May 5-6, 2006

Tournament Review by R. J. Bishop

I have been covering Martial Arts events for many years and during that stretch I have covered hundreds of tournaments. Some are good, most are below average and only a handful you could say were in an elite group. The 3RD CAROLINA MARTIAL ARTS OPEN in Columbia, SC is in that small elite group. The Promoter, SENSEI BRIAN PENA, is obsessed with organization. He is a stickler for detail and will not accept anything less than perfection. After you attend a BRIAN PENA tournament you will be spoiled. You'll wonder, "Why can't all tournaments be this well organized?" This is easily THE BEST organized tournament in the Southeast.

The 3RD CAROLINA MARTIAL ARTS OPEN was an NBL sanctioned tournament as well as an SKI "AAA" and DOJO "AAA" rated event. This tournament really should be given strong consideration for an NBL National rating.

Over 400 competitors made their way to the tournament’s "NEW" location at the Cantey Building in the State Fair Grounds in Columbia, SC. The Cantey building featured over 40,000 sq ft for the competitors, spectators and vendors to move around in.


FRIDAY NIGHT

Friday night was an enjoyable evening. There were a lot of really cool divisions offered that night, a little something for everyone. The Self Defense, Musical divisions and Continuous Fighting divisions were fun to watch.

Top Black Belt NBL competitors like ERIC WILSON, KRISTI CORBITT, "MEAN" GENE MIDDLETON, CHRIS URCINOLA, JUSTIN LEWIS, JOSH BAILEY, SETH BOYETTE, JARED PRESLEY and EMILY CASADA dominated the musical divisions. Other top Black Belt Forms and Weapons competitors in attendance included CARRIE GOLDBECK, RON FERGUSON, JOHNNY WATKINS and MARK JOHNSON.

In the breaking divisions TEAM MVKC’S MARK JOHNSON impressed this reporter with several very tough breaks. He has had very little experience in breaking, but received some training several weeks prior to the event. NBL World Breaking Champion DOUG ARMSTRONG tutored JOHNSON for this competition, which explains why JOHNSON performed so well.

I must commend SENSEI PENA for his choice of youth divisions. It featured a Martial Arts Obstacle Course, Youth Breaking and Flag Sparring. All three events proved to be popular with the kids and the parents.

In the Self Defense divisions the Daughter/Father team of ALEXANDRA and DEAN PYLES impressed everyone with a "NEW" self defense routine. Watching these two perform is worth the price of admission.

Overall the Friday Night activities went very well and everyone got out at a decent hour.


SATURDAY ELIMINATIONS

I arrived at the Cantey building just before the 8:00 am Black Belt meeting. ALL of the Black Belt Judges were in the room on time to be briefed and were sitting at their assigned rings 15 minutes prior to the start of the eliminations. All of the scorekeepers were also in place 30 minutes prior to the start of the eliminations. All the Judges were pre-selected months in advance. These Judges are the best of the best here in the Southeast. Top Judges in attendance included GARY & LARRY DILLINGHAM, JAMES WHITE, DONALD McCLUNEY, RON & SHARON FERGUSON, DOUG ARMSTRONG, KENNY GREEN, JULAYNE & JOEY SHIFLETT, WILLIAM REED and COREY WAITERS. The Arbitrator for the day was LAWRENCE ARTHUR.

Many of the Southeast’s top competition teams were in attendance to include: TEAM STRIKE FORCE, TEAM WAR ANGELS, TEAM MVKC, TEAM SMA, TEAM GOD SQUAD, TEAM BOSS, TEAM PVT, TEAM FX and TEAM RKA. TEAM STRIKE FORCE was very impressive that day. They feature some of the best Jr. Black Belts in all of Sport Karate. KRISTI CORBITT, JARED PRESLEY, SETH BOYETTE and "MEAN" GENE MIDDLETON are as good as any Jr. Black Belt competitors on any circuit. I have always been impressed with MIDDLETON. Here is a wonderful young man that competes at such a high level despite having only ONE functioning eye. He lost his right eye when he was 15 months old, but that has not stopped him from doing whatever he wants to do. Performing Sport Karate at such a high level is hard enough to do with two good eyes, imagine trying to do it with just one functioning eye. GENE MIDDLETON is an inspiration to many people.

World War III erupted that afternoon when NBL World Champion JOEY SHIFLETT faced LARRY DILLINGHAM in an executive fighting division match up. Over the last three years I have watched them go head to head many times with the results split down the middle. These fighters have contrasting styles of fighting which makes for a great battle. As usual it was a one point match with SHIFLETT coming out on top. In the regular Men’s fighting TEAM SMA’S NATE WINDSOR was impressive in his Grand Championship finals match with DANNY ANTOINE. ASHLEY YOUNG of TEAM BOSS had little trouble in winning the Women’s Fighting Grand Championship.

The competition, the Judging and the organization were top notch both days. This tournament is going to be hard to top in 2006. So far it is the best tournament I have attended this year. Tired of attending disorganized, drag on all day tournaments? You should consider attending the 2007 CAROLINA MARTIAL ARTS OPEN. When BRIAN PENA advertises SUPER ORGANIZATION he means it.

Overall this tournament was a joy to cover. I really look forward to returning in 2007. My hat goes off to SENSEI BRIAN PENA and his wonderful staff for producing such a fine Martial Arts Extravaganza.