Conriocht MMA and Grappling Team at K-FIT Fitness Dojo based in Athenry, Galway is one of our most recent additions to the IMMAA organization. The name Conriocht is derived from old Irish folklore referring to a mythological breed of werewolf which would defend and protect the people of Ireland. Owned and operated by head coach, former professional mixed martial artist, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt Kevin Moran (pictured far right), K-fit provides a range of martial arts classes including MMA, nogi Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Olympic and folkstyle wrestling and offers classes for children, teens, and adults. Kevin’s introduction to martial arts began after he suffered a hamstring injury playing football and his physiotherapist recommended taking up kickboxing to improve flexibility for rehabilitation. He began to train Thai boxing under coach Dave Joyce in Galway and continued his Thai boxing and kickboxing training under his mentor, friend, and coach John Walsh in Waterford of Waterford Muay Thai. While training in kickboxing he noticed two fighters grappling and upon further inspection was introduced to the sport of Vale Tudo, a precursor sport of mixed martial arts. Being a student at the time studying for his degree in business and sports at Waterford Institute of Technology, Kevin chose to use his J1 student visa to travel to America where he spent a summer training in Renzo Gracie’s gym in New York. During this time he was incredibly fortunate to train under and be mentored by the one and only famous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Kiwi John Danaher who’s advice, encouragement and guidance would prove to be invaluable to Kevin's fighting career as he transitioned to the professional MMA circuit after 4 years of fighting on the amateur circuit. Kevin went on to create a successful professional fighting career winning 2 out of three pro fights including a 1st round submission on Ultimate fighting Revolution in 2007 and a 3rd round TKO on Tribal Warfare in 2008 before he was forced to retire from fighting due to injuries. Having fallen in love with the sport Kevin would not allow his injuries to prevent him from continuing to train and contribute to Irish MMA and so he dedicated the next 8 years to coaching classes and passing on his knowledge of the fight game at fellow IMMAA member club Strange Wolves MMA located in Galway City. Having previously established a successful entrepreneurial telecommunications career Kevin decided to take the plunge to open his own MMA gym K-fit Fitness Dojo in May 2019 and rather unsurprisingly this new business venture has flourished prosperously operating at almost full member capacity after only less than one year in business. Kevin humbly dedicates his success to the help and guidance of his mentors Tim Murphy, head coach of IMMAA club Point Blank Submissions and to Vinny Connelly, founder and head coach of IMMAA gym Strange Wolves MMA. Irish MMA fans will be excited to learn that Kevin will be taking his team to debut as fighters of Conriocht MMA on Cage Legacy MMA 13, March 14th in Drogheda where he currently has 4 fighters matched for bouts and will be hoping to add more to the card soon. If Kevin Moran’s previous successes are any indication of what is yet to come from the Conriocht team and K-fit Fitness Dojo then we can expect to see some dominant performances and extraordinary victories from these young athletes very shortly!
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling, and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports and martial arts from around the world. The first documented use of the term mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC 1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993. The question of who coined the term is subject to debate. During the early 20th century, various interstylistic contests took place throughout Japan and in the countries of the Four Asian Tigers. In Brazil, there was the sport of Vale Tudo, in which fighters from various styles fought with little to no rules. The Gracie family was known to promote Vale Tudo matches as a way to promote their Brazilian jiu-jitsu style. In the West, the concept of combining elements of multiple martial arts was popularized by Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do during the late 1960s to early 1970s. A precursor to modern MMA was the 1976 Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki bout, fought between boxer Muhammad Ali and wrestler Antonio Inoki in Japan, where it later inspired the foundation of Pancrase in 1993 and Pride Fighting Championships in 1997. In 1980, CV Productions, Inc. created the first regulated MMA league in the United States, called Tough Guy Contest, which was later renamed Battle of the Superfighters. The company sanctioned ten tournaments in Pennsylvania. However, in 1983 the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill prohibiting the sport. In 1993, the Gracie family brought Brazilian jiu-jitsu, developed in Brazil from the 1920s, to the United States by founding the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) MMA promotion company in 1993. The company held an event with almost no rules, mostly due to the influence of Art Davie and Rorion Gracie attempting to replicate Vale Tudo fights that existed in Brazil and would later implement a different set of rules (example: eliminating kicking a grounded opponent), which differed from other leagues which were more in favor of realistic fights. Originally promoted as a competition to find the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat, competitors from different fighting styles were pitted against one another in contests with relatively few rules. Later, individual fighters incorporated multiple martial arts into their style. MMA promoters were pressured to adopt additional rules to increase competitors' safety, comply with sport regulations, and broaden mainstream acceptance of the sport.