressive cuddling.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general and in your location specifically?
Yellowknife is a transient town, and so while every year we welcome many new students, we also have to say goodbye to old students who are moving on to new jobs and/or further education.
Yellowknife is also a place of extremes. In the winter months there is little sun and even less warmth, so when the heat has given out during winter power outages we’ve resorted to rolling in our gis, long johns, sweaters, and toques. The summer days, in contrast, are long and glorious, and sometimes attendance drops as fishing season opens.
How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
Jiu-jitsu is a great sport and its popularity is growing worldwide. Interest in BJJ in Yellowknife has followed suit.
What’s the best thing about your gym?
The atmosphere, the hard-working members, the potlucks, and the two-man somersault introduction. We all work hard but we have fun!
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
- Summer: Camping without a flashlight, constant sunlight, the Folk on the Rocks Festival, the Solstice Party, canoeing on Great Slave Lake, and fishing trips to the East Arm of the lake.
- Winter: The best aurora borealis in the world, the eclectic remnants of the Old Town, the water squatters (houseboaters), the Ice Castle and Long John Jamboree Festival, the ice caves, ice fishing, dog sledding, snowshoeing, skiing, and -50°C (it is a real temperature).
- Fall: Beautiful camping, hiking trails, fishing, and cranberry-picking trips.
- Spring: Much like the winter but without the extremity-risking cold.
And at any time of year it’s worth looking at the Dene Cultural Insitute’s events and arts & crafts. The Northwest Territories also have an active fur trade based on traditional harvesting.
