Roger Woo doesn’t mind when his wife takes a swing at him. He actually encourages it. Woo teaches mixed martial arts along with his wife, Barbara, at Tokyo Joe’s in Hooksett, and organizes a cage fighting team out of the studio called Team Woo.

The team took part in a May 17, cage fighting event in Bedford, winning two of the three matches it fought.

Mixed martial arts is a fast-growing sport that combines elements of various fighting techniques, and Woo said it takes a certain type of athlete to step inside the cage.

“You’ve got to be mentally tough to even step foot in that cage. If you’re not mentally prepared, that’s half the battle right there,” said Roger Woo. “You have to have done countless hours of kickboxing, and every aspect of fighting. People don’t realize how much is involved.”

Ed Carr, a Hooksett resident and owner of Tokyo Joe’s, fights for Team Woo and won his May 17 bout only 24 seconds into the match.

“The adrenaline is crazy. You have to learn how to control that. Everything for the past six to eight weeks, all you do is eat right and train for that one moment,” said Carr. “It’s all mental. You have to be in the right frame of mind and have the right attitude.”

The sport has gained mainstream popularity thanks to the televising of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which has been put on during prime time television hours.

“When UFC first came out, it was visualized as human *** fighting and people didn’t like it. They thought it was too brutal,” said Woo. “John McCain even had it banned in the United States when he was senator. Once it came back in, it was brought to mainstream.”

Woo also is in charge of Black and Blue Entertainment, which organizes fight events like the one held in Bedford. “I just love the sport, love the fighting. I love the crowd and the atmosphere, it’s all so exciting to me,” said Woo. “To be able to give the fans in New Hampshire something fun to watch, it’s great. It’s a good event for all ages.“

Barbara Woo, who took part in New Hampshire’s first ever female mixed martial arts fight, enjoys the sport as much as her husband.

“We both share the same passion for it. It’s my day job. She’s working as a GM for a company by day and by night she’s a fighter,” said Roger Woo. “Together, whenever one of the fights are on, we watch, and it’s a big chunk of our relationship.”

The two do drills together during Woo’s weekly class. Standing by sidelines during a recent class was Carr, who took the class off the Monday following his Bedford fight. “I don’t know what to do,” he joked. “I feel like I should be out there.”

Carr said he does not believe the sport is excessively violent, citing that there are multiple deaths in boxing, but there have been none during mixed martial arts fights.

“There’s a science to it. There are some fights with no punches or kicks,” said Carr, knows he picked the right occupation. “There aren’t many people who can say they have a job they love. That makes it there. You know you’ll help students, help them grow and reach their goals.”