Typically, you expect the most exciting point fighting to come from the speedy lightweights, but the Golden Gates was a tournament of contrast. as some of the most exciting divisional play at the event was the 45 and over heavyweight men's point sparring. This reporter was wandering around watching the action when a theatrical display by Shannon Apple stood out. Apple had just taken a nice shot to the groin and put on one of the most amazingly dramatic performances ever witnessed. He dry heaved, he cringed, he limped, he jumped and he rolled on the floor in agony. He also still got his two points for the head kick he had thrown while getting nailed in the nether regions. After that show, it became routine to check back to this ring periodically to see what might happen next. There was another fun fight as Shannon Apple faced Mark Hicks. The heavyweights hit very hard and the next fight drove that point home as Norman Roberts landed what could be described as the most effective and resounding cartwheel kick seen in a long while. But in the end, it was Bill Hunter of Canada who won the division. All the guys were probably in the bar later laughing it up after trying to kill one another in the ring.

When you think of James Solis and his talents, most can imagine him jumping or spinning in the air as he performs extreme and creative routines in the ring. But, another enigma occurred at Golden Gates as Solis decided to try his hand in the men's Kenpo division. It seemed interesting that Solis would want to try something new, but no one expected him to tie for first with Kenpo veteran Jason Cortez. And certainly no one expected Solis to win the tie-breaker and the division - but he did... and even more later.

The Finals
The Golden Gate finals had a little bit of everything. Modern demonstrations, old school karate demonstrations, great performances, energetic fighting and a little bit of unscheduled drama. In addition, the Golden Gate promoters went all out on the grand championship trophies with etched glass that weighed a ton and were clearly works of art to be cherished by the winners.

The finals opened with a video montage of footage from the 2006 Golden Gates produced by SportMartialArts.com followed by an all-belt-demonstration from competitors from James Solis' school; Team Loop Kicks competitors and members of Team ProRank. In addition to this 'new skool' opening performance, the Golden Gate finals included an old school demonstration by Max Pallen, the father and father-in-law of promoters Jordan and Felipa Pallen. Pallen's demonstration focused on Filipino martial arts and included self-defense, musical and escrima portions. The best part of this demonstration was when promoter Jordan Pallen, tie and all, came to the stage to battle his father in a mano-a-mano escrima sparring match. It was clear that these two have a great sense of humor and great respect and love for each other as they smacked their sticks together while laughing and smiling. This tone of fun along with the celebration of what makes San Francisco special made the Golden Gate finals an evening to enjoy.

Youth Forms and Weapons
It was only one little slip and loss of balance that resulted in Kyle Gray of New York missing out on a near complete sweep of all of the junior forms and weapons grandchampionships. In the youth hard musical forms grandchampionship it appeared to be a barrage of very small kids who were towered over by the tall and lanky Gray. Gray's clean and crisp performance was the clear winner although the performances of Jason Burns, Jarmine Runes and Mackensi Emory were well received. Gray faced Michelle Sims for the youth Japanese forms grand championships where Gray's stances and moves were the favorite of the judges. It was a solo Gray on the stage for the youth Korean grand championship where Gray took his third title of the evening. In the youth musical weapons grand championships, just as Gray entered the stage, the evening's biggest drama occurred as a rope lighting electrical cord on the floor in the audience area began to smoke and spark causing the event to stop as the problem was attended to. The auditorium had to be partially cleared so the announcer played games and amused the audience until everyone was let back in. Amazingly enough, the cries of fire didn’t trigger any mass hysteria as everyone took the dilemma more of an amusement and intermission than an emergency situation. Perhaps the electrical short circuit was a premonition for Gray as his one mistake of the evening happened when he came back to the stage and he fell on a trick, opening the door for his opponents Mia Caldwell and Jamie Nakamura. Caldwell's routine and kicks moved to the top for the judges and she took home the grand champion trophy for the second year in a row.

The only other division that Gray did not win was the one he didn’t enter in – the youth Kenpo form grand championship. Jamie Nakamura, Brianna Lewis and Eric Cortez took the stage for this competition. Cortez, the son of practitioner Jason Cortez, was the spitting image of his father with the deep stances, expression-filled face and dramatic yells that the senior Cortez displays in competition. Little Cortez' performance was just what the judges were looking for as he took the grand champion title.

Adult Forms and Weapons
Josh Durbin and Jerico Catura put on a high flying contemporary performances that had the crowd's heads spinning. The beautiful kicks of Melissa Sioson also had a chance on stage, but it was Rommel Gargoles' shirtless, tattoo-filled, soft style performance that got all the glory. The loss in forms didn't keep Durbin down as he was back on stage in the adult contemporary weapons competition facing Jerico Catura, Rodney Carreon and Ashley Davies. This time it was Davies who removed her top to perform in her sport top but it was not enough to defeat the tricks and spins of Durbin with his bo.

The bench was deep for the adult traditional grand championship as every division was represented by a different person. Brandon Bertsch performed first with a strong traditional bo routine followed by Brendyn Crispell in his first year as an adult and representing the men's Korean division. Ashley Davies and Melissa Sioson were the women's' Korean and Japanese winners respectively and Rommel Gargoles was the men's Japanese winner. Normally, it would be one of the aforementioned five individuals who would win this grand championship but instead, another Golden Gate surprise as James Solis and his Kajukenbo routine usurped this recognition.

Men's Team Sparring
It was Bay Area's Best facing Team DDX (the young 'uns) in men's team sparring. Kyle Richards was all over the stage as he faced Matthew Okada in round one. Richards' tricky moves got Bay Area's Best off to a great start with a 3-1 lead. However, what Richards started, DDX's Wade Taylor put asunder as Taylor brought his hometown audience to a frenzy with a 9-3 win over Julio Castro to put DDX in a solid lead. In the final round, Ryan Gonzalez of DDX didn't back down an inch as he faced Justus Lawrence of Utah. Legs were flying everywhere as these two kickers tried everything on each other. In the end, the match was perfectly matched as their score was 4-4. But in team sparring, it is the total points that matter and DDX's points added up to more as DDX took the men's team sparring title for the second year in a row.

Adult Sparring
In the women's grand championship match, Leanne Dumlao was off the line at the word go and never looked back. Dumlao dominated her opponent with a 9-0 score to take the dramatic win for her second year in a row. The last event of the finals was the men's sparring grand championship with one of the lightest fighters, Kyle Richards, facing the light heavyweight, Wade Taylor. Richards is known for unique moves in the ring and for being very hard to catch but Taylor seemed unphased as the center referee started the match. Initially Richards landed a couple of ridge hands and a strong reverse punch to go up 3-1 in the first sixty seconds. Taylor started to put on the pressure that resulted in Taylor accidentally landing on the smaller Richards causing an injury. This seemed to take Richards out of the game and Taylor was able to mount a comeback and get ahead by one point. At the buzzer, Richards stayed in the game by scoring a resounding ridge hand to force the match into overtime. In overtime, Richards landed a beautiful head kick on Taylor for two points and an incredible final win.
From urban artists to martial artists, the 2007 Golden Gate Internationals celebrated the amazing talents of many people in an atmosphere of celebration and acceptance.