Amerikick Internationals Held Extreme Form Competition

"Ke-Ya" the competitors scream!

Karate Students compete in Amerikick Internationals competition.

                      By David L. Buckler 

           Intro to Journalism student writer

Official trade mark of the competition. 

Shortly after 3 p.m. Friday March 30th, competitors at the Convention Center in Philadelphia broke out in loud screams as they mentally prepared themselves to perform: the winners shared in Friday's fifty thousand dollars in awards.
      Men and women, boys and girls strapped up, suited up, and warmed up as their turns to compete were getting closer.

      "Alot of guys get sponsored at this event," said Mike Recinto, one of two directors for the competition. He has been running the show for 32 years and has a 7th degree black belt in Kenpo which makes him qualified and dangerous.

Photo by amerikickinternationals.com
Main Judge left and winner of extreme forms right

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      Recinto's pleasant personality and confidence attracts people around him at all times.  Answering everyone's demands was a chore as  he rushed to satisfy each person's questions at the same time.
      "Continuous sparring" started the 2012 Amerikick Internationals off with a bang.  Two people are matched together in the same age group and they go at it for 45 seconds of pounding fits and rib cracking kicks.
       The first two men were a foot difference in height with the same rank of 2nd degree black belt. The two men went at it strong right from the start.
       spectators watching thought the taller man was going to win but the underdog came through with fist and to all of our surprise, kicks to the face!
       The taller man left the mat smiling with blood on his face saying to his father, "He is a great fighter, but I'll win the next match."
       It was a great way to start the competition and the audience seemed to agree. Cheers of excitement and yells of encouragement filled the room up as each space was filled with a different age group sparring at the same time.
        The woman were no exception to the excitement, in some cases they were more vicious than the men. Whoever said women cant fight were wrong, very wrong. Thundering punches were slamming hard on each woman's chest and face. They had little or no reaction to the blows, and continued to fight back as hard as they could.
        Some of the competitors waiting around to compete cheered their team mates on, and others continued to warm up as they waited.
       "My name is Jhalani Williams, you will see me on UFC someday," said Williams a first time competitor. Williams said,  "I don't know what to think yet about this competition, but I'm excited and I know I'm going to win."
        Williams took this competition very seriously, he continued to practice his moves as he wanted, even when being interviewed. Williams later competed in the continuous sparring and appeared to be able to back up his words. He dominated in his first two fights crushing his opponents in the first round.
        Chad Flick a father of a second degree black belt son said, "you really see the best of the best, the kids really are phenomenal." Flick and other supporting parents watched as their sons and daughters fought with everything they had to win in the three rounds of kick boxing.
        Extreme forms or "CMX Forms" was next after the sparring. Video of some of the forms is posted on the top of this article.
        The audience seemed to be enjoying themselves as the competitors used all of their energy and skill to impress the three judges at each station. Some of the audience members were yelling in support of their son, daughter, or friend.
       Volunteers were a huge part of the success of this event, many of the volunteers wore blue as they ran around making sure each station was ready for the next fight or extreme form.
        Darthon Newman a volunteer for the eighth year in a row is also supporting a friend who is a  competitor this year.  He said, "To survive in this competition you have to take risk, it's ok to be worry some but no risk, no reward."
        Photo journalist, Mary Shoulty works for the Kansas City Star, weaving herself in and out of the crowd, taking pictures of each event with great speed. She gave me tips on who to look out for and the upcoming stars that will put on a great show.
        Explore Talent, a company that helps upcoming actors get a job attended the event.  Competitors freely handed out business cards that had a head shot of themselves, their name, number, email, and Explore Talents logo.
        Stephannie Figueroa, one of the Explore Talent competitors handed out her cards to spectators before she performed her extreme form with a sword. Video of her can be found in the video above around the 3:40 mark.
        The competition ended with awards being handed out to all the winners. Sponsors waited for the winners to walk off the stage before talking with them about deals.
        Interested in going to a competition? The next one is the 18th and 19th of May, Gator Nationals in Daytona Beach, FL.