New Orleans has revived! As I drove to Pee Wee Blanco’s NBL karate tournament there was the unknown expectation of what New Orleans would be like. The drive through Louisiana was pleasant with an added bonus of good company never hurts. Entering the outskirts of the city I was surprised by vast numbers of people and cars during rush hour. I had not return since Katrina and thought it would different.

To my amazement everything looked better than before. It was like a rejuvenated city with many new structures rising and old ones in various states of being rebuilt. I was glad to see it looking so clean and vibrant. There were some residential areas still in poor condition, but signs of restoration were even present there. All my favorite French Quarter hangouts were untouched and seemed better than ever.

This February 26th tournament was held at the Kenner City high school and was centrally located with convenient access to local attractions. Many of the area’s karate schools were in attendance and even a few surprise celebrates showed up for support.

Top competitors from the south attended for this years first NBL tournament of 2008. A number of the areas top champions were vying for a win that would give them a boost to start the year. The gymnasium was packed and as things got underway it was clear that all competitors wanted to make their mark.

The under blackbelt and junior blackbelt divisions were run first. Eddie Thibodeaux and his Louisiana competition team was the largest contigency. Jacob Holguin, Nick Cain, Francisco Lara, Amanda Dutton and Angela Cantu were the top junior blackbelt forms winners with multiple division victories. Junior point and continuous champions included Ryan George, Evan Palmisano, Rakem Spencer, Travis Rouselle, Nigel Slater, Alphonse Feliciana, Roy Ulrich, Jerome Givens, Tony Thompson, Michael Jarrow, Natalie King and Nigel Slater.

Ryan George of New Orleans stood out in point sparring divisions. He was unstoppable as he overpowered his competition with his impressive skill. George won the men’s light weight division as per NBL rules he was allowed to compete up as he turns 18 this year.

David Johnson, Johnnie Murphy, Dann Baker, Trey Hammon, Eric Jones and James Stewart were the adult forms and weapons champions. In the senior hard creative weapons division David Johnson and Johnnie Murphy tied twice with Johnson finally winning in a point off from the judges.

Sparring competition proved to be the highlight of the day. Adult fighters were putting out their best effort in an attempt to win their divisions and the sparring grand. Norman Roberts was in top form as he managed to pull out multiple victories in the men’s senior divisions. Jason Holmes, Mario Becker, Derrick Wilson, Brad Cushio and Justin Smegelski were the other champions in men’s sparring.

A surprise came in the men’s point sparring grand championship. Ryan George in his first tournament as an adult along with Jason Holmes ended up the last two fighters. Both fighters are exceptional NBL world champions and as the fight progressed it was clear that neither one was backing down. Ryan was able to match Jason’s speed and augmented his moves with some unorthodox techniques. Jason countered with a barrage of blitzes and exceptional counter fighting. As time counted down they were tied. In the final series of clashes George was able to pull ahead for the victory.