You could call him the comeback kid. Except Mauricio Valenzuela is no kid. He’s in his 40s, a decade older than most competitors in their prime. He hadn’t been to the Super Grands since 1996. Usually when people are away that long the only way they come back is as a judge or scorekeeper. But Mauricio Valenzuela of Guatemala was a one-man wrecking crew in the senior and adult divisions of the 2007 Super Grands World Games in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
He fought. He did forms. He entered divisions mostly as a wild card competing in his age category as well as against guys 20 years younger. Mauricio Valenzuela single handily raised the level of excitement at the 2007 Super Grands.
But the Super Grands is never just one person. No, an event this big has hundreds of highlights and amazing competitors. There were the Northcutts, Sage and Colbey, who seemed to dominate the night show finals winning seven first and six second place titles between them. Also keeping it in the family were the Aguilar twins, Federico and Jose, who squared off against each other in the 11-under choreographed musical weapons division. And of course there were the consistent showings by names like Trevor Nash, Roark Hodson, Ashley Artese, Josh Durbin and Regina Thompson. If you don’t know their names by now, you haven’t followed sport karate long. They’re practically legendary at the Super Grands.
For me however, seniors were the big story. You had hometown favorite Corky Sikes, longtime fight champion Jose Pacheco, big and bruising Sylvester Youngblood and the consummate competitor Johnny Watkins. Each has made their mark on sport martial arts. None have to prove anything at this point. And yet this year once again they all came out and set the bar a little higher, set an example for younger competitors and made the crowd collectively draw a deep breath when they entered the Grand Finale stage. Yes, it was the seniors who really showed everyone how it was done at this year’s Super Grands World Games. No tantrums, no pouting, no excuses, just pure, heart-pounding, adrenaline-pumping competition that clearly came from the heart.
The Super Grands is always exciting; five full days of nothing but martial arts action, day and night. How can you go wrong? For karate junkies, like me, there’s nothing like being completely immersed in the sport day in and day out. But there’s always something that happens that makes me say, “Yeah, this is what makes it the Super Grands.” That happened Wednesday night about 9:34 p.m.
But let’s look at a bit of what got us there.
This was the 18th year for the Super Grands. And to celebrate the tournament was held at the Springmaid Beach Resort and Conference Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. For those of you who have been to Myrtle Beach, you know what it’s like: 70-odd miles of beach crammed with ocean-front resorts squeezing for space like kids looking out the back window of a school bus. The Springmaid Resort was just minutes from the airport, and offered swimming pools, miniature golf and a pier side diner (fully licensed, just the way I like it).
Tournament action centered around the Robert L. Reid Conference Center, a four level structure that had daytime action on the top three floors and the night show Grand Finales on the bottom floor. This year’s theme was an ocean aquarium and the entire stage and Finale room was constructed to make you feel you were in an underwater playground.
With 18 years under its belt (pardon the pun), the Super Grands has figured out a thing or two. Electronic scoreboards keep track of time and points, which I have yet to see at any other event. The rings are uniform; laid out in bright red, something that other tournaments could learn from. The staff is hand picked and brought in specifically for the event, often times coming in several days early and staying several days late. There are experienced judges, time keepers, set-up crew and, yes, even announcers. And throughout the week there was food, yes, I have to say the best staff food I’ve had in my 11 years of Super Grands. It might sound small, but for staff working long, sometimes frustrating days, it was a welcome respite.
To my mind Monday was highlighted by one event: men’s team sparring. Okay, I’m bias, but team fighting is my favorite event and when you get Team Schumann facing Team Straight Up it’s like watching the Bloods meet the Crips.
We’d seen Bay Area’s Best take out Team BOSS, including Willie Hicks breaking the nose of BOSS’s Eli Quenzel and getting DQ’d. Bay Area’s Best then got stomped by Team GOP 2 who went on to beat Team JMA and Ocean’s Eleven before losing to Team Straight Up. Then it was on to face number one seeded Team DDX. DDX and Straight Up hit each other like freight trains on the same track. After two rounds the score was tied at 15, but Alex Lane held off a crazed Ryan Gonzalez to win by four points.
That left only Team Schumann between Straight Up and the title. Straight Up’s Joe Fife slammed Schumann’s Andres Maza, winning 10-5 and never looked back. Schumann’s Andres Garcia could only manage a tie with Jermond Wiggins. Jose Santiago had no luck with Straight Up’s Alex Lane. Fife’s early lead held out to the end giving Team Straight Up this year’s team fighting title.
Tuesday night’s finals started with a tougher division than usual for the judges. They’re used to competitors being the same in skill, but it was weird as the two players were mirror images of each other in looks as well. Twins Federico and Jose Aguilar had made it to the finals against each other in the 11-under choreographed musical weapons division. Toss a coin here, they were both great to watch, but Jose came out the judge’s choice.
Now you can’t fault Karina Hipolito for trying. In the junior choreographed self-defense division this barely-three-foot-tall scrapper had great form, but how do you compete with Gene Middleton who was willing to pluck out his false eye in the middle of things? You don’t. Middleton was the winner.
The boys 12-13 sparring finals set the tone for what we would see all week. Sure, they’re still kids, but Frankie Fernandez and Juan Pablo Santiago belted each other like they were fighting for the last Play Station in the store. Santiago had one loss so he needed to win. The round ended in a tie but Santiago managed a quick kick in overtime forcing fight number two. Momentum seemed to be in Santiago’s favor as he went up by three points late in the second match. But Fernandez wasn’t about to lie down, in fact he was about to cartwheel. The kick landed him three points sending him up by one. Santiago tied the match, but with less than two seconds left Fernandez scored a clean one to win both match and title. Now that was action!
Now I hate ties at any time, but at the Super Grands they just seem unnecessary. Except, apparently, to the judges of the team forms division. Dan Marshall and Ashley Artese tied Edgar Cordova and Corky Sikes in the first go-round, which was identical to the 2006 Super Grands. A run off gave the title to Marshall and Artese.
Oddly, the evening’s closest division, 12-14 musical weapons, there were no ties. Jordan Simon defeated Jorge Martinez in a real hair splitter with a perfect 50.00 score. But it was definitely one that could have gone either way. Simon wsn’t having his best Super Grands and wasn’t even the eliminations winner going into this match, but he was alive and well this evening and continued on to the new overall grand on Friday.
It was time for the Northcutts to make their first appearances of the year on stage. Sage Northcutt took his first Super Grands title in the 12 and under Japanese/Okinawan division against Canada’s Ryan Young.
Sister Colbey Northcutt faced another Canadian, Justin Lanteigne in the 12-14 Japanese/Okinawan division. With a stare that could make Clint Eastwood blink, Lanteigne took the division, making the Canadian’s 1-1 in the traditional divisions.
Sage Northcutt was up again right afterward, facing Jamie Nakamura in the 11-under Kenpo division. This time Nakamura edged out Northcutt, but Sage would have plenty more stage time throughout the week.
Let’s face it, Colbey Northcutt is tall, has good reach and is as fearless as a Rottweiler. The only girl fighter I know that could stand up to her is Ontario’s Melissa Steckham, who coincidentally was standing up to her in the girls’ 12-13 sparring division. But Steckham found herself on the receiving end of Northcutt’s feet and fell behind 6-1 inside of a minute. She formed a defense, but couldn’t fight back. The match ended 7-2, forcing a final run-off. In match number two Steckham battled back but a barrage of Northcutt kicks overpowered her and Northcutt took the title winning 5-3.
Sometimes you see a fighter and you just go Wow! Jason Albini was that fighter on Tuesday night in the boys 14-15 sparring division. Facing Benjamin Ferguson, Albini had the moves of a young Raymond Daniels, who lit up the NBL in his youth and now fights for the World Combat League. Albini sailed ahead 9-2, frustrating Ferguson. It took a three-point cartwheel just to get Ferguson into the fight, but Albini retaliated with one of his own and smacked down Ferguson 13-6.
While the Northcutts seemed to be everywhere Tuesday night, South Carolina’s own Corky Sikes was the man Wednesday. He competed in three out of the evening’s first four divisions. While he was edged out by Edgar Cordova in hard choreographed musical weapons, he defeated fellow southerner Johnny Watkins in 35-over hard contemporary weapons. Sikes was edged out by Josh Durbin in the men’s hard creative weapons division, but it was still a worthy match. And ask yourself, could you do three competitive forms in three different divisions inside of 30 minutes? Sikes was the man that night.
Whether it’s sheer confidence or brash arrogance, two of the biggest fighters at the Super Grands came in as wild cards. Detroit’s Willie Hicks fought his way to the stage in the men’s lightweight division to face Andres Garcia of Guatemala. Ontario’s Trevor Nash warmed himself up with fourteen fights in the super heavyweight division just so he could face Brandon Bertsch on stage in the finals. For both fighters it would mean title belts, but it would be a lot easier for one than the other.
First up though, was men’s flyweight sparring. Guatemala’s Andres Maza learned why you don’t get penalty points in the Grand Finale. Maza won the first match 7-5 against Mexico’s Enrique Rodrigo to force a final. But in an extremely close second round Maza took a penalty point putting him behind 5-4. He managed a tie in the dying seconds of the round, but that point could have been the win. Instead the match went into overtime. In a final clash Maza scored a kick and took the title. Whew!
The men’s featherweight division had been brewing since the day before. Joe Fife had smoked Troy Whaley 10-0 earlier and wasn’t about to slow down. Whaley was in the match but couldn’t keep up with Fife’s speed. Fife won handily 8-3, taking the title.
“Wildcard” Willie Hicks and Guatemala’s Andres Garcia had the nail-biter of the night in the men’s lightweight sparring division. Hicks edged up 4-2 but Garcia came back with a two point kick. Hicks threw a ridgehand to score, Garcia did the same. The match was so close the crowd stopped cheering for favorites and just started cheering. The match ended in overtime but “Wildcard” Willie hit with an unstoppable blitz taking the match and title.
Trevor Nash’s title in the men’s heavyweight division came much easier as Brandon Bertsch bowed out due to injury.
Utah’s Roark Hodson is one of the most consistent competitors in martial arts. He’s been on the scene since he sprouted hair on his chin, and year after year he quietly makes his way to the stage in at least one or two divisions. In his early years he was the crazy forms kid, doing a back flip so dangerous I saw him break his ankle in Vancouver trying to land it. To this day I’ve never seen anyone repeat the move. He’s made his way to the finals in continuous fighting, musical forms and these days has the good sense to slow it down a bit and compete in the softer styles. No less competitive, much easier on the bones. Hodson faced fellow veteran Ashley Artese in the adult soft contemporary forms division. While Artese was the favorite this time, Hodson returned to face Tyler Harris in the adult soft weapons division. A near perfect score gave him the title.
It was her birthday and it seemed like Gina Thornton felt like nothing more than handing out a beating. In the women’s featherweight point sparring division she faced Lauren Ferguson. Here’s what it sounded like inside Ferguson’s helmet: thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud. And like that it was over. Thornton took the title winning 6-0.
It was somewhere about 9:34 pm and time for the fight that would put the “Super” in Super Grands. At first it was just 35-over lightweight sparring. A couple of older guys duking it out. Filler basically, until the regular adult divisions come along. But not this match. It was the first glimpse of Mauricio Valenzuela on the Super Grands fighting stage in over 10 years. His opponent, Jimmy Sherman, knew what he was facing and wasn’t about to give an inch. Sherman himself was a new commer to the Super Grands but has been a strong competitor for many years. From the opening seconds the two were scrambling around the stage, blasting each other with kicks and punches. Sherman went up by five points but Valenzuela returned volley and inside of 15 seconds had the match tied. At the buzzer Valenzuela leveled Sherman with a head kick that sent him falling off the stage. Sherman took the match in overtime, forcing a second round.
With ruthless looks in their eyes the two squared off again. Punches, kicks, falls and tumbles from the stage ensued. Sherman was determined not to lose his grip on a two point lead. He pulled out a three point spin kick with 20 seconds left on the clock and never looked back. Sherman won 12-4 but both fighters had the utmost respect from the crowd.
The seniors definitely kept things exciting with the 35-over super heavyweight division where Sylvester Youngblood rocked David Coppock. Youngblood won 5-3 in the first round but Coppock wasn’t about to cave in. Youngblood took a five point lead in the second round thanks to a spin kick, but Coppock returned fire and tied things up 8-8. Youngblood couldn’t dodge things any longer and in the dying seconds launched another spin kick, winning the match 11-8.
Two of the NBL’s strongest forms competitors, Brandon Bertsch and Cody Hackman, faced each other next in the adult traditional weapons division. Chalk another on up for those traditional Canadians as Hackman edged out Bertsch after a first round tie to take the title.
Thursday was undoubtedly the longest day of karate ever. There were two, count’em, two Grand Finale shows spread out over some 12 hours.
Controversy and karate go hand in hand and the 17-under girls choreographed musical forms division had it. Mia Caldwell was on her way to winning the division but stumbled on the final technique of her form. Though the miscue was written on her face, the judges still tied her with Michelle Sims, forcing a runoff. Given a second chance, Caldwell was flawless and took the title.
Colbey Northcutt was about to get a good taste of Canadian fight as she squared off against Ontario’s Chelsea Nash in the girls lightweight continuous division. Northcutt had beaten Nash’s teammate Melissa Steckham in point sparring earlier but she would have her hands full with the older Nash. Round one was extremely close, finishing 147-130 for Northcutt. But Nash cranked up the spirit and in the second round pounded her way to a 175-148 win.
Team Alchemy members Nicolas Medina and Chance Maxwell didn’t go easy on each other in the boys super flyweight continuous division. With fathers coaching they scrapped to a Maxwell win 113-111. In my books that’s basically a tie. Great job guys.
It was all Houston for the next couple of rounds. Chris Glandon fought like the energizer bunny against Erika Slade in the flyweight continuous division. Glandon was knocked down or fell down at least 15 times but kept on coming. Slade kept it cool and controlled the match, winning 116-87.
Next it was Team Langley’s Jeremy Butler and James Slade, both Houstonites. Slade was a gentleman bowing out the first round to Butler, but they were friends no more after that. Slade took the title with a 122-80 win.
Sage Northcutt was up for so many divisions he had to pick and choose which ones to compete in. He bowed out of 17-under hard open musical forms, giving the title to Felipe Alvarez, saving himself for wins against Renato de Leon in 11-under hard creative forms, and in 11-under Korean forms defeating Michelle Sims.
The only booing from an otherwise raucous crowd came in the junior heavyweight continuous sparring division. In a controversial upset Juan Pablo Santiago of Guatemala narrowly defeated NBL California veteran Naveed Kermaninejad 113-107. It didn’t sit well with some of the crowd who favored the better known Naveed.
But the strangest fight of the night, or rather that whole day, was between Benjamin Ferguson and Michael Hassey. Ferguson led the first half of the fight handily but Hassey fought back furiously in the second round winning 89-84.
After a quick break (and a couple of Red Bulls) we were back for part two of Thursday’s finals.
Mauricio Valenzuela, competing at the Super Grands for the first time in over 10 years, and wearing a 1995 NBL title belt, squared off against Corky Sikes in 35-over hard contemporary forms. Sikes is a force to be reckoned with but Valenzuela won the title.
Next it was belt number two as Valenzuela defeated fellow Guatemalan Diego Maza in men’s Kenpo forms. But someone should have told him you just don’t mess with Canadians when it comes to Japanese style traditional forms. Ducking out of his medic uniform, Ontario’s Steve Kawamura took the men’s Japanese/Okinawan title. Valenzuela did however get his third belt of the night defeating Jose Rivera in 35-over hard traditional forms.
Sometimes it just ain’t right. Matt Okada and Joshua May had one of the cleanest, most controlled fights of the week in the men’s middleweight continuous division. Their first round ended in a close 95-92 score. The second round was equally matched. But with only three seconds left Okada drew some blood from a punch under May’s eye. Okada was disqualified giving May a controversial title.
Kick, punch. Kick, punch. Kick, punch. Like a robotic fighter Dan Marshall took it to perennial bridesmaid Mike Levy of Ontario in the light heavyweight continuous division. While the match was close, Marshall dominated the final seconds and won the title 130-113. Two big guys, two big kickers. A great match to watch.
There was no love lost between Schumann teammates Walter Luna and Edgar Cordova in the heavyweight continuous division. This was bar-brawl pummeling as the two crunched it up. Who won? Does it matter when a fight is this good? Okay, it was Cordova.
The setup to Friday’s new Grand Championships began with the adult hard open musical division, pitting Jerico Catura against Matt Emig. Catura has been an NBL favorite for several years. Emig, not so much. Adding to the competition was the fact that the winner of this division stood a good chance of winning Friday’s cash prize in the overall grand. Both competitors dug deep, but Emig scored five perfect 10s, tied with Jordan Simon as the highest score of the week, and won his first NBL title.
Friday’s Super Show Overall Grands was a new concept at the Super Grands. For the first time the tournament would crown overall grand champions and best of all give away money. Five thousand dollars to be exact.
Kyle Gray, in his first year at Harvard University, won the junior forms grand while Jordan Simon put on another spectacular long bo performance to win the overall junior weapons grandchampionship and the new iconic red metallic NBL belt..
The adult traditional forms grand was Canadian made. Cody Hackman and Steve Kawamura tied and on a split 4-3 decision the show of hands went to Kawamura, as did $1,000.
For Matt Emig the adult contemporary grand was a gamble. Literally. Emig had booked a plane to leave the day before and had to decide whether to forfeit the ticket and stay another day, hopefully winning the cash. It was a gamble that paid off as Emig defeated Josh Durbin, taking the grand and the cash.
Women’s fighting grand was a battle of the Ginas. Gina Thornton and Regina Thompson that is. Thornton pulled ahead 4-1 but Thompson mounted an attack that brought things back and put herself ahead by a point. Despite a solid head kick, Thornton couldn’t bounce back and Thompson won the grand (and a grand), 8-7.
The men’s sparring grand shook out like this: Willie Hicks thrashed Jason Holmes 5-1. Wade Taylor edged teammate Matt Okada in OT, 4-3. Okada actually coached Taylor at one point. Ryan Gonzalez appeared like he might as well have not showed up against Trevor Nash. Hicks then defeated Andres Maza 9-2. Wade Taylor couldn’t believe he was beating Trevor Nash in the semi-finals. He stopped to think about it and that was too long. Nash narrowly defeated Taylor 6-5 after coming back from a 5-1 deficit.
That set the stage for what could be called “The Longest Round.” The final fight of the night and of the tournament faced off Trevor Nash and Willie Hicks. While Nash jumped ahead 7-2, Hicks was never out of the fight. In fact, thanks to a cartwheel kick Hicks brought things to a narrow 7-5. But a jump spinnig sidekick to Hick’s ribs dropped him to the floor. It had landed right on an injury from earlier in the week. After a lengthy vacation on the floor, a medical examination and a lot of deep breaths, Hicks was ready to go again. Points traded back and forth but with only seconds remaining Nash eluded Hicks deftly. The match ended 9-7. The $2,000 went into Nash’s hands.
After 18 years the Super Grands continues to make martial arts memories. Most are in the ring, but as with any Super Grands many are in the experience. There will be lots to remember from Myrtle Beach, whether it’s the new grand championship divisions, the senior competitors showing us how it’s done, or the late night hijinx by the pool(?). Everyone takes away something different from the Super Grands (in Trevor Nash’s case it’s $2,000), and that’s always something worth remembering.
