Blairsville Martial Arts Academy

09/06/2026

No classes on Labor Day!

09/03/2026

Forgot my post from Monday, but we've been doing great all week! Also, thanks to Jacob for dropping in with us this week!

08/29/2026

Overall, a great day! Several first, second, and third placers at Fuji BJJ!

Hayden Tyler, Ethan Hunter, Jacob Parwana: 1st

Scott Kerlin, Cassie Craig, Christian De La Rosa, Connor Stanford: 2nd

Copeland: 3rd

Great job guys!!

08/29/2026

No Saturday karate class due to a tournament! Coach Smith-Foot will be running MMA!

08/20/2026

Big classes tonight. I think i sweat off 10 lbs, 🤣

08/15/2026

Forgot to take pics, but the MMA class is taking off. Several people in here getting good training, with a few prepping to step into the cage. We're raising some monsters in these mountains!

08/11/2026

Big classes and we just keep growing! Good work today, everybody.

08/09/2026

A handful of excellent shots of our class courtesy of Heather Marlow!! Thank you, Heather!

08/08/2026

Inaugural MMA session in the books! Every saturday at 11:30. We're bringing up fighters!

08/08/2026

Sensei Scott Kindred was an incredible human being. A retired EMS and Fire fighter, he had already impacted countless lives even before I met him. He was a man of incredible generosity and selflessness, the kind that would give you the shirt off his back without a second thought.

When we first took over, I was working full time mid-shift and my wife was 8 months pregnant. Scott Kindred, a brown belt at the time, stepped up. He volunteered to help run classes, be there whenever we needed him, and there's an excellent chance that BMAA wouldn't exist today if not for him. He was our first assistant instructor, a badge he wore with pride, and he made a point of telling every one he knew.

He made it to 2nd degree black belt before an illness prevented him from continuing training. Even then, he stayed in touch. We met up regularly to hang out, and he always asked about the dojo and the students, reminiscing about his days there, and lamenting his inability to train.

My wife decided to write his story, and we spent more time together listening to him regale us with tales of his life that were nearly beyond belief. He told us about resuscitating infants, pulling the elderly out of fiery wreckage, even manually pumping a young girl's heart with his own hands on the way to the hospital. To him, these were just facts, nothing extraordinary about them. Just a part of his life that he told without embellishment and expecting no praise.

That was when I realized he wasn't just a good man, but a true American hero. By the time he passed, he had long since been more than just a training partner, but a man I considered like a brother.

RIP Sensei Scott. You touched the lives of all who knew you, and you'll never be forgotten.

https://www.mountainviewfuneralhome.com/obituary/scott-kindred?lud=DC7F1C497AC7FA53FC5ECB9C792A137E&fbclid=IwdGRjcATjVeRjbGNrBONVuXBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeqxkV1bWVKsOpMw7g98EeO-nfM5u3cBxcdrA4HchJ9MYhzS8vL4Ylke1c098_aem_Sfm4Bl7xkME6DJc3CuKwJA

Mr. Scott Raymond Kindred, age 71, of Cozy Cove Road, Blairsville, passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday, August 6, 2026, surrounded by his loving family following an extended illness. Scott was born on March 22, 1955, in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to the late Raymond Kindred and June Bernstei...