Teaching MMA (Peter Rafferty 09-10)

Member Name: Peter Rafferty

Service Site: Door of Hope 

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Lesson Description:

For his replicable project, Peter Rafferty introduced his male students to mixed martial arts (MMA) in an after school program that he created.  MMA is a mixture of many different fighting styles, from kickboxing to judo, and practitioners must be well-versed in several areas of striking and ground fighting.  Peter hoped that his program would help instill structure, discipline, respect, and confidence to his boys, as well as help provide positive male leadership in their lives.

The attached PowerPoint presentation and Word document review Peter's motivations for starting this MMA program, suggest methods for starting up a similar program in your own site, and provide case studies about Peter's students and the positive impact the program had on their lives (using only their MMA nicknames).