Arlington Kickboxing Academy members compete, open doors

ARLINGTON The Arlington Kickboxing Academy is proud of its members and is looking to recruit new ones.

Mixed martial artist Matt Coble was slated to compete in the May 2 "Conquest of the Cage" at the Northern Quest Casino in Spokane, but his opponent pulled out of the match. Coble's next chance to compete will be in Yakima, June 28.

Landon Showalter, Coble's trainer at AKA, was more fortunate. Not only did Showalter's opponent show up to the May 2 match, but Showalter won the welterweight title from him.

"I arm-barred him in the fourth round," Showalter said. "He had 40 kickboxing fights and 18 to 20 professional boxing fights behind him, so he was experienced. He'd also studied my style, so I wasn't able to strike. I had to take him down to the ground for a submission."

More locally, Showalter wants to show the community all that the Arlington Kickboxing Academy has to offer, which is why he's hosting an open house July 19 from 1 to 4 p.m.

"We'll have a massage therapist and a tattoo artist there," Showalter said. "We'll also be holding exhibition matches between our own students, including kids, to demonstrate competition. People will be able to see the differences between judo and jujitsu. It's our way of saying hi and giving out info on what we can do for you."

The Arlington Kickboxing Academy is located at 21108 67th Ave. NE, Suite D, in Arlington. For more information, call 360-435-8814.

Contact Arlington Times Reporter Kirk Boxleitner at kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com or 360-659-1300 Ext. 5052.

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.