May 27th and 28th

Kumite Classic - Pittsburgh, PA

     This tournament was literally an event! There was not only the martial arts competition, but bodybuilding and fitness pageants to the right of the competition, a full floor of company exhibits, a boxing ring that held boxing and arm wrestling matches, and a grappling competition to the mats in front of us. It was crazy!
     We didn't take a lot of first places this time, but we gained valuable competition experience and experience with the rules. I believe this will help us for the SuperGrands in November.
     Eric Hensley placed 1st in fighting and 1st in creative kata. Mr. Hensley is consistently winning these two categories and looks to have a good shot of winning a World Title in both divisions. For Grand Championship, Mr. Hensley had to fight Joey Shifflett, the current World Champion. When time ran out, Mr. Hensley was one point away from victory!
     Van Frasher, back from a torn Achilles heel, placed 1st place in his sparring division. This is a great accomplishment for his first time back to open competition in a year. And he also came within one point away from winning the Grand Championship. So close..
 

May 6th and  7th, 2005

2nd Time Around – Pacific Jewel Nationals

     Our second time out as a team, and we have definitely improved and stepped up our game. We had 20 team members participate In the Pacific Jewel Nationals held in Portland, Oregon, and all of them placed in the top 8.
     This event was much larger than our first event, and the competition was all-around, great quality. All of the black belts were of high caliber. During this event we had 4 team members place 1st place. Derrick Stinson placed first in sparring. He had to fight world champion Trevor Nash for the run-offs for grand champion. Derrick held his ground for a while, but a spinning kick to the head at the end of the round gave Trevor a 4 point lead and putting the fight out of reach. I am sure Derrick, now after having that experience, can’t wait to have another shot.
     Tanya Hunt placed 1st place in weapons, John Kurek placed 1st in sparring (in a division that Team CKD swept 1st – 3rd), and Amber Brown placed 1st in forms and in weapons. Amber is the team’s first member to make it to a night time finals show.
     Our next and last 2005 official team event is just a few weeks away in Pittsburg. Until then …..
 

February 4th and 5th, 2005

The End of the Beginning

     A true test of will, endurance, and preparation was met this past weekend as Chuck Norris’ Team Chun Kuk Do entered their first competition for the 2005 NBL season.
     The Louisiana Pro-Am was held the weekend of February 4th and 5th in Lafayette, Louisiana. The first part of the competition began on Friday night at 7 p.m. and didn’t end until 1:30 a.m. It goes without saying that it was difficult for the competitors to be at their personal best when fatigue was such a factor. But it was this night that Derrick Stinson, team member from Houston, Texas, won the first 1st place for Team CKD. Mr. Stinson was on fire with his contemporary Bo Kata.
     The next day, or actually later that same day, the competition resumed at 10 a.m. The last team member finished competition at 9 p.m. that evening. That is a total of over 17 hours of competition with only an 8 hour break in-between! With this being the first test for the team, and with the results we had, I think that we passed with flying colors!
     The 30-member team drew lots of attention for their positive example of quality martial arts while also demonstrating the lack of arrogance in victory or defeat. This is something that is very important to Team CKD, as every team member is setting the example of how to be competitive while also being respectful. Every team member realizes that they are the role models for tomorrow’s black belts.
     As captain of this team, I believe we made every member of Chun Kuk Do, including our founder, Grand Master Chuck Norris, proud to be a part of this great family. With experience and hard work we will become a more winning team, but we are already a force of positive influence that is to be spread throughout the world.