Where We Trained Near North Cascades: Livewire MMA & Outlaw Wrestling Club
While we were staying in Concrete, Washington, to explore North Cascades National Park, the girls had the opportunity to train at two different places: Livewire MMA and Outlaw Wrestling Club both in Sedro-Woolley.
We originally found Livewire MMA for jiu-jitsu, but like so many of our experiences training while traveling, one connection led to another. By the end of the week, the girls had packed in plenty of jiu-jitsu, some real MMA training, and two nights in a competitive wrestling room.
Livewire MMA
https://www.facebook.com/livewiremc
The girls trained at Livewire MMA under Matt and Joanna Coble, who were incredibly kind and welcoming to our family from the beginning.
They allowed the girls to participate in both the competition class and the regular class, which meant they were able to get about two hours of training a day, five days that week. For kids who are used to training frequently at home, finding a gym that allows them to jump in and get that much mat time while we’re traveling is always a huge win.
The girls had some really good training partners, got plenty of live rolls, and learned a lot of great techniques throughout the week.
Matt runs a fun, high-energy class, and his personality brings a lot of energy into the room. He keeps the kids moving and engaged while still providing quality instruction and pushing them to work.
One of my favorite things about Matt’s coaching was the way he treated the kids like they were capable of more.
Sometimes when expectations for kids are low, that’s exactly what you get in return. But when you give kids higher expectations and the opportunity to rise to them, they often surprise you with what they’re capable of. I felt like Matt did a really good job of creating that kind of environment while still making the kids feel included and like they were genuinely part of the team.
That was especially noticeable with our youngest.
Even though he was only four and couldn’t do everything his older sisters were doing, Matt allowed him to join the classes, follow along, and participate where he could. He made him feel included rather than making him feel like he was in the way, and as a parent, I really appreciated that.
On Friday, the kids also got to put on gear and do some live MMA sparring, which my daughters absolutely loved. We don’t spend a lot of time training MMA disciplines like Muay Thai, kickboxing, or boxing, so getting the opportunity to experience some real MMA-style training was something different and really fun for them.
Overall, Livewire MMA ended up being such a fun place for our family to train. I’m really glad we found them, and Matt and Joanna made us feel genuinely welcome during the week we were there.
Outlaw Wrestling Club
While training at Livewire, we met another family involved in wrestling who connected us with Outlaw Wrestling Club.
The girls were able to train with the club twice that week after finishing their jiu-jitsu classes, so on those days they went straight from a couple of hours of jiu-jitsu into the wrestling room.
The wrestling practices were geared toward older and more advanced athletes, including wrestlers preparing for Fargo and other major national tournaments. Even though our girls were younger, the coaches welcomed them into the room and allowed them to train.
Charlie didn’t have as many partners her size and had to sit out for portions of practice, but Sullivan was able to work with a couple of girls closer to her size.
It was a very competitive wrestling room with serious athletes and quality training. As a family that actively seeks out competitive wrestling and jiu-jitsu programs while we travel, we really appreciated the opportunity for the girls to step into that kind of environment.
Our Overall Training Experience
This ended up being one of those weeks that perfectly represents what we love about training while traveling.
We started by finding a jiu-jitsu gym. That gym welcomed our kids, gave them an incredible amount of mat time, and introduced them to a family who then connected us with a competitive wrestling club.
By the end of the week, the girls had trained jiu-jitsu five days, experienced live MMA sparring, and added two competitive wrestling practices on top of it.
But more than the hours of training, it was the people who made the experience memorable.
Matt and Joanna welcomed our family, the kids were treated like part of the group, and even our four-year-old was given the opportunity to participate alongside his sisters. Then another family helped us find a wrestling room where the girls were welcomed again.
It’s exactly why we continue looking for places to train everywhere we travel. The quality of the training matters to us, but so does finding communities that are willing to open their doors to kids they’ve never met and give them an opportunity to learn, work hard, and be part of the room.
We would absolutely train with both Livewire MMA and Outlaw Wrestling Club again if our travels bring us back through the area.
