Under the Mtn.
Martial Arts
ABOUT
INSTRUCTOR
NICK YAMASHITA
Under the Mtn. Martial Arts is owned and ran by Nick Yamashita.
Nick Yamashita grew up in Moapa Valley and graduated from MVHS in 1997. He started martial arts at the age of 9 where he briefly did classes under Ron Begay in American Kenpo and then later as a teen did Tang Soo Do under Monte Bledsoe. He graduated high school and headed off to college to not find a close school for Tang Soo Do while attending college at Southern Utah University. He joined the SUU Karate Club and was trained under Rick Featherstone in Taekwondo and American Kenpo achieving a black belt in both styles under Rick Featherstone while at Southern Utah University. After Rick Featherstone departed SUU, Nick Yamashita started the Team T-Birds Karate Club in 2001. The SUU TTKC won Organization of the Year in 2003 for Southern Utah University Thunderbird Awards as it helped raise thousands of dollars for multiple charitable causes, including the SUU Center for Women and Families and the Canyon Creek Women's Crisis Center in Cedar City, Utah.
Nick Yamashita also has competed in multiple karate tournaments and even did MMA training and fighting. He helped start the Ringside Ultimate Fighting Federation in Cedar City for MMA training and competition. He also helped run and coordinate all martial arts events, classes and trainings for SUU.
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Nick Yamashita currently resides in Moapa Valley and began teaching again after a 6 year hiatus in June of 2016. He is a 3rd Degree Black Belt in American Kenpo and a 1st Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo with a Red Belt in Tang Soo Do and trainings in Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiujitsu, Shotokan, Wrestling and more. He works as a science teacher for CCSD. He enjoys photography, martial arts, forensic science and loves cartoons.
ABOUT
UMMA
Under the Mtn. Martial Arts was started after a friend of Nick Yamashita's asked him to start teaching her son who was getting into trouble recently. Nick Yamashita had been tossing the idea of starting to teach martial arts again as he noticed there was not much available for kids in Moapa Valley to teach them values, sportsmanship, ethics and more, as well as giving them a good form of entertainment instead of getting into such things as drugs, alcohol and trouble. With some help from his parents, he was able to obtain a state and county business license and start teaching classes in June of 2016.
The name for the business is from the instructor's last name... Yamashita in Japanese means under the mountain (mainly referring to Mt. Fuji). So He decided to use that name as his business and studio name.
Nick Yamashita primarily teaches American Kenpo Karate since it is his style of expertise but also teaches Taekwondo and multiple other styles to lesser degrees for the Self-Defense and MMA Classes. This includes Brazilian Jiujitsu and grappling. Also there will be seminars and training sessions with guest teachers, and experts in other martial arts and fighting styles put on and will be available for community members and others to attend.
Since Under the Mtn. Martial Arts just recently started, there are plans to expand and to attend tournaments and get fighters ready for competition in MMA events. However, it may take a little time to get everything set-up and running in the planned manner that the studio goals encompass.
At moment the classes are taught at the University of Nevada-Reno Cooperative Extension Campus Classrooms in Logandale, NV. They are located at 1897 N. Moapa Valley Blvd in Classroom B. Please click on the tabs for which classes you are interested in for times, prices and information.