Armbar Academy

Armbar Academy (ARMA) is a professional wrestling school based in London, England. It was founded in 2009 by former professional wrestler Marc Gomez and since 2014, it has been the official school of Gomez' promotion ARMBAR Wrestling. The school is open to trainees of all experience levels and is notable for its injury rehabilitation facilities and program, which were inspired by Gomez' own experience with a career-ending injury.

History
After suffering a career-ending knee injury in 2008, Marc Gomez transitioned into a trainer role at his mentor Jonny Corvus' professional wrestling school in London. Soon after, Gomez decided to run his own wrestling training program, separate from Corvus' school yet still being run out of the same building. The three-week program was titled “the Armbar Academy”, named after Gomez' finishing move, the Bridging Fujiwara armbar.

Attendees for the program soon began to grow when Gomez brought in a number of guest trainers from around the world, many of whom he knew of from his own time wrestling. Eventually, the number of applicants for the program grew to such an amount that Gomez decided to expand the Armbar Academy, making it a full-fledged wrestling school with its own building and more than just one three-week program. With the help of Corvus, Gomez accomplished this in 2010, opening up Armbar Academy in Camden, London. As part of the expansion, Gomez would remain Head Trainer and take on several other trainers to assist in running classes, including professional wrestlers Stuart King and Aiden Everheart.

Since 2010, ARMA has continued to grow, moving from only accepting beginners to accepting trainees of all experience levels, as well as bringing in established talent from around the world to teach guest seminars. In 2012, they underwent a renovation, upgrading many of their facilities to suit the needs of their growing student-base.

In January 2014, Gomez joined forces with his business partner James O'Reilly to start a wrestling promotion, ARMBAR Wrestling. ARMBAR's shows would utilise talent who had graduated from Armbar Academy, providing them with a platform to gain exposure and improve in the ring against established wrestlers. ARMA became the official wrestling school of ARMBAR Wrestling, with graduates later becoming an integral part of ARMBAR's RISE developmental shows, which began in 2015. The company even created an annual tournament, the Evolution Series, which includes many ARMA graduates and highlights rising British and European talent.

In 2017, ARMA created a partnership with German wrestling promotion The Overground. This allowed ARMA to send graduates to the company in order to gain European exposure, as well as start their own training scheme in collaboration with Overground, where they would accept talent from Europe and train them in England for a month-long program. The scheme proved to be a success and continues to this day, with the program being run several times a year and open to European trainees of all levels.

In 2018, Gomez stepped down as Head Trainer in order to focus on the business aspects of ARMBAR Wrestling and his newborn son. Stuart King took his place, serving as the perfect replacement due to having retired in January 2018 and being one of the key trainers at ARMA for around eight years.

Facilities
Armbar Academy is based in a former boxing gym, which has been renovated to suit the needs of the trainees. It currently has two training rings, a small studio on the first floor for filming and promo practice, and several gym facilities for training strength and conditioning. In addition to this, ARMA is known nationally for its injury rehabilitation program and facilities, with the school being visited weekly by trained physiotherapists, masseuses, and doctors to assist the medical needs of students, graduates, and wrestlers who are seeking professional injury rehabilitation. This addition to the school was inspired by Marc Gomez' own experience with his career-ending knee injury and his desire to help wrestlers so that they would be less likely to suffer a fate similar to his own.

The school is equipped to take in trainees of all skill levels, with ARMA hosting classes and programs for beginners as well as those who have prior knowledge and skill.

Alumni

 * Atticus Mayweather
 * Charles Bennett
 * David Sterling
 * Dickie Hyde
 * HALSTON
 * Henry Pryce
 * Liam Taylor
 * Matt Odell
 * Tariq Tahan

Notable trainers and guests

 * Aiden Everheart
 * Artemis
 * Marc Gomez (founder and former Head Trainer)
 * Marshall Lockwood
 * Ozymandias
 * Ryan Marx
 * Stuart King (current Head Trainer)