Ultimate Fighting Championship may have saved Derek DeCosmo's life.

A year ago, the Barrington man was flirting with the 300-pound mark. He was having chest pains. He didn't feel good.

"I wasn't active at all," said DeCosmo, 29, an attorney who practices in Woodbury. "I knew I had to do something or I'd have dropped dead at 35."

Today, he weighs about 207. He has more energy. He feels a lot better.

"There's a purpose," said DeCosmo, who said he would not have found Jiu-Jitsu if it had not been for UFC. "Even if you're not fighting, you're learning an art form.  It's like chess. You have to be able to think moves ahead."

To read the full article in the Courier Post, click HERE

"We do all kinds of hockey-fighting style things. It’s just going to develop balance and strength. I just work on my technique, my grappling, and just tying up and getting my arms free. It’s the closest thing to hockey fighting we can do without skates, but it’s definitely going to help." (flyers.nhl.com)

In an attempt to improve his fighting skills, Cote has hired a martial arts instructor.  He trains three to four days a week at New Jersey Martial Arts in Maple Shade and has begun employing his tactics wearing hockey equipment.  "We're not throwing air punches, it's real fighting and sparring." (courierpost.com)

The Philadelphia Flyers have contracted New Jersey Martial Arts with the task of preparing its newest enforcer, Riley Cote, and his teammates for the rigors of battle on the ice. - NJMA

Thanks to NJMA,

First and foremost I would like to thank New Jersey Martial Arts for allowing me to be part of the team/family. You guys worked hard and forced me to work harder. In the last ten weeks of training I sweated, I bled, and even cried. My game improved so much that it’s insane.

Jim Sullivan (NJMA’s Muay Thai Coach) helped me on my Muay Thai. I remember when we first started training for the fight, I couldn’t last more than four three-minute rounds. By the end of those ten weeks, I was able to go for ten four-minute rounds, feeling great, wanting to go for more. At first I was hesitant with my stand up, but by the time Jim finished with me I wanted to win on my feet.

Marco Perazzo, “The Professor” (NJMA’s co-owner and Head instructor), of course did a little, O.K. maybe a lot of fine tuning on my ground game. It was a lot of work from hard positions which was awful. Most of the time it felt like I was wearing a straight jacket because I was not able to do what I wanted to do.

Also I want to thank the rest of the students at NJMA for sparring with me. Special thanks to Tim Carpenter (Sportfighting lhw. Champion), Dante, Jason, Shane, Casey, Ross, George, Kevin, Bobby and NJMA instructor, Rick Macaulley. To those of you who were not mentioned , you were not forgotten. I truly appreciated your help too.

Thanks to all of you, I was pretty much able to annihilate my opponent. The training was hard but well worth it. Thanks to all who were able to come out and support me and to all who were there in spirit.

NJMA is beyond a shadow of a doubt the best martial arts school in South Jersey. I live over an hour away, but I make sure to make the drive several times per week because the training I get there is second to none.  I credit my success in my professional MMA fights to the training I get at NJMA.  Marco and Jim are two of the best instructors/trainers around, and without them I would not be the Sportfighting light-heavyweight champion.  Not only do you get excellent instruction, but you will also get into the best shape of your life.  Whether you are a professional fighter or just an average Joe looking for self defense or a good workout NJMA is the place to go.

I am Eric Henningsen, a husband and a father of three girls. I don’t have a black or brown belt, I am not a national or world champion, actually I have never competed in a tournament. I just love Jiu-Jitsu. There are three things that Jiu-Jitsu gives me: fitness, self-confidence, and camaraderie and you will find these and more at NJMA. Each class has a cardio component as a warm up before the techniques are reviewed. I don’t have many opportunities to workout and the class is a great way for me to fit some exercise into my routine.

It is amazing how my self-confidence has increased since I started training at NJMA. I would never have thought that as a grown man something could affect me the way studying Jiu-Jitsu has. I have to attribute all of my gains to the tremendous teachers that I have had in my years of training. I have been very lucky to have studied under some of the best jiu-jitsu artists in the world and I count Marco and the staff at NJMA among them. All you have to do is check out the news page to see the NJMA students and staff that excel in competition. I don’t compete but if you are interested in competition, the teachers and students here at NJMA will definitely prepare you.

I think the most important and enjoyable aspect of my training is the camaraderie that I find at NJMA. I have known Marco for many years and the only thing that surpasses his knowledge of the sport of Jiu-Jitsu is his genuineness and his commitment to his friends and students. In fact, all of the teachers at NJMA share that commitment to the students. The students also share in the commitment to each other. Many times after a long and strenuous class, students will help each other with a difficult technique or additional training for a competition. The time that I spend at NJMA means very much to me. The sense of team and joint achievement is truly inspiring and I know that is one of the greatest benefits a person can get from participating. This gym is more than a place to go and train. For me, Jiu-Jitsu is an escape and it helps my mind and body. Jiu-Jitsu mirrors life, you must always think and you get out of it what you put into it. Marco and the staff at NJMA will help you get the most out of your experience here. I recommend NJMA to anyone that asks.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Marco, Kirby and the New Jersey Martial Arts staff for their passion, dedication and professionalism to their students and the world of martial arts.  I have been training with Marco (The Professor) for a couple of years now and I would not train anywhere else.  The friendship and respect alone that has been shown by Marco, Kirby, and their students will last a lifetime, not to mention the skills learned.  I highly recommend NJMA to anyone who wants to better themselves.

The atmosphere at the school is as good as it gets.  Everyone who trains at NJMA has a mutual respect and admiration for one another which leads to a safe and productive training environment.  The expert staff is another major plus for the school as well.  I mean, come on… an ADCC participant, MMA fighters, collegiate wrestlers (both freestyle and Greco Roman), Muay Thai and several World Championship BJJ competitors from blue belt to black belt… I think you get the point.  Training here is as good as it gets.

I have worked in law enforcement for over 7 years.  I'm a firearms instructor, self defense instructor, SRT (SWAT) member, and Detective.  I attained these highly sought after qualifications after I started to train with Marco in BJJ.  I firmly believe that the focus, decision making, confidence and fitness level I attained from BJJ directly helped me attain these specialized positions.  I became the person most of my co-workers look to when things go bad, especially when dealing with known violent offenders, even though I'm far from being the biggest or strongest member of my department.

Lastly, when Marco asked me to put my thoughts of the school into words I had a hard time doing so because there is just so much I wanted to say.  But I think I can sum the whole thing up in a few last words.  I came to the school looking for a way to defend myself, stroke my ego and get fit, but what I found was a family and a way of life. Thanks to Marco, Kirby and the NJMA staff for everything.

I am a former United States Marine and am currently a Lieutenant of Police in South Jersey's largest police department which serves a city that has been named “one of America's most dangerous cities”.  As a Defensive Tactics instructor for my agency, as well as the county police academy, I am always on the lookout for the most effective and realistic training available.  That's why my children and I train at NJMA.