MartialArtsTimes

DeJesus TKD

WildFury — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:12:44 +0000

Master Gerardo DeJesus

If you’re looking to get your child or yourself into Olympic Taekwondo then you might want to check out DeJesus Taekwondo, home of Team Olympic. In DeJesus Taekwondo school you will learn from five time national champion, four time TKD team member, and three time US Cup Gold Medalist, Master Gerardo DeJesus.

Master DeJesus started taking martial arts at the age of eight. His inspiration for taking up the martial arts like most of all the older generation masters was Bruce Lee. DeJesus’s grandmother would him kicking away in the back yard with friends so she decided to have him put that energy to good use so she enrolled him into Karate. After reaching green belt he switch to TKD. DeJesus was fascinated with point sparring so he started learning TKD from Grand Master Kwong J. Lee.

DeJesus describes Kwong J. Lee as a traditional TKD instructor. Everything he taught was straight out of Korea. It wasn’t americanized like some schools are today. Dejesus remembers Kwong Lee as a very strict old fashion Grand Master. It was hard to understand Kwan Lee’s English so whatever he said they had to learn it through the Korean language.
At age thirteen DeJesus competed in point sparring. At seventeen he switched to a quicker Olympic style sparring.

From the age of twenty five DeJesus has reaped the rewards of hard training by being a five time national champion and three time U.S. Cup Gold Medalist. At the age of forty three DeJesus continues to compete. In 2006 and 2007 DeJesus won the forms championships. He now has a total of seventeen form championships.

At age thirty DeJesus dedicated himself full time to teaching TKD. Grand Master Kwong Lee had a handful of schools for DeJesus to teach. DeJesus now teaches at his own school in Pembroke Pines, FL.

Five times a year Master DeJesus holds the Florida Gold Coast AAU Taekwondo tournament. For anyone who is not familiar with the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union), it is an organization that offers thirty plus sports including the Taekwondo program to all ages and abilities. AAU members participate in local, state, regional, and national tournaments. The tournaments consist of Forms, Point Sparring, and Olympic-style
scoring. AAU Taekwondo competition includes the Youth and Adult National Taekwondo Championship during the July 4th weekend and the AAU Junior Olympic Games, which is the largest national multi-sport event conducted for the youth in the United States. The inaugural games were hosted in 1968 at Washington DC with 523 athletes. Since then, the popularity of the game has grown to 12,000 athletes representing all 50 states.

The next event will be the 2009 Florida Gold Coast AAU Taekwondo Championship Nationals & Junior Olympic Qualifier Saturday, January 10, 2009 at the Charles W. Flanagan High School. 12800 Taft St Pembroke Pines, FL 33028.

If you’re considering to get into Olympic Taekwondo this would be the place to start. Master DeJesus hopes that the tournaments will become one of the major significance in the uprising of future athletes. The tournaments give the students the opportunity to acquire experience and a chance to compete at the next level.

Master DeJesus also has a team called the Pembroke Pines Tigers who compete at Combaton “The martial arts team sport”. Those who are not familiar with combaton it is a sport that has a mixture of football, basketball, and martial arts. The game is played on a rectangular field 100 feet by 200 feet with six players on each team for out door, or three players on each team for indoors. It’s similar to American football, but instead of blocking and tackling, the player uses martial arts kicks to contact their opponent. The objective of the game is for the offense in possession of the baton to kick out the defense’s goal pole from the mount in order to score points for their team.

If you would like to learn more about Master Dejesus, The 2009 Florida Gold Coast AAU Taekwondo Championship Tournament, or Combaton, you can visit DeJesus at his school at 7938 Pines Blvd Pembroke Pines FL, 33024 or call (954) 964-7676. You can also log on to www.DeJesusTeamOlympic.com .

ISKA Champion

WildFury — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:01:31 +0000

Joe Ray

September 13, 2008 Ft. Lauderdale, FL,War Memorial Auditorium- Joe Ray of the Freestyle Fighting Academy won the ISKA cruiser weight title in an impressive fashion over Andrew Johnson from Elite Muay Thai.

The beginning of the end for Johnson came in round three where Joe Ray continued to measure Johnson with some leg kicks. Johnson exposed himself by dropping his arms ever so slightly. Ray took advantage of the opening and delivered a series of uppercuts. The uppercuts did enough damage to jar two teeth out of Johnson’s mouth and into the canvas. Despite losing two teeth and bleeding heavily, Johnson a true warrior that he is, continued to fight.

In round four blood continued to spew out of Johnson’s mouth. Dr. Robert DelChristo stopped the fight giving Joe Ray the ISKA cruiser weight title. Joe Ray improves his record to 6-0. Andrew Johnson falls to 5-2.

I caught up with Joe Ray at the Freestyle Fighting academy and asked him how does it feel to be the cruiser weight champion? He said it was an awesome feeling.

“Winning this title on September 13th was the best night of my life”.

We look forward to watching more exciting fights from a fighter, now champion, who has accomplished so much with just a year and a half of training.

UFC 88 Evans Destroys Liddell

WildFury — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:53:49 +0000

Rashad Evans kept his undefeated streak alive by knocking out former light heavy weight champion Chuck Liddell.
The first round began with Evans looking very light on his feet. The ice man as usual was stalking his opponent. At 3:16 of round one Liddell connected with a big right hand knocking Evans off balance. Evans gave a little dance to show that he was unphased by the punch. Evans then retaliated with a good body kick. Liddell pressed in with some shots but Evans showed quickness in avoiding contact. Evans was able to connect with a couple of jabs and leg kicks. As the round progressed you could see a cut over his right eye. As the final seconds were coming to an end, Liddell caught Evans with an uppercut. Liddell continued to press Evans but Rashad showed good elusiveness.

In round two Liddell connected with a leg kick. The two fighters exchanged punches but none of the punches did any significant damage to each other. At 3:33 of round two Evans connected with a left hook. As the round progressed Evans showed more confidence. At 3:10 of round two Liddell attempted an uppercut but Evans beat him with a right cross that knocked Liddell unconscious. Evans improves his record to 17-0-1.

Franklin vs Hamill
Former UFC middle weight champion Rich Franklin made his return to the light heavy weight division with a win over Matt Hamill.
In round one Franklin started by measuring Hamill with some leg kicks. Hamill worked his jabs then connected with an upper cut. At 3:20 of round one Franklin continued with the inside leg kick. Fifty two seconds left in round one Hamill scored a takedown. Franklin got in an arm bar but, Hamill was able to break free. Franklin was able to get on his feet, and in the process delivered a knee kick to Hamill. The round ended with both fighters having a noticeable cut under their right eye brows.

In round two Franklin delivered a leg kick to Hamill. Mat caught the leg but, Franklin was able to slip his leg away. At 4:22 Franklin connected with a one two punch combination, followed by a head kick. At 4:07 referee Mario Yamasaki halted the fight so a physician could look at Franklin’s cut. The physician gave the all clear and the fight commenced. Once again Hamill caught one of Franklin’s kicks but, Franklin was able to pull away then deliver a combination. At 3:11 of round 2 referee Mario Yamasaki halted action due to an inadvertent low kick to the groin delivered by Franklin. After a bit of a breather by Hamill the fight resumed. Hamill pressed on Franklin but the ace connected with combinations as he was moving away. At 1:50 of round two Franklin continued his campaign of leg kicks. In the last minute of round two Hamill had no answers for the barrage of leg kicks Franklin was delivering.

In round 3 Franklin delivered a knee kick to Hamill’s mid section. Hamill showed no effect by the kick. At 4:24 of round three Franklin delivered a body kick to Hamill’s liver. Hamill dropped down to the canvas. Referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight giving Franklin the win. Franklin improves to 26-3. Hamill falls to 6-2.

Editor’s Notes - Oct 08

Artjunky — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:48:16 +0000

We’re proud to present our first Fight Card, featuring Joe Ray, the current ISKA FL Cruiserweight Champion. Ray trains out of Freestyle Fighting Academy and defeated Andrew Johnson in the main event at Warriors Collide. You can find your collectible card on page 5 of the magazine.
Thiago “The PitBull” Alves will have to change his training strategy as Diego Sanchez was forced to withdraw from their October 25th bout due to torn cartilage in his ribs. Josh Koscheck will take his place in what will be a challenging bout for both competitors.
Did the Kimbo show come to a end? We’ll find out, but again, don’ t be so quick to count him out. EliteXC put on a heck of a show, which was unfortunately dominated by the sideshow. Slice was quickly defeated in his hometown, in shocking fashion, and surrounded by a surreal set of circumstances.
Struggle builds character. Kimbo can either walk off with his small place in history, or he can bounce back, continue to climb the learning curve and become a better fighter because, not in spite, of the situation that surrounded him in only his fourth professional bout.
Anyone can get caught. It happens to even the greatest fighters on the planet. It’s how a fighter responds to it that goes to how they will be measured. Slice came out too aggressive and walked into a quick heel kick that appeared to knock the wind out of him. Kimbo lumbered down as he took a right jab into the chin. He will be back, and though he may not appear unbeatable, he will still be a star. He connects with the public in a way no other fighter today does. Like it or not, that’s not going to change with just one defeat.
The women fighters stole the show on CBS. Gina Carano captured headlines before the card started after the unique challenges she presented at the weigh ins. She backed all the hype up in her match against Kelly Kobold. Carano was not dominant, but she was solid, in what was possibly the biggest night for female fighters in the history of MMA.
Cris, “Cyborg”, Justino won impressively in her bout against Yoko Takahashi. With the win she sets up a potential match against Carano, in what would become the biggest profile bout ever for the women of the cage. A Gladiator versus a Cyborg, it would be epic and is currently in the works for early next year.
Don’t forget, Urijah Faber and Mike Brown are set to square off on Nov. 5th at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The card will also feature Paulo Filho taking on Chael Sonnen and Jens Pulver against Leonard Garcia.
NAGA makes its return to Florida Atlantic University on October 25th and 26th. NAGA is a beast in terms of crowd and competition. You can find out more about the event at www.nagafighter.com.
Don’t forget you can join us at www.martialartstimes.net for the latest news and updates in the Wide World of the Martial Arts.

Sept. 2008 PDF

WildFury — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 07:59:33 +0000

Sept. 08 Cover with The PitBull Thiago Alves

Here is the pdf download of the September 2008 version of the Martial Arts Times. This issue features The PitBull Thiago Alves of UFC fame, plus a look back and catch you up with Combaton, Jessica Aguilar, Nicole The Knockout d’Aigullion, Dr. Chenique, Fushu Daiko and more.

September 2008 Martial Arts Times PDF Download