On Saturday, March 12, students from Master Kim’s Black Belt Academy, in Bechtelsville, gathered to compete in the 22nd Annual In-House Tournament. There were approximately 35 students who participated in the competition.
There were four events for Master Miller’s students to enter and compete. The events included hammer fist board breaking, sidekick board breaking, forms and sparring.
Since this was an In-House Competition, each division was on the small side, but the competitors treated it as if they were competing in a major tournament.
“This small competition served as a warm up for people who are new to competing in martial arts tournaments,” said the Academy’s owner, Master Kurt G. Miller. “If they want to compete on a higher level, they will feel more comfortable and will have an idea of what to expect at a larger venue.”
Prior to the event, the students were schooled in classes on proper ways to present themselves to the judges, and how to conduct themselves during tournaments. By the time the competition came around, everyone was chomping at the bit to compete. The divisions were divided up according to age and belt levels. Because it was a small tournament, some divisions had only one person, and they were given the opportunity to perform, and be guaranteed first place, or bump up to the next level and try to compete against more experienced martial artists. Not an easy choice, but a good many people made the difficult choice to bump up and go for the gusto.
The first event was hammer fist board breaking, and here is a break down for each division.
Division #1: First place, Heather Patrick; Second place, Kaylee Cisar. Division#2: First place, Raven Kern; Second place, Jaxson Albert. Division #3: First place, Preston Norris. Division #4: First place, Alex Rose. Division #5 First place, Thomas Niarhos; Second place, Mason Shellcross. Third place, Niles Bonner. Division#6: First place, Shane Spielman; Second place, Seysha Marks; Third place, Nichole Bertino. Division #7: First place, Dylan Andrews; second place, Nathan Freese. Division #8: First place, Kyle Kelsch; Second place, Sarah Freese; Third place, Matthew La Pish. Division#9: First place, Christopher Haydt; Second place, Aydin Drescher. Division #10: First place, Cory Roman; second place, Julian Bonner; Third place, Jayme Marks. Diovision#11: First place, Jonathon Jarvis. Division #12: First place, Gavin Freese; Second place, Matthew Hook. Division#13: First place, Nicholas Gehringer, Second place, Mark Van Horn, Third place, Mark Andrews, Fourth place, Clayton Stauffer, Fifth place, Britni Greene.
The second event was sidekick board breaking, and here are the final results. Division#1: First place, Heather Patrick; Second place, Kaylee Cisar. Division #2: First place, Jaxson Albert. Division#3: First place, Shane Spielman. Division #4: First place, Mason Shallcross. Division #5: First place, Niles Bonner. Division#6: First place, Thomas Niarhos. Division#7: First place, Nichole Bertino; Second place, Seysha Marks. Division #8 First place, Dylan Andrews. Second place, Nathan Freese. Division #9: First place, Kyle Kelsch; Second place, Matthew La Pish; Third place, Sarah Freese. Division #10: First place, Aydin Drescher; Second place, Christopher Haydt. Division #11: First place, Cory Roman; Second place, Julian Bonner; Third place, Jayme Marks. Division #12: First Place, Jonathon Jarvis; Second place, Mark Andrews. Division #13: First place, Gavin Freese; Second place, Matthwe Hook; Third place, Lori Freese. Division #14: First place, Clayton Stauffer; Second place, Mark Van Horn; Third place, Nicholas Gehringer, Fourth place, Britni Greene.
The third event was forms competition. The results ended up as follows. Division#1: First place, Kaylee Cisar; Second place, Alex Rose. Division #2: First place, Raven Kern; Second place, Jaxson Albert. Division #3: First place, Preston Norris. Division 4: First place, Thomas Niarhos; Second place, Mason Shallcross; Third place, Niles Bonner. Division #5: First place, Nichole Bertino; Second place, Shane Spielman; Third place, Seysha Marks. Division #6: First place, Dylan Andrews; Second place, Nathan Freese. Division #7: First place, Matthew La Pish; Second place, Sarah Freese; Third place, Kyle Kelsch. Division #8: First place, Christopher Haydt. Division #9: First place, Julian Bonner; Second place, Jayme Marks. Division #10: First place, Cory Roman, Second place, Mark Andrews; Third place, Jonathon Jarvis. Division #11: First place, Matthew Hook; Second place, Lori Freese; Third place, Gavin Freese. Division #12: First place, Mark Van Horn; Second place, Clayton Stauffer; Third place, Britni Greene; fourth place, Nicholas Gehringer.
The last event was sparring, and here are the final results. Division #1: First place, Kaylee Cisar; Second place, Preston Norris. Division #2: First place, Thomas Niarhos; Second place, Mason Shallcross. Division #3: First Place, Nichole Bertino; Second place, Shane Spielman. Division # 4: First place,Seysha Marks; Second place, Niles Bonner. Division #5: First Place, Nathan Freese; Second place, Dylan Andrews. Division # 6: First place, Kyle Kelsch; Second place, Matthew La Pish; third place, Sarah Freese. Division #7: First place, Aydin Drescher. Division #8: First place, Julian Bonner; Second place, Jayme Marks. Division #9: First place, Mark Andrews; Second place, Cory roman. Division # 10: Friust place, Lori Freese; Second place, Gavin Freese.
It was a long and productive day for all of the competitors and viewers alike. But, when all was said and done, the event left a positive lasting impression on everyone in attendance. Those who came to watch their children, relatives and friends commented on how well even the youngest students behaved during the entire event.
“I was very proud of the good sportsmanship that was displayed by all of my students,” said Master Miller. “There was no excessive celebrating or bragging by the winners, and no poor attitudes or complaining by those who didn’t win their divisions. There were some awesome Kodak moments from the participants congratulating as well as consoling one other throughout the day. It was truly a day to remember.”
On Saturday, April 16, many of Master Kim’s Black Belt Academy students will travel to Louis E. Dieruff High School, in Allentown, to compete in The Annual Keystone State Championships.
With some experience under their belts, they will be prepared to compete in a much larger venue.
