New Westminster's Total Martial Arts Centre sent a small but talented team to the Coastal Open Martial Arts Championship on June 1st in Port Alberni. Competing against the best from all over BC, the team was able to dominate their divisions and take away top honours at the event.
Team member Martin Georgiev competed in his first event as an adult, having just turned 18, and made short work of the competition in the Men's under black belt sparring division. His gold-medal win was all the more impressive given that he had only resumed training two weeks before the competition after having taken time off to focus on his first year in engineering.
Harpal Chandi, the team veteran, took home two gold medals in black belt sparring. At 16, Michael Kostritsyn was the team's youngest member and the fighter with the most impressive results. Despite not having yet earned his black belt, team coach sensei Bill Hunter made the decision to have him fight up in the junior black belt divisions. Sensei Hunter's faith was rewarded when Kostritsyn battled through to the finals to face his arch rival Riley Faris, who was fighting in his hometown of Port Alberni. In a blistering match, Kostritsyn gained the lead in the last 10 seconds and held on to clinch the victory.
Always looking to get the maximum from his team, sensei Hunter then made the decision to have Kostritsyn fight up again in the men's black belt division. Once again his faith was rewarded with an impressive gold medal performance. The only event left was the overall grand championship, which pits all adult black belt gold medalists against each other for top honours. Again the TMA team scorched the competition leaving Kostritsyn and Chandi facing off in the final match. The more experienced Chandi was hampered by a calf muscle pull in the previous match and it was enough of an edge that Kostritsyn was able to pull off the win.
"All these guys make an old sensei very proud," said Hunter. The team will be in action again at the Warrior Cup on July 7th. This is a small, but challenging event meant to give the team valuable experience before heading for the Las Vegas Nationals in August. The Warrior Cup will be held at the TMA dojo in New Westminster and will start at 10 a.m. Spectators are welcome.
