Congratulations to Wrestling and MMA legend Dan “Hendo” Henderson for being inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame this past weekend! After a stellar amateur wrestling career consisting of two trips to the Olympics, numerous State and National titles Henderson was inducted into the CA Wrestling Hall of Fame alongside some of the most illustrious names in wrestling. Henderson’s contributions to the sport of wrestling go beyond his amateur career as Henderson has helped the sport since making the transition to Mixed Martial Arts. Henderson’s notoriety has sky rocketed since competing in MMA which has helped him to raise awareness and support for wrestlers and the sport of wrestling itself. Congratulations to Dan Henderson on this well deserved accolade!

Clinch Gear athlete Jesse “JT Money” Taylor defended his Cage Warriors Middleweight title against the dangerous knockout artist John Phillips at Cage Warriors Fighting Championships 54. Taylor, known for his wrestling prowess, used a well timed takedown to avoid the dangerous hands of Phillips and worked from guard to mount eventually finishing a scramble with a fight ending guillotine choke. With the win Taylor finds himself on a six fight win streak including a win over UFC veteran Kendall Grove. This win streak combined with two title defenses should put Taylor on the cusp of being called back up to the UFC. Congratulations to Jesse Taylor on the title defense!

Factory X Fighters Marcus “Bad Intentions” Edwards and Nick “Quick” Honstein win at Sparta Combat League’s massive two card event. The first card, Fight For The Troops, saw Nick “Quick” Honstein use a brilliant display of ground work to take his opponent’s back and lay in with heavy ground and pound. As his opponent tried to escape, Honstein sank in a triangle choke and began throwing a flurry of elbows. His opponent tapped out at 2:23 of round one improving Honstein’s record to 20-7 overall (13-7 pro, 7-0 amateur). In the second card of the day, Army vs. Marines IV, Marcus “Bad Intentions” Edwards threw a devastating high kick at the opening of the bell which landed cleanly knocking his opponent to the mat. Edwards pounced and sunk in a power guillotine choke to render his opponent unconscious for the win at just 46 seconds of round one. With the win Edwards improves his record to 14-1 overall (3-1 pro, 11-0 amateur). Congratulations to both Factory X fighters!

Clinch Gear CrossFit athlete Chris “Dozer” Dozois finishes in 1st place overall in the Southwest Region at the 2013 CrossFit Open. At age 41, Dozois entered the CrossFit Open hoping to qualify for the Southwest Regionals in the new 40-44 Master’s Division or place high enough to help his team, Front Range CrossFit (FRCF), qualify for regionals. What ensued was a dominant display of fitness as Dozois beat out perennial CrossFit Games competitors Matt Chan, Chris Spealler and Patrick Burke in the overall division competing with men almost half his age. With a spot at the regionals secured Dozois now has the decision of which division to compete in: Overall, Master’s 40-44 or Team. Congratulations to Chris for his 1st place finish!

Photos from CrossFit Open Workout 13.5

Wearing Clinch Gear Pro Series Black Shorts

Clinch Gear CrossFit athletes Chris “Dozer” Dozois, Kevin Ogar and Charlie Racinowski all completed CrossFit Open Workout 13.4. Dozer once again dominated by posting a score of 118 reps which moves him up to 16th in the world in the overall division and maintains his 1st place position in the Masters 40-44 division overall and his 1st place position in the Master’s 40-44 division in the SouthWest Region. Ogar completed workout 13.4 with a final score of 96 reps and looks for a dominating performance to help land him in the top 48 in the SouthWest Region and thus allowing him to qualify for the SouthWest Regionals. Ogar has battled a Flu for the better part of the CrossFit Open which has affected his scores, but Ogar will not give up and even completed workout 13.2 with a 101 fever. Racinowski completed workout 13.4 with a score of 88 reps as he vies for a spot in the CrossFit NorthCentral Region top 48. All three athletes will attempt workout 13.5, the final CrossFit Open workout, this week with hopes of qualifying for their respective regions. Congratulations to Dozer, Ogar and Racinowski for completing workout 13.4 and good luck with 13.5! CLICK HERE to read the article on Chris “Dozer” Dozois on Games.CrossFit.com. See photos below as well as the movements that made up workout 13.4.

Chris Dozois (@Dozer4747) 13.4

wearing Signature Series Bengal Short Rifle Green at Front Range CrossFit

Kevin Ogar (@KevinOgar) 13.4

wearing Signature Series Bengal Short Rifle Green at CrossFit Unbroken

Charlie Racinowski (@CharlieRaz) 13.4

wearing Signature Series Bengal Short Black at CrossFit United*

*Nate Bacott (@N8CFU) in foreground judging and wearing Flex 2 Blur Short Dark Shadow

Workout 13.4

7 minute AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible)  of:
3 Clean and jerk
3 Toes-to-bar
6 Clean and jerk
6 Toes-to-bar
9 Clean and jerk
9 Toes-to-bar
12 Clean and jerk
12 Toes-to-bar
15 Clean and jerk
15 Toes-to-bar
18 Clean and jerk
18 Toes-to-bar…
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

Chris “Dozer” Dozois discusses what he’s doing to get ready for the 2013 CrossFit Games, how many years he plans on competing and whether or not he will enter the games as an individual or as part of a team.

Clilnch Gear athlete Clark Gracie, the newly crowned Pan Am Jiu Jitsu Middleweight Champion, was on the Good Morning America show today as the “ridiculously photogenic” Jiu Jitsu guy for his photo (above) at the New York International Jiu Jitsu Open in 2012. The photo shows Clark being as smooth and calm as ever while holding his opponent in an omoplata shoulder lock, or as some have come to call it, the Clarkoplata. The photo has gone viral with people attaching captions such as “Here To Break Limbs, Ends Up Breaking Hearts” and “He’s Got The Key-Lock To Your Heart.” Congratulations to Clark for the national media attention and for winning the 2013 Pan Am Gold Medal. See a video clip of Clark on Good Morning America below. Follow Clark Gracie on Twitter @ClarkGracie

Catch the CrossFit Games Southwest Region’s athlete profile on Clinch Gear athlete Chris “Dozer” Dozois (see below). In the video Dozer discusses what he’s doing to get ready for the 2013 CrossFit Games, how many years he plans on competing and whether or not he will enter the games as an individual or as part of a team. Follow Dozer on Twitter @Dozer4747

Clinch Gear athlete Clark Gracie took the Gold Medal in the middleweight black belt division at the 2013 IBJJF Pan Jiu Jitsu games using his signature omoplata move to setup a dramatic come from behind win by Gi choke over Marcelo “Lapela” Mafra in the closing seconds of the match. Gracie’s path to gold was not easy, having faced Otavio Sousa the reigning 2012 Pan Jiu Jitsu black belt middleweight champion in the quarter finals and winning by omoplata. In the semi-finals Gracie faced the reigning 2012 world middleweight no-gi champion DJ Jackson and defeated Jackson by judge’s decision. In the finals it appeared as if Gracie was running out of time as he found himself down by points heading into the final minute of the match. Staying calm and working continuously for the submission, Gracie worked for his signature omoplata shoulder lock. As Mafra tried to escape Gracie transitioned into a Gi choke which Mafra tried to wait out for the end of the match. Knowing he had the choke, Gracie motioned with the “Hang Loose” gesture to the crowd as Mafra tapped and slipped into unconsciousness from the choke. With the win Gracie has cemented himself as one of the top black belts in the middleweight division and continues his rise up the Jiu Jitsu ranks. With the Pan Jiu Jitsu medal secured, Gracie now heads to Good Morning America for a feature on his practice in the art of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Tune in on Friday March 29th at 7:00AM on ABC. Congratulations Clark!

Clark Gracie defeats Otavio Sousa by omoplata

Clinch Gear athlete Chris “Dozer” Dozois continued his torrid pace in week 3 of the CrossFit Open. With a total of 286 reps in workout 13.3, Dozer not only finished 1st in the world in the Master’s 40-44 division for this workout, but his total moved him up the overall leaderboard to 19th place overall. After 3 weeks, Dozer now sits in 1st place in the Men’s overall division in the Southwest Region and 1st place in the Master’s 40-44 division for the Southwest Region. Since workout 13.3 was a repeat of last year’s 12.4 workout, Dozer came in with a strategy to increase his reps which included conserving energy during the wall ball portion (resting for 22 seconds) to stay as fresh as possible for the muscle-ups portion of the workout. The strategy paid off as Dozer increased his reps by 39 over last year. CLICK HERE to read the CrossFit Open Week 3 in review for the Southwest Region. See below for photos and the movements making up the 13.3 workout.

Workout 13.3
12 minute AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) of:
150 Wall balls
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle-ups