Monday, March 31, 2008

kudos and congrats!

Kudos to our Kreation members who competed in the recent grappling tournament held on 30 March, Sunday. Commendable fighting spirit to step up and represent Team Kreation and The Budo Academy. and CONGRATULATIONS to the winners! Our team was represented by 5 competitors (Sulaiman, Aziz, Hongjie, Sherwin and Rayner) and walked away with the following medals:

- Sulaiman was placed 1st in the Blue belt openweight gi event.

- Aziz was placed 1st in the white belt under 77kg bjj gi event

- Aziz was also placed 1st runner-up in under 77 no gi grappling.

- Sherwin was placed 2nd runner-up in the white belt under 88kg bjj gi event.

- Hongjie was placed 2nd runner-up in the white belt under 77kg bjj gi event.


Some pics of our guys at the tournament:


Sul and Cristiano discussing strategy.



Armlock



Aziz in action



Sherwin in 'Clash of the Titans'



Pre-match Sul



*****


Personally, as a spectator and one of the fellow Kreation members who were there to lend moral support to our fighting team mates, the event is filled with many highlights for me:

- Sul's and Aziz's outstanding performances.

- Hongjie bouncing from a loss and finishing his next fight in 6 seconds.

- Rayner pulling off an armbar after trailing by points. The fight is not over till it's over. :P

- Cristiano and Vicknesh speaking up for Aziz over a questionable foul committed against Aziz.


some thoughts:

It was interesting for me to witness not only the grappling standards of the people who participated, but also the different manners in which people conduct themselves, on and off the mats.

The event has also been a good day of bonding for our team.
Thanks to:
- those who took footage/pictures of the fights,
- those who bought beer for one another,
- those who kept track of time and scores for the fighters, and
- those who cheered and lent a voice louder than thunder when the situation called for it.


It's a shame Sherwin popped his shoulder and will have to stay off the mat for a while. Speedy recovery dude!

Our pursuit of the art doesn't end in one tournament.
Let's continue to train hard.
cheerios!

*****

- photos courtesy of Paul W.


Sulaiman's final fight against Morioka Yu of Alive Academy:

Monday, March 10, 2008

KJJ BBQ

Last saturday after class, a bunch of us adjourned to Steve's place for an impromptu bbq. It was a relaxing time of getting together and chatting away while munching on hotdogs, chips, and gulping down some beer.





photos courtesy of Soup