Modern Martial
Arts Academy
Instructing Team
Ernest Freeman is the Head Instructor at MMAA in Cassville.
Mr. Freeman began his martial arts journey in the RWTB martial arts under Grand Master Rosenbach of RWTB Nebraska & Master Robert Bussey of RBWI.
Mr. Freeman has been instructing Martial Arts in Cassville, MO since 2001.
He is an 8th-degree black belt in Taijutsu, which is the system that we practice for MMA.
Mr. Freeman is the Head Instructor in our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program. He holds a Brown Belt rank and instructs both the no-gi and gi portions. He is belted under Eddie Avalar of the Machado Jiu-Jitsu Association, and the academy is a Machado affiliate in good standing.
Mr. Freeman is also the lead instructor for our kickboxing program. Mr. Freeman has fought in multiple tournaments and styles and gives a program that is both good exercise and useful for kickbox training.
Jeremy West is our second Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing instructor. His wife, Maria West, serves as the administrator for the Academy.
“I started my martial arts journey around 2010, training in Judo with the “Buckeye Thunderbirds” Judo academy in Arizona, then moved shortly thereafter to Cassville Mo. and started training with Coach Freeman in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and kickboxing for many years. I love cross training with other gyms wherever I go, and have made many friends on the mat, practicing wrestling, boxing, and other styles as well. Maria and I also spent a month in Thailand training Muay Thai twice a day, at Sitjemam Muay Thai in Pai, Thailand. I’m looking forward to many more years on the mat learning, and improving.”
Faith James is the lead instructor for our Little Dragons program.
Ms. James is an integral part of the staff at MMAA. She began taking lessons when she was a young girl and has competed in several jiu-jitsu tournaments as well as the wrestling program at the local high school. She had a DOMINATING performance facing opponents from across the U.S. in her wrestling program with Missouri Fire, winning the 2023 NATIONAL championship.
Ms. James holds a second-degree black belt from the MMAA in addition to a blue belt from the Machado Jiu-Jitsu Association.
Benjamin Hamblett is the assistant instructor under
Mr. Freeman at the RWTB Cassville Family Martial Arts Center.
Mr. Hamblett holds a first-degree black belt with the MMAA. He is the main test dummy when in class and helps instruct our MMA program. He is married to Katherine Hamblett, a third-degree black belt with the MMAA (you might see her from time to time, too!)
Ben floats in and out of the Jiu-Jitsu program as he finds time, but mainly focuses on the MMA classes and managing this website to make Mr. Freeman look good.
