NEWS April 2008. 2008 NAGA Worlds / Training with Gracies
Total Martial Arts students from Clarenville and Glovertown traveled to New York and Newark from April 3rd - 8th to compete at the 2008 NAGA World Grappling Championships and train at Renzo Gracie Academy (RGA) under Rolles, Igor, and Gregor Gracie.
Total Martial Arts students from Clarenville and Glovertown traveled to New York and Newark from April 3rd - 8th to compete at the 2008 NAGA World Grappling Championships and train at Renzo Gracie Academy (RGA) under Rolles, Igor, and Gregor Gracie.
Adrian Locke, 17, from Total Martial Arts Academy in Glovertown competed on Sunday and won a gold medal in the Teen's Novice "Gi" Division, and a silver medal in the "No-Gi" Division in the Middle Weight (150-169.9lbs) category. On Saturday, Total Martial Arts instructor Tom Dunne took silver in both the "No Gi" and "Gi" events in the Master's Lightweight (150 - 159.9 lbs) divisions in which he competed. Shannon Manuel, from Total Martial Arts Academy in Clarenville also traveled with Dunne and Locke on the trip in a coaching capacity.
For the past 13 years the North American Grappling Association (NAGA) has been responsible for putting off some of the largest grappling tournaments in the World. The 2008 NAGA Worlds on April 5th & 6th saw over 2000 competitors in 300 divisions in 2 days. NAGA hold over 30 competitions per year in locations such as Newark, Las Vegas, Florida, and Hawaii. Dunne and his team plan to compete at another NAGA event sometime between September and November.
Following an exciting weekend of NAGA competition, on Monday morning the three headed to Renzo Gracie’s Academy for what would be the highlight of the trip. That morning they had a session with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt Leo Leite, followed by a private lesson with Rolles Gracie Jr. that afternoon, and an evening class with Igor Gracie. Tuesday morning Locke, Manuel, and Dunne were up at 5am to head back into the Academy for a lesson with Gregor Gracie before catching their flight back to Newfoundland.
Dunne plans for his students to continue training under the guidance of the instructors at Renzo Gracie Academy and hopes to have some students get promoted in the Gracie Jiu Jitsu system sometime within the next year. Total Martial Arts are currently talking with Rolles Gracie about coming to St. John’s for a seminar at the end of June. Rolles will be in Brazil until June 25th and hopes to make the journey to Newfoundland on his way back to New York.
The trip was made possible only with the help of Corporate Sponsors, and the parents, students and individuals from the community that supported our tree seedling fundraiser.
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August 2007. Thank-you and welcome to our newest Corporate Sponsors: Pure Mad Marketing & Design, Price Chopper, and Foodland.
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June 26th, 2007. Belt Testing Congratulations
Congratulations to the following students for successfully passing their belt testing: Shannon Mannuel, Zachary Kelley, Skye Diamond, Kyle Dingwall, Michael Ingram, Joshua Decker, McCaul Ryles, Ryan Ivany, Cameron Loder, Byron Vasanthan, Kieran Vasanthan, Adam Mahar, Andrew Pearce, Curtis Pearce, David Drodge, Ben White, Joshua Avery, Christopher Pinto, Clarence Kelley, Brandon Penney, Sterling Hillyard, Agnes Ryles.
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June 2007. Belt Testing Congratulations
Congratulations to the following students for successfully passing their belt testing: Nathaniel Boudreau, Marcus Mulrooney, Jordan White, Joshua Smith, Serena Hickey, Nikkia Boutcher, Patrick Slade, Brandon Pike, Brendon Welsh, Dakota Warren, Cassidy Warren, Natalie Murphy, Natalie Throwbridge, Ryan Campbell, Matt Watton
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May 2007. Belt Testing Congratulations
Congratulations to the following students for successfully passing their belt testing: Samantha Baird, Cody Blundon, Kristen Keats, and Kent Keats.
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December 10th, 2006. GOLD FOR YOUNG JIU JITSU ATHLETES
Tyler Howse, Jordan Russell, Joshua Ford, and Evan Funnell participated at the Kenpo Associations Annual Tournament in Mt. Pearl this past weekend. The tournament was host to over 100 athletes from schools located throughout Eastern Newfoundland. Students Tyler Howse and Jordan Russell clenched 3rd and 4th place finishes for the club in the WHITE/YELLOW BELT divisions. Joshua Ford was rewarded for his hard training over the past two months with a double gold victory in the grappling and sparring WHITE/YELLOW BELT divisions. Evan Funnell, one of Total Martial Arts most experienced young athletes captured a gold medal in the GREEN BELT sparring and a bronze in the grappling event. Congratulations to all participants!
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December 1, 2006 Tom Dunne completes CASK (The Council of Amateur Sport Kickboxing) Level 1 and Level 2 OFFICIALS CERTIFICATION PROGRAM (OCP). The Council of Amateur Sport Kickboxing (CASK) is the national leader in promoting excellence in the sport of amateur kickboxing through events, courses, and the certification of athletes, coaches, and officials. For more information visit CASK's official website at www.kickboxingcanada.org.
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July 7, 2006 Tom Dunne participates in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Seminar with Antonio Carvalho at the Sniper Jiu Jitsu club in Edmonton. Carvalho is a Brazilain Jiu Jitsu Black Belt under Shah Franco and Sylvio Behring and is also a MMA fighter for Shooto in Japan.
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November 20, 2006 Thank you to everyone who participated in (and contributed to) our Kick-A-Thon Fundraiser. In total students raised over $1100 towards the purchase of new mats. The top collectors were Joshua Ford and Zachary Kelly.
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May 8, 2006 Total Martial Arts Annual Black Belt Challenge will be held this weekend (Saturday, May 13th, 2006) at Balbo Elementary School in Shoal Harbour. The tournament is open to all schools and students ages 5 to adult. Registration will be held from 9:30am - 11:00am. The registration fee is $10 per event for participants. The spectator fee is $3; children under 12 get in for free. The tournament will start at 11am. The events will include Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), Kata, and Sparring. For more information visit JabPunch.com or contact Tom Dunne at 543-2286 / 691-5425.
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April 13, 2006 Belt Testing Congratulations
Congratulations to following students for passing their belt tests: Marcus Fulford, Gavin Butt, Ben Drover, Bradley Wicks, Gregory Wicks, Ben White, Andrew Pearce, Zachary Tarrant, Bradley Tremblett, Andrew Moody, Leah Whalen, Nick Peddle, and John Hurley.
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April 11, 2006 Total Martial Arts students collected over 1100 non-perishable food items for The Salvation Army Food Bank. All students that collected over 20 items are being rewarded with a Junior Leadership badge. The top junior collector for the food drive was Robert Greeley with 76 items. The top adult collector was Les Lake with 160 non-perishable food items.
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March 25, 2006 Tricentia Academy in Arnold’s Cove was the venue for Total Martial Arts most recent Open Martial Arts Competition. Over 85 competitors from 7 clubs participated in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Point Fighting, and Traditional Karate Kata events. Students ranking from White Belt to Black Belt and ages 5 to adult attended the tournament. Students representing local clubs in Arnold’s Cove, Clarenville, and Random Island did extremely well taking several gold, silver and bronze medals. The next tournament for Total Martial Arts is scheduled for May in Clarenville. For more information call 709.543-2286.