On 04-27-08, many of the students from United Studios of Self Defense in Livermore competed in a martial arts tournament in South San Francisco.  Events were held in sparring, forms (also known as katas), and weapon forms competition, and there were students represented from approximately 25 different schools from as far away as Vancouver and Virginia.  There were a total of 878 competitors in the tournament.

 

The Livermore school finished in sixth place in the event, and looks forward to future tournaments, and having more strong showings.  The next tournament in Northern California will be held on November 16th, but there are several other tournaments in other areas for interested students.

 

1st Place Finishes:

àKegger O’Neal: Jr. Men’s Sparring, Brown and Black Belts

            Kegger won this event competing against 11 other competitors, many of whom have won national competitions in Southern California and Las Vegas.

àKegger  O’Neal: Weapons Competition, ages 13-above, Brown and Black Belts

            Kegger won this event against seven other competitors introducing a new form he choreographed himself with the help of his instructors.  He looks forward to unveiling a new form again at the next tournament.

àLucas Coppock: Pee Wee Kata, Purple Belts

            Lucas, who is more known for his sparring ability than his kata abilities, surprised some people with his first place form against 20 competitors.  Lucas also competed in the sparring event.

àCarla Kochmann: Sr. Women’s Sparring, Purple and Blue Belts

            Carla won this competition against eight other competitors in her first tournament with United Studios, and also competed in forms and weapons events as well.

àScott Samuelson: Sr. Men’s Sparring, Purple and Blue Belts

Scott won this event, which was dominated by Livermore participants.  His final match, against another Livermore student, was described as a “textbook match” by the judge.

 

2nd Place Finishes:

àKegger O’Neal: Jr Kata, Black Belts

            Kegger finished second only to a student from Foster City who has won several national competitions in this area.  Additionally, he was doing a form learned as a brown belt, which put him at an additional disadvantage.

àJasmine Geyer: Pee Wee Girls Sparring, White, Yellow and Orange Belts

            Jasmine finished second among ten competitors in this event, and almost pulled off a 1st place upset after starting the match down two points to tie it up, but then lose on a tie-breaker.  Jasmine also competed in the forms event.

àFrank Ferrel: Sr. Men’s Sparring, Purple and Blue Belts

            Frank’s second place finish was his best performance in his tournament experience, and no doubt a sign of things to come.  Frank lost in the final match to his classmate, Scott, who is close to a foot taller than Frank.  Despite the size difference, Frank still managed to tie the score, but lost in the tie-breaker point.  He also competed in forms.

 

3rd Place Finishes:

àGabrielle Drewes: Jr. Pee Wee Girls Sparring, Purple and Blue Belts

            Gabrielle finished third in this event, which is highlighted by the simple fact that so few girls her age (4-6 year olds) even make it to the rank of blue belt.  It’s not often you see a six-year-old girl be a leader, but she is a leader of the Livermore school.

àGabrielle Drewes: Jr. Pee Wee Kata, Purple and Blue Belts

            Gabrielle got her second third place trophy with her performance in this forms event against 13 competitors.  Her judge reported her form as having excellent potential even beyond her already strong performance.

àTyler Felgenhauer: Pee Wee Boys Sparring, Purple Belts

            Tyler’s third place here was against 16 other opponents in this event.  His judge commented to his instructor afterwards how impressed he was by his attitude, and also the quality of his form, where Tyler finished out of the placements by a fraction of a point.

àMax DeSantis: Pee Wee Boys Sparring, Green Belts

            Max, who is one of the best all-around martial artists in the Livermore dojo, competed against 14 other competitors for this event.  Max also competed in the forms event.  Max has positioned himself very well for future tournaments as well.

àKyle Yeoman: Boys Sparring, White and Yellow Belts

            Kyle had a very good showing in his first tournament, competing against seven other competitors in this event.  There is no doubt that this experience will help him in future tournaments as well.  Kyle also competed in the forms event.

 

4th Place Finishes:

àDakota Kleven: Jr. Mens Sparring, Purple and Blue Belts

            Dakota finished fourth in his second tournament, but his first in the older category.  Finishing that high in his first entry of the older class is definitely a positive sign of things to come for him.  Dakota also competed in the forms event.

àLouis Napolitano: Sr. Men Sparring, Purple and Blue Belts

            Louis was the third of Livermore’s students to place in this event.  Louis did an excellent job in his final match, taking his opponent down to a tie-breaker point, and showing one of his best performances to date.

àJonathan Weiss: Pee Wee Boys Sparring, Green Belts

            Jonathan finished fourth in this event of 14 people, and also competed in the forms event.  Jonathan has been known as a tough competitor for a while now, and continued that reputation at Sunday’s tournament.

 

Other Notable Performances:

àMichael Butterfield competed in both forms and weapons, both of which are the two biggest events of the day. 

àSam Caldwell competed in the forms event with a form that he made huge improvements on in the last month in preparation.

àNathan Coats competed in both forms and sparring.  Nathan will enter the next tournament as a higher rank and continue to impress.

àJason DeSantis competed in both forms and sparring.  Jason won his first sparring match and took his second opponent to a tie-breaking point until losing to the eventual winner of the event.

àAlaric Hileman competed in both forms and sparring.  This was his first tournament, and will no doubt come back next time with a strong performance with the information learned.

àRoger Hileman competed in forms and sparring against several of his Livermore classmates

àRobert Huntington competed in forms and sparring in one of his first tournaments.  Robert is another example of someone who has improved a great deal in the last month as a result of his preparation.

àJustin Kundert competed in both forms and sparring, and had a strong performance, despite going against opponents much bigger than him.

àSean Kotta competed in both forms and sparring, and unfortunately was the victim of a judging error in his sparring event.  It was recognized that Sean won his match, however, and will no doubt continue to do well.

àMattea Maroney competed in the forms event, which was one of the biggest events of the day.

àKylie McKee competed in the sparring event, but lost to the eventual winner of the event.  Kylie has done very well in past tournaments in this competition.

àGarren Weiss competed in forms and sparring events, and did very well against bigger opponents, losing to one of the eventual winners of the event.

àBilly Wilson competed in both forms and sparring with a gutsy performance.  Billy sprained his ankle only two days prior to the tournament, but wanted to compete and give his best effort anyway.

 

For more information on tournaments at United Studios or other special events held at the school, please call 925-449-1746 or visit at 4429 1st Street in Livermore.