Congrats Kombat Champs!!

[gallery link="file" columns="2"] WOW!  What a weekend.  This weekend we had the CASK National Championships which is a tournament style competition for amateur K1, low kick and kickboxing stylists.  We faced some good competition and without our team it would have been much harder.  There are a lot of people to thank. Thanks to all of the sparring partners and pad holders that really helped the athletes Thanks to Kru Eddie and Kru Roberto for their knowledge and their time Thanks to Raf and Mo for their insight into boxing Thanks to Robert Schinke for the sports psychology Thanks to Brian Naidu and Jenypher Lanthier for volunteering themselves as officials Brian again for all of the paperwork, and taking the heat from Muz and CASK :) Thanks to the support staff, Edgar Obregon(who also acted as my bodyguard), Ivano Stellato and Sean Fulgencio Thanks to the corner men that were beat on by the officials, athletes and me yelling at them: Roberto Herrera, Dave Edwards and Collin Pinch Thanks to CASK, Krista and Muz for their patience with us Finally thanks for the Kombat students that came out throughout the weekend as we went to war. Whew! Here are the results: Day  1 Afternoon: Jacques Mallilan fights his 1st fight and wins a unanimous decision over his opponent from the east.  Jacques shows a lot of technical skill in this fight. Paolo Dultra wins his fight with a split decision over his opponent, showing his vast improvement in the clinch range.  Paolo is the new K1 National Champion for his weight division!  He finally wins himself a belt! Day 1 Evening: Jacques fights his 2nd fight against a very tough south paw opponent.  His opponent got a bye and is really fresh, while Jacques is a little worn and tired form his 1st fight.  It was an exciting fight, bringing the whole audience to their feet.   Jacques and his opponent trade some very hard shots.  In the end Jacques shows his heart and beats his opponent with a decision.  He will go on to fight in the finals tomorrow. Kearn Nedd also has a tough fight that eventually goes into an extra round!  Imagine thinking that you are finish and you have to fight another round.  It was a good fight, but unfortunately Kearn loses by split decision Julian della Vedova is the last athlete to finish off the night for Kombat Arts.  Julian starts off really strong showing his superior hand and kick combos.  Halfway through the fight, Julian's opponent starts to bring his strategy into play, and unfortunately Julian loses this match with a majority decision Day 2 Morning: Jacques is up again for his 3rd fight in 2 days!  His opponent is 6'3", but this meant nothing to Jacques.  He imposed his will from the opening bell to the end of the fight.  At one time Jacques landed a beautiful overhand that threatened to end the fight.  But his opponent was game, recovered and came back fighting!  Unfortunately Jacques opponent kept holding the ropes during the clinch, and was disqualified at the end of the 2nd round.  It was unfortunate because we were all looking forward to Jacques closing the deal.  Jacques is the new K1 National Champion! Joel Holland is up next with his 1st fight of the day.  He puts his opponent from the east away in the 1st round with a TKO due to vicious leg kicks.  He moves on to fight in the finals ...in 30 minutes Day 2 Afternoon: Joel goes up against a very game opponent.  I've never sen anyone get hit so hard by Joel and still continue.  Huge compliments to Joel's opponent.  But Joel brings a great technical fight to win by unanimous decision.  Joel Holland is the new Low Kick National Champion for his weight division! Again thanks to all of the coaches, staff and students.  You guys are amazing.  Win or lose, I am interested in how an athlete and the upcoming coach is evolving, growing and improving.  And I see that with the Kombat Team; regardless of the results, win or lose. You guys always inspire me. Thanks Kombat for the memories-Joey de Los Reyes PS: Any piks please send to bourbon@akapost.com Also on a side note, Canada just won the Gold in Men's Hockey :)  Jd