For the last year and a half, 40-year-old Rod Packard has been
running No Tap Martial Arts and Fitness Center on South Avenue in
Bradford.

The Mount Jewett native’s area of expertise is Mixed Martial
Arts or MMA, a full-contact competition that has bashed its way
into the sports world and media in the last decade.

On Jan. 31 the Ultimate Fighting Championship held UFC 94 at the
MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. That event drew 14,885
attendees for a live gate of approximately ,4.3 million and
unofficially the largest crowd for a UFC event held at the MGM
Grand.

The sport’s popularity is driven by the explosive action,
devastating knockouts and carefully placed submissions.

“MMA here at No Tap is composed of Judo, Boxing, Karate and
Jiu-Jitsu,” explained Packard.

In his 25 years of experience with mixed martial arts, Packard
says he has grown to favor Jiu-Jitsu, but knows the importance of
all the disciplines.

“I tell all my people to keep an open mind. No one style is
better than the other; it is all in which path you take,” stated
Packard.

“MMA benefits you by giving you the best of all aspects of
fighting,” Packard added.

For the past 11 months, Packard has been instructing Mark
Pascarella and Josh Himes, both of Bradford, on the various
disciplines that are the framework for mixed martial arts.

Pascarella, 25, and Himes, 30, have each benefited from a
different discipline in the program.

Pascarella, a former Owls baseball slugger, credits Packard with
dramatically improving his ground game.

“I have really improved on my mat work, which coming in was
relatively non-existent,” said Pascarella. “We are working with
various disciplines and constantly cardio training as well,” he
added.

“Mark is a very motivated and self-disciplined individual. He
has tremendous focus, work ethic and is becoming a great all-around
fighter,” stated Packard.

Himes acknowledges that he has taken interest in the Jiu-Jitsu
aspect of MMA and Packard agrees.

“Josh is excelling above and beyond in Jiu-Jitsu and his
dedication to the art is unsurpassed. He will eventually make a
great Jiu-Jitsu instructor,” said Packard.

“There was nothing around like this when I was 18,” said
Himes.

“When I came into the program, I weighed 235 pounds. I walk
around at 195 pounds now, but will shed another 10 pounds before
competition,” explained Himes.

Both Pascarella and Himes also praised Packard for bringing in
boxing instructor Charlie Fitzsimmons to work on their stand-up
game.

After 10 months of training, on Dec. 13, 2008, Pascarella and
Himes decided to put their training to the test and along with
Packard, traveled to Irving, N.Y., where the two students made
their amateur debuts against unknown opponents.

When professional MMA fights take place, the fighters often know
whom they are fighting at least three months in advance. The three
months allows for those particular fighters to learn and prepare
for each other.

However, as amateur fighters, Pascarella and Himes only know
they have a scheduled fight, but they won’t know their opponent
until the weigh-ins shortly before the competition begins.

Pascarella competed in the 170-pound division and Himes in the
185-pound.

Pascarella’s match was declared a no-contest after three rounds,
each lasting three minutes.

After having a fight under his belt, Pascarella now knows a
little more about what to expect when he steps into the cage.

“It’s important to remember to not let the adrenaline take
over,” he emphasized.

Himes’ contest was stopped in the third round after his opponent
landed three unanswered shots to his head to take the victory.

Himes almost took the match in the second round when he had his
opponent in an armbar, but his opponent managed to escape.

“I have reviewed the fight tape, saw the things I could have
done and now I have some experience coming into the cage,” said
Himes.

The two fighters will return to action in the upcoming months
after they complete more rigorous training.

“Anyone can say they want to fight, but it’s a whole other thing
to actually compete,” said Packard.

“The amount of work and dedication it takes to become an MMA
fighter is unlike any other sport,” Packard added.

Pascarella and Himes will continue their four-days-a-week,
three-hour routines and self-imposed diets to prepare for their
next competition.

Other area students at No Tap who are preparing to make their
amateur debuts are Bill Munson, Matt Morris, Dustin Bottone, Adam
Priest, Zach Weart and Greg Leet.

Students interested in learning mixed martial arts for
self-defense are also welcome.

No Tap Martial Arts and Fitness is located at 583 South Ave.
Packard can be reached there at 362-1000.