This is the last fight I had at the 2001 Southern American Nationals in Nashville, TN.
I was fighting for 1st and 2nd place against World Champion Brian Ruth.
When I was a young teen, coming up in the national circuit of competition, I always looked up to Brian, as he was a great fighter.
Anyways, at the time, in 2001, I was 20 years old and had a couple of years under me in the Adult Black Belt Heavy weight division.
During this fight, I started off pretty well, but Brian was than able to find some good openings.
At the end, Brian Ruth got a very good shot, on my chin. Next thing you know, I’m falling like a tree. The funny thing is, Brian didn’t hit me that hard. It was just a clean hit to the chin. Props to him.
I ended up having to bow out and getting 2nd place.
Even though, I lost, I still had a good showing at the Southern American. Unfortunately, though, I was unable to defend my Grand Champion title from the previous year.
I’ve had quite a bit of videos uploaded recently of Karate tournaments I competed in back in my professional fighting days.
These next series of fights are from the Southern American 2001 in Nashville, TN. I was a product of the David Deaton Karate Studios in Hermitage, TN and the previous year, I had actually won my division and the Grand Champion title, which was a big deal.
The Southern American Nationals was one of the biggest tournaments in the south that was hosted by World Champion David Deaton.
Going back to Tennessee to compete in this tournament was always fun because I was able to catch up with friends, but more importantly, show that my training and skills have gone to the next level.
In my opinion, in order to get better and grow, we must leave our small pond and venture into the ocean. I did exactly that by moving to Colorado and training with other, world caliber martial artists.
Anyways, below is one of my first fights at the 2001 Southern American.
Westminster, CO – February 24th, 2010 — Local business owner and Martial Arts expert, Javier Lozano, Jr. will be hosting their 1st Inner School Karate Tournament for students & members of The Dojo of Karate.
This is a great opportunity for kids and adults training at The Dojo of Karate to apply their new learned skills in a safe and fun setting — by competing against fellow classmates.
During a Karate Tournament, competitors will typically compete in various divisions or events, such as the Olympics, where athletes enter different events to win medals. Most Karate Tournaments have divisions that include Empty Hand Forms, Weapons, and Free-Style Sparring.
Each division essentially has different requirements, making it challenging for competitors to become “complete” Martial Artists.
In the Empty Hand Forms division, competitors will perform a floor routine, in a sequence, which includes kicks, punches, and blocks, while showcasing their strength with low stances, displaying their focus and balance with difficult kicking combinations, and exhibiting power and precision with strikes capable of injuring an opponent.
The Weapons division has the same type of format as Empty Hand Forms, however, it requires competitors to use a traditional Okinawan weapon, such as a Bo Staff (long stick to carry water) a Kama (a modified sickle designed to cut wheat), or Nunchaku (two sticks with rope holding them together to break down wheat).
Free-Style Sparring is where competitors actually apply theirs skills of body movement, punching combinations, kicking precision, and timing in a setting against an opponent. This teaches the competitor how to react in a real self-defense situation. Free-Style Sparring is always performed with proper safety equipment in order to protect competitors from injury, as well as controlled contact when executing techniques.
The Dojo of Karate will have two events for competitors to compete in - Empty Hand Forms and Free-Style Sparring. Students will be required to compete in both divisions, as this will assist in creating well-rounded Martial Artists.
The purpose of this Martial Arts Tournament is to help students hone their Karate skills in a competitive format. Students will learn several characteristics of how a Black Belt should carry themselves, since that is what all of our students are training to become.
For instance, students will learn about Sportsmanship and how to win humbly, yet lose gracefully. In addition, they will develop their confidence because it takes courage to compete against others, when they are in the spotlight. Students will also find their indomitable spirit – a characteristic that Michael Phelps is widely recognized for.
Why are these Black Belt Principles important? Because The Dojo of Karate teaches Life Skills in all of their Karate classes. This will prepares a child to become better people in society with integrity and perseverance. Something that our generation of kids are missing out in.
To add a spin on this Inner School Karate Tournament, Sensei Lozano decided to setup the Free-Style Sparring a little different from most typical tournaments, known as the bracketing system, which is widely accepted in all major sports.
Instead, he is establishing a Spar-A-Thon format. Basically, students can spar in as many matches as they desire. This allows students to take full advantage of the tournament, and not experience a “one-and-done” match if they lose their first outing.
In order for a competitor to achieve a Gold Medal, they will need to score a total accumulation of 60 points throughout all their matches. For a Silver Medal, competitors need to score 40 points. And for a Bronze Medal students need to score 20 points.
This Spar-A-Thon format teaches kids about goal setting skills and determination. Not only that, but the students leave the tournament like they achieved something, and most importantly — with a smile on their face.
The Inner School Martial Arts Tournament will be hosted on Saturday, February 27th, 2010 from 10am to 1pm MST at The Dojo of Karate, which is located on 12910 Zuni St. #200, Westminster, CO 80234 in the Safeway Shopping Center.
To learn more about their martial arts and fitness programs, please call 303.920.4500 and a representative will be more than happy to assist you.
I never had the chance to post the results of my students competing at the R.A.G.E. Karate Championship in May, so now I’m gonna take a few minutes and let everyone know how they did.
We had a few students compete for the first time, and they did great for their 1st tourney. I hope to see them go at it more often!!
Before we go on, some of my students were bumped up to the intermediate division, which is obviously a more challenging division, but for the most part, they did great.
Cody R. competed for the 1st time and he got 3rd in forms and 4th in sparring. He won his first fight, but seemed winded when he fought his 2nd and 3rd fights.
Colby B. competed in his 2nd tournament of the year and got 4th in forms and 3rd in fighting. He got injured during the match and was down too, but came back to win the match!
Logan H. competed in his first tournament this year and got 5th in forms and a finalist in sparring. Not bad for his 1st tourney.
Mollee H. (Logan’s sister) got 4th in forms, and a finalist in sparring. She had a tough match…
Caleb D. was in the same division of Molle, and he got 3rd in forms and had a very tough match in sparring. This girl had legs up to her chin and ended up winning the division.
Madeline competed for the 1st time this year too and she was in a tough division, competing with intermediates. She got 2nd in forms and was only 200th of a point away from tying for 1st place. And she got 4th in sparring in a division of all boys… She was very impressive.
Rosey C. competed again in forms and got 6th in forms. Next time she will get to spar, as she is now eligible to spar in class.
Nick P. competed again, and made some improvements by getting 3rd in forms and 3rd in sparring, with a great 2nd match.
Luana L. also competed for the 2nd time this year and go 4th in forms and 2nd in sparring with an impressive 2nd match.
Great job guys! You guys did awesome!!!
Next time follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thedojo so you can get updated results of our students.
