The thirtieth annual Battle of Texas was held in Galveston, Texas on March first. The new San Luis Galveston Convention Center was the venue for this years event. Jessie Benavidez was the producer of the tournament and his daughter Cindy Benavidez was the co-producer. Cindy was one of the most noted women’s fighters of the past in Texas. World kickboxing champion Ishmael Robles was her trainer and coach. During her competition career she defeated some of the best female fighters in the world.

Over four hundred fifty competitors and many spectators made this tournament a major event. Other martial arts celebrities and Texas promoters were there to help make the event run smoothly. Ishmael Robles, Linda Denley, Wayne Nguyen and Al Garza were some of the instructors who’s students were elevating the level of competition.

Competition started on time as Jessie Benavidez is a stickler for punctuality. This helped set the pace completing the event by 3:30 in the afternoon. The Texas AOK circuit promoters were instrumental in helping things finalize on time. All first place champions received a samurai sword with blackbelts getting a three sword set complete with stand.

Blackbelt champions included Andrew Carrasco who managed to win four divisions. Chuck Timmons, at sixty two years old, was the oldest champion winning senior executive point sparring. Anthony Allen of Dallas showed that he’s still in the contention, becoming the standout in the senior divisions.

The blackbelt point sparring grand championship came down to Andrew Carrasco and Anthony Allen. This was a classic confrontation of two different styles. Andrew is a blitz artist while Anthony is a masterful counter fighter. As the fight started it was clear Andrew was going to dominate the fight. But Anthony was not going down easy as he attempted to isolate Andrews unorthodox attacks by utilizing savvy ring tactics and launching his blitzes. But Carrasco was not to be denied as he used his kicking speed to overcome Anthony’s defense and win the point sparring grand championship.