One of Heber Valley's Best Gyms

I was more than a little nervous when I contacted Colton Kynaston to ask if I could come to his MMA gym in Heber City, Tooth and Claw MMA, and check it out.  I first heard of Tooth and Claw some time in the summer and was immediately interested. I've always loved boxing and MMA fights appeal to me very much. I think its the amount of training, skill, endurance, strength, speed, agility and amazing quick thinking that makes me appreciate and admire MMA athletes.

When I walked in, Colton was smiling and friendly and had me fill out some paperwork of course. Then it was time to get busy. Jump ropes to warm up.  Ugh. I have to say that was the ONLY bad part about my experience. I jump like an ox and have the foot work of one too. But it was eventually over, my heart was pumping and I was definitely warm. A few more warm up moves with burpees, swinging a kettlebell, jumping jacks, and some med ball slamming got me ready to go. 

Colton handed me some gloves and helped me get into them. The next hour flew by with Colton sharing basic punching and kicking moves that were REALLY fun. Colton has a great sense of body awareness and what needed to be tweaked a little with the movements I made in order to do it more correctly, smoothly, dynamically, and precisely. I am far from a real MMA student but Colton was extremely patient with my questions and my inabilities to follow his instructions perfectly. He commended me on my positive improvements when I got the hang of a few moves. He always let me know when I was starting to get it right.

Colton has been involved with mixed martial arts for most of his life. With this experience and knowledge, paired with his friendly, likeable, and patient personality, he makes a really great coach. 

The gym itself has a nice, clean feel, appearance, and SMELL! Colton has enough equipment to run his gym perfectly yet not so much that it feels cluttered and cramped. Natural light comes through windows and the artificial lighting was great. 

After the hour of instruction on the bags and kick shield working some kicks and punching, I was pretty worked. I asked Colton if I could get a video for this blog post of him showing some moves and he suggested I do it. So, here it is. I had not practiced this before with Colton and I will repeat myself, I am not an MMA student. There is so much involved with MMA instruction and I just skimmed the wide surface in my one hour session. But here it is:

See?  Anyone can do it. Especially with Colton's help. If you are looking for something new and incredibly enjoyable and fulfulling, give Tooth and Claw MMA a go. But be warned, my calves were a little sore the next day. (Blasted jump rope!) A good sore though.

You can find Tooth and Claw MMA on Facebook where you will find Colton's contact number and the gym's information. Thanks for reading and watching!  - Rachel Harvey

Brought to you by Heath Harvey @ HeathsHomes.com