Unbridled Martial Arts | MMA for Fitness & Self-Defense in Bellingham WA

Rob Eis: School Organizer & Instructor

For 40 years, Rob Eis has been dedicated to the practice of martial arts. Inspired by live action Japanese superheroes he watched as a child on TV growing up in Hawaii, Rob’s martial arts career began with the study of traditional Shito-ryu and Goju-ryu Karate at the age of 10. By age 15 he was competing internationally and that year he was the youngest member on the U.S. Junior National Karate Team. Since then, he has studied a multitude of styles that he now teaches to others, including Doce Pares Escrima, Shamrock Submission Fighting, Judo, Western Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, JKD concepts, and Muay Thai kickboxing. Learn more

Student Testimonials

Coming from a long traditional martial arts background I was nervous going to my first MMA class. I was expecting to be surrounded by sweaty guys looking to make it to the UFC by using me as a kicking bag to get there. I was afraid that people training MMA would be animals who were there just because they wanted to hurt people. But what I found at UMA was much different and superbly better than anything I could have imagined. I found a group of down-to-earth people that were looking to have fun, learn a new skill and stay healthy. As time went by I found myself leaving each class more and more excited to come to the next. I became friends with my peers and had a great time getting in shape and learning self-defense techniques that actually would work! Not some silly knife hand techniques that only work if you can stop time and position your opponent’s body in the perfect manner, but techniques that would work if you really were in a dangerous situation. I loved this about UMA. I also love that while I was being taught these effective self-defense techniques I was also being taught how to apply them in the sport scene (both stand up and Jiu-Jitsu/ ground game). I highly recommend Unbridled Martial Arts for those people who are looking to try MMA for the first time, particularly the people who have been disappointed by the traditional martial arts scene and are ready to experience something vastly better.

~ Boris Ilic, WWU graduate and current Grad student at Montana State University

This is the best, most realistic as well as safest training I’ve ever received in a civilian class. I’ve attended 6 different martial arts classes as a civilian and sat in on dozens of other classes and this is the most realistic training I’ve received outside of the military. It teaches almost all of the same skills as military combatives while being geared toward civilians. It is a very well organized class which teaches a good blend of hand to hand, grappling, and weapons fighting realistically. Because of this I was able to improve on all of the skills I learned while being deployed in Europe for a year. The real tragedy of the class is that so few people seem to realize how great it is.

~ Spc. Patrick Walsh, US Army National Guard

Getting in shape has been a battle for me most of my life. I have gone through spurts of regular jogging, lifting, and trying to eat healthier, but it always seemed to taper off at some point, due to an illness or some other stress in my life, and I found myself back at square one, back in my old eating habits and sedentary lifestyle. After a few weeks of class at UMA, I noticed that not only did I feel healthier and in better shape, I was actually looking forward to going to class and working out. Learning about self-defense has made getting in shape a secondary outcome, and my newfound optimism about working out doesn’t come from looking healthier, but from the fact that I know I’m developing toughness, mental discipline, and valuable skills.