Last Updated on January 31, 2014.
Stamford School Too Enticing To Pass Up
Billy Griffin was five years old. That’s when he first began to train at TSMMA Stamford. The school was right across the street from his house and at Billy’s urging his parents signed him up. Nearly six years later and it’s been a life changing decision.
This past weekend it took him up Interstate 95, off 295 to Route 146 in Rhode Island. Billy’s trip wasn’t an unusual one, in fact it happens most every weekend. This time it was NAGA New England and the Griffin’s couldn’t have been happier at the outcome. 11 year old Billy won the Advanced division for 11 & 12 year olds. Not that Billy was worried about taking on kids older than he is.
That’s because the Griffin’s have taken Billy around the Northeast to the tune of 50,000 miles in the last year, helping him compete in competitions like NAGA, Grappler’s Quest and Tiger Schulmann’s in house tournament, The Challenge of Champions.
Stamford Boy Competes In Every Aspect of MMA
The discipline it takes for Billy’s parents is made easier by the changes they’ve seen in their son outside of the school. Billy has taken the teachings of Sensei Demetrius and Joshu Petrello and well beyond the mat he trains on.
“Billy has more confidence and discipline. He does well in school,” says his mom Denise. “It was probably one of the best decisions we made when we walked into that school.”
She says Billy looks up to Sensei and Joshu as mentors. They have helped teach him the most important thing a kid can learn.
“Billy competes a lot. He doesn’t always win but he has that non-quitting spirit so it just pushes him to do better next time.”
Stamford Martial Arts School Becomes Second Home For Griffin
Griffin will always be a special student for Sensei Nick Demetrius. A Martial Arts Instructor can only ever have one student who is their first to go all the way from white belt to Black. That’s the distinction Griffin holds for Demetrius.
“He reminds me a lot of myself as a young student. All he wants to do is train,” says Demetrius. “He travels all over the organization, training at other schools and at headquarters to get better. You can see the effects of his hard work.”
Denise Griffin says this is what her son wants to do. She expects to be a part of Tiger Schulmann’s Stamford for years to come.
“We love the school. We consider them our family!”
