Orion Sports Club

Orion Sports Club in Totem Lake is a boxing gym at heart, with Brazilian jiu jitsu, kickboxing, Muay Thai, MMA and sambo under the same roof. Six coaches are named for its boxing classes. Vladislav Kulikov, who teaches the adult beginner and advanced classes, is a Master of Sports in boxing and a licensed WBC referee with almost two decades of experience working with children and adults. Selim Iusupov, also a Master of Sport in boxing, leads the Saturday fundamentals class.

Adult boxing is split by level. Beginners have their own one-hour class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, and a 90-minute advanced class follows on the same evenings and on Saturday at noon. Boxing + Conditioning classes run at 6 am and at noon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The club has a boxing ring, heavy bags, free weights and a sauna, and members also get open gym and sauna hours.

The jiu jitsu side has a lineage of its own. The club says it continues the teaching of Rick Lucero and Roland Gutierrez, whose Lucero Jiu Jitsu draws on wrestling, old school BJJ, judo, sambo, luta livre and catch wrestling. Camden Dowhower, who has trained under Roland Gutierrez for several years, teaches a 90-minute teen and adult class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in what the club calls “a traditional pressure-focused jiu-jitsu.” The MMA program, led by head instructor Gabriel Stinson and guided by coach Matt Hume, teaches striking, wrestling, takedowns and submissions “as one connected system,” for newcomers, people training for fitness and self-defense, and those getting ready to compete. Kickboxing with Jose Zamora and an adult Muay Thai class both meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

When the MMA and sambo classes meet is best checked on the club's calendar or with a phone call. The first class is free. Anyone who'd like to see the place first can tour the facilities and sign up in person between 5 pm and 8 pm, Monday to Friday. The club sells its own gear, from gis and belts to rash guards. Kids and teens box in their own classes, and the building has a children's playroom.