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MMA athletes return from provincials

Rocky Mountain Academy of Martial Arts represents Cranbrook at a B.C.-wide tournament hosted by Fernie.
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Top row left to right: Corben Buckley

Over twenty fighters from Rocky Mountain Academy of Martial Arts in Cranbrook BC headed to Fernie to test their mettle in the WKU  (World Kickboxing Council) Southern BC Provincial Martial Arts Tournament.

Cranbrook’s RMAMA had the largest contingent of fighters at the tournament this year fielding fighters aged 5 to 35 and coming home with many medals and awards.  The other club with lots of support was the host club, Five Elements out of Calgary Alberta.

Provincial winners from RMAMA were as follows:  Dave Buckley achieved Gold in adult Continuous Sparring and Silver In Muay Thai.  Tyson Hircher won Silver in adult continuous sparring, gold in Muay Thai and Gold in Continuous sparring under 18.  Cole McNolty was on fire and received Gold in Continuous sparring and Gold in Muay Thai.

Weston Green came away Silver in Continuous sparring and Gold in K1 Kickboxing.  Tage Leiman received two silver medals one for continuous and one for muay Thai.  Keaton Smith received two silver medals one for continuous sparring and one for K1 kickboxing.

The provincial tournament was amazing to watch with very fast-paced action and a high level of skill shown.  However the intermediate and beginners fights were fun to watch as well.

Most notable in the children’s were the 3 to five year olds out of sheer cuteness and Dante Young, who at eight years old was able to achieve gold in two categories by showing excellent footwork and timing.

All the competitors showed great sportsmanship and respect, which is perhaps the greatest lessons these tournaments and martial arts in general can teach.

In the beginner and intermediate bouts the following RMAMA fighters took home medals.  Dante young came home with first in intermediate 6-8 year olds continuous sparring and points sparring.  Korben Buckley took home second in intermediate 6-8 year old continuous.  Seth Ryley took a hard-fought second in 12 to 14 year old intermediate continuous sparring.

In ages 12 to 14 beginners continuous sparring,  Cole Yoshaka came home with a third place trophy, Brayden Farquar took second and Hayden Wendt took first.  In the nine to eleven year old beginners continuous, Will Wendt came home with a first-place trophy and Tathen Marra received second and Joey Koran came in third.  In age nine to elven intermediate Tom Sutton came in first.  In 6 to eight year old continuous beginners Ryder Seriani brought home a first-place trophy and Lily Rudrum brought home second.   In the 3 to 5 year old division Maise Buckley took home a second place trophy and Colton Marra took home a third.

There was plenty of drama at this tournament, with some friendly rivalries and some excellent fast-paced action.  This sport will continue to grow and next year’s provincial will probably be even better.  Expect big things from this martial arts club from the small town of Cranbrook BC, because small or not RMAMA gets it done.