Chamber joins in for ribbon cutting ceremony

Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors joined Doug and Tammy Hays at the ribbon cutting ceremony for their business, Bushido Mixed Martial Arts, as the business united with the chamber yesterday at 11 a.m.

The ribbon cutting took place at the Youth Center (located on 14th and King St.).

Bushido Mixed Martial Arts has officially been open for business since Feb. 4.

The Hays have been working in different areas of martial arts for years. Tammy said she started out learning Tai Chi, which she said is more of a Kung Fu-type system, while Doug started out studying Taekwondo.

Both of them studied under the same instructor.

Tammy said she gradually started learning Taekwondo as well and they both spent more time with instructors around the Panhandle and Denver area – learning and incorporating different techniques into their own classes. They started teaching in 1993.

She said that Doug’s uncle at one time was one of the top instructors in the whole U.S.

Classes are offered on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, according to Tammy, and there is a youth class, a Tai Chi class, an adult class and advanced classes.

There are classes for every age and anyone can show up to watch the classes to see if they would be interested in joining.

All defense classes are $60 a month and Tai Chi classes are $30 a month. Active military and law enforcement officers can receive the classes for free and Doug said that some company wellness programs might offer discounts for the classes as well.

Doug said that the classes are an integration of different martial art styles including Taekwondo and there are many different variations.

“We’ve started to focus more on the ground fighting and things to that nature,” he said. “That is what you are going to run into; we are more focused on real-life situations.”

Doug said that the classes have been driven more toward self-defense and what could help a student “on the streets.”

Martial Arts training isn’t something that is picked up as soon as students walk in the door, said Doug.

“It takes time and when you walk in the door you are basically associating names with movements. Then slowly you start putting everything together until it falls into place,” he said. “Everybody learns at a different level.”

If students are interested in competing in certain martial arts areas Doug and Tammy said that they could train them how to compete in the tournaments, but the tournaments would be separate from the classes.

“We can show them what is required and expected of them if they went to a traditional tournament as to what would be proper protocol and points sparring. But it’s not what we focus on here,” said Doug.

“We do teach forms in case they do want to go to a tournament so they can do the forms and the sparring. We also teach traditional weapons, as well as gun and knife defense. If they want to do that in a tournament as well, they will be trained,” said Tammy.

Although most of the classes are separated by age groups, Thursday night sessions host more of a conglomeration of groups for anyone who wants to show up, the couple said.

“It’s nice for families if a parent takes it and their kids take it and they are at separate classes because at least once a week they will have time together to work together,” said Tammy. “It’s nice for parents to see where their kids are and what kind of area they might need a little more help on or what they want to work on.”