ABOUT US

The Grappling Experience (aka Grappling-X), is the premier submission grappling organization in the United States. Not only does Grappling-X produce and run one of the most professional and critically acclaimed tournament circuits in existence, but GX has now expanded into tournament consulting as well as equipment and mat rentals. GX even offers clinics on refereeing and event promotion. Grappling-X has already partnered with such industry giants as The Gracie Nationals and the Disney Corporation. GX is your one stop shop for all things submission. So check us out, we offer double elimination tournaments in GI, NO-GI, and Pankration. Please feel free to browse this site for information on our upcoming tournaments, consulting and rental services. Grappling-X is rolling in a city near you!

COMPANY PROFILE

Founders, Shawn Fowler and Cory Cass both bring years of grappling and martial arts business experience to the table.

Cory Cass, the former WEC North American Lightweight champion and the owner of, The Fight Lab, in Murrieta California has 7 years of Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition experience and 14 years of wrestling experience. His school was named 2007 MMA School of The Year by the United Professionals Hall Of Fame. Cass not only competes and runs a successful business he has trained and managed other professional MMA fighters for the past five years.

Shawn Fowler, an ex Navy Petty Officer, also holds a Master's of Science in Technology Management. He has managed large programs for the Dept of Defense for over 10 years. He has shared co-matchmaking responsibilities for the popular MMA promotion, Total Combat since its inception over 6 years ago. He is also solely in charge of a fighter organization which involves getting medical clearances, arranging transportation, contract negotiation and personally dealing with state athletic commissions as well as local officials. Fowler has been involved in MMA for the past eight years. With his organizational skills he is often praised by California State Athletic Commission officials as running one of the most organized and timely sanctioned events. Fowler also owns and runs So Cal Fight Management, where he manages the careers of up and coming MMA fighters.

Both Cass and Fowler have been running grappling tournaments since 2004. Both came up with the idea of the Grappling Experience when it became apparent that many students of the grappling arts had to travel far distances just to compete. Also these students would have to wait months at a time for a school or organization to host its "annual competition". The purpose of the Grappling Experience is to build a circuit of local tournaments that not only span a multitude of cities, but also take place on a consistent basis throughout the year. This is important because in the grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community students are often not promoted unless they have performed well in competition. With a consistent circuit of tournaments not only are the students allowed to compete regularly and within their own communities, it allows GX organizers to create a ranking system which will be helpful to all those who take part in the competitions.

Also on the GX team is writer and media professional, Brian Piepenbrink. Piepenbrink is the media director for Total Combat and was a staff journalist for the world's most popular MMA website, Sherdog.com. Piepenbrink has also written for the Black Belt magazine, Fight Sport as well as the Japanese magazine SRX-DX. Piepenbrink has also run his own tournaments as well assisting the Total Combat CEO with marketing and public relations. The media presence of Piepenbrink will be invaluable to bringing GX to the national spotlight.