Mixed Martial Arts in DC News Blog

Professor Chad LeBrun prepares his fighter at BattleFC

As a martial arts practitioner for over 20 years, Professor Chad LeBrun has put everything he has into martial arts. The current owner of the Lab MMA and business partner of the BattleFC promotion considers martial arts a lifestyle. LeBrun first saw the UFC in 1993 when it was better known as “No Rules Fighting.” He never looked back.

“I saw Royce Gracie…I fell in love with jiu-jitsu,” said LeBrun. His first start in Brazilian jiu-jitsu began when he trained at Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti’s academy in Atlanta. As a boxer, he did not start out as a fan of traditional martial arts. At his previous boxing gym, the karate guys would not spar with the boxers and focus more on kata, he said. But when he started jiu-jitsu and muay thai, things changed. “I learned to respect the traditional values…the bushido code. I try to live my life by those codes…but I still try to keep with things that are realistic and practical.”

Professor Chad Lebrun

After training at Jacare’s, he later moved to New York at the advice of a friend and trained at Renzo Gracie’s academy. “That’s when I started fighting professionally,” he said. He explained that in the early days of mixed martial arts, the fights were just one 30 minute round. “You could head stomp, head butt…” he said. He was also fortunate enough to meet Dana White at Renzo’s academy.

Later in his career, he decided to start his own academy in his hometown of Fredericksburg, Va. His intent was just to try to find more training partners and be a better fighter. When he first opened up, the focus was just fighting. “When guys would come in we would just beat the crap out of each other and nobody would come back.”

He eventually received his brown belt and black belt from Leo Dalla and Lloyd Irvin. He considers Master Lloyd also a business mentor who has taught him many things about his business. His academy now provides mixed martial arts, MMA striking, boxing, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu to the students. “If you are in a bad mood when you come in, I guarantee when you leave you aren’t gonna know what you were upset about,” he said. “If someone is trying to choke you, the last thing you are gonna think about is your own problems.”

[To be continued]

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