From Student To Teacher: Five Minutes With UFC/MMA Veteran Tony Fryklund

Before the boom period of MMA, when televised fights were rare to non-existent and the UFC was closer to bankruptcy than Bud Light, there were guys like Tony Fryklund who were just trying to compete.

Fryklund did just that for 10 years at the highest level of the sport, fighting in the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC and virtually any other North American group that had relevance from 1997-2007.

While he never won a championship or was on the cover of a video game, the Boston native put together a 14-9 career record and fought plenty of talent you've heard of, talent like Anderson Silva, Matt Lindland, Cung Le, Duane Ludwig, Jonathan Goulet and David Loiseau.

Now retired from active competition, the 40-year old has turned to training full-time and is the head MMA trainer at the Throwdown facility in Las Vegas. This Saturday, Fryklund will make the cross-country trip to Manchester, NH, teaching a day-long seminar at Terry Dow's Training Station facility.

The New School

Fryklund sees a lot of similarities between the fighers in his era and the group that he is helping gain success in this era.

However, he pointed some differences that can be best explained by a Randy Couture quote about a willingness to embrace the grind—especially when it comes down to sparring and getting physical outside of non-contact drills.

"You just gotta get after it with live partners. That's the hardest part to make the young guys do unless they come from that strict wrestling room atmosphere," Fryklund explained. "It has to be a mix of that traditional karate/martial arts dojo atmosphere combined with the wrestling room mentality."

He fully embraces the current-day method of teaching young fighters all the skills progressively at the same time, ideally creating more well-rounded and complete MMA athletes (see UFC stars Jon Jones and Anthony Pettis).

In order to do that, however, it takes buy-in from everyone involved in the training process, regardless of the discipline they teach.

"You need all those cooks in the kitchen, but they always need to be working on the same dish, which is the athlete/student," he explained. "It's not a food court, but a lot of these gyms out here in Vegas are like that. The gyms have to be careful and need to pick the right trainers that mesh together and find out what their goals are in working together to better that student."

At Throwdown Vegas, Fryklund teaches a mix of young pro and amateur talent in a variety of weight classes and still loves to watch fighters like "Spider" Silva, a man he considers on the elite level.

He explained that everyone is increasing in talent these days, but there's a smaller group of fighters that are truly in another class.

"A-level is not hard to get to anymore. They're a dime a dozen. But it's those elite level guys that will blow right through you. A lot of these kids have huge holes in their game because their gyms (aren't fully encompassing) and it shows."

Granite State Of Mind

What brings Fryklund to New Hampshire is Dow, a long-time friend that he trained alongside as part of a small group that became combat martial arts addicts, citing kickboxers Bill "Superfoot" Wallace and Joe Lewis and jiu-jitsu ace Mike DePesquale as major influences.

The two reconnected several years ago and Fryklund has since traveled back to New Hampshire several times to put on these types of events with Dow, a near 30-year veteran in a multitude of martial arts.

"We used to do some B-rated action films together," Fryklund joked. "I think they came out in other countries in different languages."

The seminar runs from 10 AM-6 PM and will cover a lot of what's involved in "bridging the gap" in transitioning between sequences with an emphasis on finishing. While there will be some pro and amateur fighters looking to kick their skills up a few notches, even those literally learning the ropes can get something out of the day.

"I want to teach the beginner how to save their ass by the end of the day. At the same time, if you're already a skilled fighter, the same material will teach you how to take care of an opponent at your level."

A few limited spots are available for $65 and more information can be found by emailing Dow at [e-mail] or calling the studio at 603.591.6546.

Josh Nason is a New England-based freelance MMA journalist that covers live events, contributes to FIGHT! Magazine and frequently does radio/podcast appearances. He asks for your "like" for ESPN Boston to cover MMA. Follow him on  Twitter.