ABOUT

Andrew Ball grew up in North Merrick, Long Island, and started to look for martial arts training in 2008. He was visiting different dojos to find the best place for him. He was looking to use martial arts to stay out of trouble. Andrew hoped that martial arts would help him grow into a responsible and respected adult rather than a troubled youth going down the wrong road. “Times were tough in my teenage years, it felt like 1 more bad move and my life was over” Andrew said.

After meeting Sensei Louis Neglia in 2009 he wanted to take his training to the next level and have his first competition. He was hooked on the attention that Sensei Neglia gave him after he had taking a liking to him.
Andrew also had other goals, to become a fighter and prove others wrong. Sensei Neglia told Andrew that his goal should be to better his life through the use of martial arts and nothing else. He told Andrew that he will not train students with the wrong attitude and to start changing now. Andrew took him very seriously as he should have. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I had to be serious. I can’t do it just to brag” Andrew said.

Sensei Louis Neglia is former professional kickboxer world champion and is a pioneer in the sport of Kickboxing and MMA. “He was doing MMA before it was even called MMA. He was doing it when nobody knew what it was” Andrew said. Louis Neglia, famous in his time as a Professional Kickboxing World Champion helped write the Rules of MMA when it was started. “When somebody like that gives you an opportunity you have to jump at it and I’m glad I did” Andrew said.

Fast forward more than a decade later and Andrew has collected amateur 5 Kickboxing championships included an 2013 amateur world kickboxing championship he won in an international tournament located in Italy. He defended that title against the U.S. national champion via TKO and solidified his championship. He carried a 10-fight kickboxing winning streak, and after that, he tested himself in MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He was successful.

He became a Louis Neglia Martial Arts System Black Belt in 2016 and opened A.B. Martial Arts in 2020.

“I’ve competed in martial arts over 35 times, I’ve been in some big sell-out shows and dealt with the pressure. I’ve been in situations that would have made a regular person run for the hills, but I’m still here, and I’m going to be around for a long time. I think if I had fought for anyone else but Louis Neglia, I would have gotten frustrated and quit. My nightmare is who I’d be without him. He made me who I am today, and I will pass it on to anyone who lets me. It saved my life.”