To understand the story behind Pennsylvania Combat Sports, you have to go back 10 years. When a small Quonset building in South Greensburg would become the first place to teach MMA in all of Westmoreland County. Prior to 2001, there were no martial arts schools offering MMA or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training in Greensburg, or the surrounding communities of Westmoreland County.
This would all change when Casey Leonard would return back to Pennsylvania after serving in the US Marine Corps. Coming back to Greensburg after living and training in Southern California, Casey soon realized that the explosive popularity of MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academies in California, had not yet reached this part of Pennsylvania.
In 2000, a chance encounter with Mac Danzig would put a series of events into motion that no one would have anticipated at the time. As a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Casey took Mac under his wing and spent several nights a week teaching him the fundamentals of a sport that few locals knew anything about. With no prior wrestling or martial arts experience Mac was learning everything for the first time.
From these early days of training on a borrowed 10 x10 folding mat, the creation of Combative Grappling Systems (TEAM CGS) would soon occur. After only one year of training, and having won several grappling tournaments and the US National Amateur MMA Championships in Iowa, it was time for Mac to pursue full-time training opportunities in Los Angeles. (Mac would later become a Gladiator Challenge/ King of the Cage 155 Champion, The Ultimate Fighter Season 6 winner and active UFC Fighter in the 155 Division)
CGS would continue as the home of MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Westmoreland County, creating many more success stories along the way. One such story would start in 2002, when Dustin Thornton would arrive on the scene. Having no experience in wrestling or any previous martial arts, Casey would turn him into a NAGA (Known to host the largest grappling tournaments in the country) WORLD Champion in 2003! The decision to train full-time also led Dustin to seek opportunities in California. where he is now a head trainer at UND1SPUTED (Point Loma) and pupil under Master Baret Yoshida.
Fast forward to 2005 when Casey Leonard sets his sights on a new goal, to become the All Army Combatives Champion! This historic event would be the first time in over 200 years that our US ARMY would seek to determine who the best fighters truly were. All components of the Army, to include Army Reserves, and National Guard were asked to send their best fighters to compete in this 2 day event held at Ft. Benning, Georgia. Representing 19th Special Forces Group in West Virginia, Casey would accept the challenge. After two long days of competing against the best fighters in the Army, he was able to capture the 155lb Army title in an MMA match that would last only 90 seconds!
Moving into 2009, the development of something truly great would be on the horizon. The idea of Pennsylvania Combat Sports was conceived, with the goal of creating a training facility unlike anything in Western Pennsylvania. Located in the heart of Greensburg, Pennsylvania Combat Sports would be calling home a massive 15,000 sqft property just 2 blocks from the courthouse!
Contact us to receive more information on how we can make you a champion on the mat, in the cage, or at life!
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