LOCAL MARTIAL ARTISTS WIN AT CANADIAN OPEN

Eight martial artists from RMA Karate Centres in Barrie took part in the Canadian Open martial arts championships in Gatineau, Quebec March 22 & 23^rd and did extremely well.

Red belt Isabelle R won fourth in musical forms and was a finalist in the weapons and forms division.   Fellow red belt Katie B won third in musical forms and fourth in forms.

Blue belt Liam N won first in musical forms, second in continuous sparring, third in point sparring, fourth in weapons and fourth in forms. Fellow blue belt Sale B won first in weapons, second in musical forms and fifth in both the forms and sparring divisions.

Advanced brown belt Brooke Z won fifth in both the forms and weapons divisions.

The highlight of the Canadian Open was the black belt divisions where the high ranking martial artists were not only hoping for bragging rights after earning top place, they were also looking forward to the tough competition from across North America.

Black belt Tara K did extremely well continuing to show steady improvement winning two thirds in the forms and weapons divisions.   Black belt Samantha M gave a strong performance after healing from an ankle injury winning second place in continuous sparring and third place in the musical forms division.

Black belt RMA instructor Tressa Young proved to her opponents that she has earned her place in the adult divisions winning first place in the elite men/women’s weapons division, women’s weapon divisions, women’s forms divisions, women’s point sparring division and women’s musical weapons division.   Young also won second in the elite men/women’s forms division.   The highlight of Young’s weekend competition was winning grand champion title in men & women’s forms division and winning grand champion title in the men & women’s elite weapons division.  

Liam, Sale, Brooke, Tara and Samantha along with RMA instructors Tressa Young and Linda Young will be headed to provincial trials in hopes of advancing to the WKC Canadian National team trials in Ottawa May Victoria long weekend.

RMA LEAVES A MARK AT SMAC KARATE TOURNAMENT

Five martial artists from RMA Karate Centres in Barrie took park in a martial arts competition in Niagara Falls, New York on the weekend.  The SMAC Internationals had competitors from across Canada and the United States taking part at the event and RMA Karate represented their school and city of Barrie well.

Red belt Katie Belliveau gave a strong performance with improved stances placing 6^th in musical weapons and was a finalist in the forms, weapons and sparring division.

Blue belt Sale Berube placed 1^st in traditional weapons, 3^rd in creative weapons, 3^rd in forms, 5^th in musical forms, 6^th in Korean forms and finalist in sparring.

Blue belt Liam North placed 1^st in point sparring, 1^st in forms, 2^nd in traditional weapons, 2^nd in creative weapon, 4^th in Korean forms and finalist in musical weapons and continuous sparring. 

Black belt Tressa Young competed in the 18 years plus men/women division and placed 2^nd in musical weapons, 2^nd in traditional forms, 3^rd in musical open and 4^th in the traditional weapons.  Young also placed 1^st in the women’s fly weight sparring division.

Black belt Linda Young returned to the tournament circuit after a seven year break competing in the 45 years plus men/women division and placed 6^th for traditional forms.

RMA BRINGS BACK HARDWARE FROM HAMILTON!

Students and instructors from RMA Karate Centres were in Hamilton on February 23^rd competing at the Ontario Provincial Open martial arts championships and their hard work paid off!  The Barrie martial arts competition team have 2 training sessions each week with many of them also training in dedicated private lessons. 

“Their commitment to their training continues to pay off with better technique, better forms and better performance in the ring”, RMA head instructor Craig Ridout stated.

Red belt Isabelle R won her a FIRST place trophy for the first time since starting to compete in 2012.  This is Isabelle ’s second year on the competition team and she just keeps getting better.  Isabelle won first in musical and was also a finalist in the weapons and forms divisions.

Blue belt Sale B did a great job with fantastic stances placing 4^th in weapons and 5^th in musical.

Blue belt Liam N  impressed the judges placing 1^st in sparring, 1^st in weapons, 5^th in forms and finalist in musical.

Black belt Tara K competed in women’s division competing among many world medalists and held her own placing 2^nd in sparring, 3^rd in weapons and 5^th in forms.

Black belt Samantha M continues to impress and prove her best keeps getting better placing 1^st in Korean forms, 2^nd in traditional forms, 3^rd in weapons and 4^th in sparring.

RMA instructor and black belt Tressa Young started her first competition of the year proving to the adults, both men and women, she is a formidable opponent.  Young placed 1^st in weapons, 1^st in traditional forms, 2^nd in musical weapons, 2^nd in musical open and 3^rd in sparring.

Non-competition team members Rachel and Ari did well for their first competition of the year winning one third and two finalist placements.

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RMA LEAVES MARK AT NMAC EVENT

RMA LEAVES MARK AT NMAC EVENT

RMA Karate Centres had 6 students take part in the National Martial Arts Circuit (NMAC) tournament and 2012 Awards Presentation in Toronto this past weekend (Feb 9^th).  The day was a complete success with RMA competing among other martial artists from as far as North Bay, Ottawa, London and Windsor.   It was the first competition of the year for the RMA group and they represented their karate school well.

Blue belt Liam N placed 1st in sparring, 2nd in weapons, 2nd in forms and 2nd in musical open.  Liam was also awarded 1st place winner overall in his age group and 1st place winner overall for all under belts in the 2012 NMAC season, his first year in major competitions.

Blue belt Sale B placed 1^st in musical open, 4^th in weapons, 5^th in forms and 2^nd sparring.  Sale was also awarded 2nd place winner overall 7-8 year old girls in the 2012 NMAC season, her first year in major competitions. 

Red belt Isabelle R placed 4^th in musical open, 3^rd  in weapons and 5^th  in forms.  Isabelle was also awarded 4^th place winner overall 7-8 year old girls 2012 NMAC season, her first year competing in that circuit.

Advanced brown belt Tyler M-Z placed 1^st in weapons and 1^st in forms.   Brooke Z placed 3^rd in Korean forms, 5^th in weapons and 5^th in forms and younger sister Ella Z placed 3^rd in sparring, 4^th in weapons and 5^th in forms.

“It was a great start to the 2013 competition year and a great way to prepare for the upcoming Ontario Open in Hamilton on February 23^rd”, RMA head instructor Craig Ridout stated.

NEW BELTS FOR LARGEST KARATE TESTING

RMA Karate Centres continues to grow in numbers, not by traditional advertising methods, but by word of mouth and in-house referrals.   An indication of the karate school’s continued success is their latest belt testing for its students.

47 students from RMA Karate Centres tested and passed a belt grading in January.   The largest belt grading to date for RMA, testing times ranged from 30 minutes for the younger ages of 3 to 5, to anywhere between 1 to 4 hours for ages 6 years to adult.   

Receiving their new belt level and advancing closer to black belt are:

White with Yellow Stripe Belt: Bain J, Kai I & Thomas L

White with Orange Stripe Belt: Johan P, Dylan R, Eva D, Alice R, Alixandra R & Gideon M

White with Green Stripe Belt: Madden B

Half White and Half Yellow Belt: James G

Half White and Half Orange Belt: Tobin S

Half Yellow and Half Green Belt: Austin N and Margaret B

Yellow with White Stripe Belt: Peyton R

Yellow with Black  Stripe Belt: Parker R and Lucas B

Yellow Belt: Kodin B, Gwyneth C, Keegan O-G, Ryan H, Elliot G, Jacob S, Charley A-H, Esabella A-H, James W, Brian T & Brian F

Orange Belt: Ari W, Rachel W, Ben P, Jasmine H, Shamus B & Mike N

Red Belt: Samuel S, Jacob A, Noah D & Rory C

Green Belt: Madeleine C, Joshua F & Devan F

Blue Belt: Liam N & Sale B

Purple Belt: Margaret D & Daniel D

Shodan- Ho Belt: Brooke Z & Tara G

2013 COMPETITION TEAM ANNOUNCED

RMA Karate Centres of Barrie began weekly training with their 2013 competition team, The Northern Dragons, in January.  The well established competition team is ready for 2013 with the team members already training in dedicated sessions twice weekly. 


Head instructor Craig Ridout began the tournament team over 7 years ago with the purpose to provide a forum in which students could experience first-hand, the benefits of teamwork while accomplishing personal goals. “We believe that when children feel as though they are an important part of something positive with their peers, it helps to keep them on the right path to a successful future.  Meeting other martial artists their own age, competing alongside them and establishing friendships helps build their confidence and self-esteem”, stated Ridout.



The tournament team will be traveling across Canada and the United States performing their forms, weapons and sparring skills alongside other martial artists their own age and similar skill set.  Team members attend an average of 9 tournaments or more each year improving their skills, making friends and building a close bond with their fellow team mates.


2013 Northern Dragons team members include second degree black belt Tressa Y, first degree black belt Tara K, first degree black belt Samantha M, green belt Liam N, green belt Sale B, red belt Isabelle Rayner and red belt Katie B.
 
2013 team members will have their tournament results updated and posted on the RMA website at www.rmakarate.com.

2012 STUDENT AWARDS

Every student at RMA has improved and achieved personal goals they should
be proud of. Our students train very hard and we are very proud of them.

For the efforts of all our students we want to say

“Thank You And We Are Proud To Be Your Senseis”.  

Every year RMA presents awards to students for standing out in several areas. These awards are handed out at the annual Christmas party. The 2012 award recipients are:    


Assistant Instructor/STORM of The Yea r - Samantha M

Outstanding Little Dragon of The Yea r - Lucas B

Most Improved Student of The Year - Brooke Z

RMA Spirit Award – Noah D

Male Competitor of The Year –Liam N

Female Competitor of The Year – Sale B

Soke Kwan Memorial Award – Tara K


Congratulations to everyone and keep up the good work!