Graves martial arts tourney is Saturday.
Graves 19th Annual Summer Kick-Off Karate and Ju-Jitsu Tournament takes place this Saturday, June 12 at the Houlton High School gymnsium.
Head instructor, Grand Master Bill Graves, the black belts and students of all nine branches of Graves Institute of Self Defense host the event, the only martial arts tournament north of Bangor. Competitors from several Maine Ketsugo and Karate Association dojos throughout Maine as well as a number of Canadian Kung Fu and Karate Schools will be on hand to vie for trophies.
More than 225 trophies and 100 medals will be awarded throughout the day to top placing competitors in point sparring, form kata, weapons kata, Ju-Jitsu pairs and power impactor. Each event will have several divisions set up by sex, age, weight, and experience level (belt color) to assure fairness and the most challenging matches. One head judge and four referees, all black belts, will oversee each of the eight rings to insure safety and enforce the same guidelines for all competitors.
All of the black belt fighting and Ju-Jitsu divisions will culminate in grand championship matches to determine the best of the best. Men and women black belts will have the opportunity to spar and demonstrate high level throwing and falling techniques against other random opponents. The top winner in each event will be awarded a four foot tall, 3-tier, four post, ornate trophy with an engraved plaque, each sponsored by a regional business.
One of the most exciting and entertaining events of the day is always the ju-jitsu competition. Pairs of martial artists of the same belt levels perform routines they have created to imitate an attack and a self defense situation that might occur on the street. Each of the duo executes three throws in random order and a panel of five judges score the pair on attitude, precision, difficulty and effectiveness. While all belt levels are highly competitive, the black belt division vying for the pair of grand championship trophies remains the highlight of the event.
General admission opens to the public at 9:30 a.m. and all martial arts fans, as well as folks who have never experienced one of these thrilling competitions, are invited to attend. A concession stand with a wide variety of food and beverages will operate throughout the day’s events. Plan on attending Aroostook’s largest and oldest martial arts tournament from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at Houlton High School to see the county’s youngest, oldest, smallest and most talented karate students compete.
Contributed photo
YOUNG MARTIAL ARTISTS, Macey Coffin, left, and Chloe Wheeler from the Mars Hill class practice their ju-jitsu routines for the Graves' tournament in Houlton this Saturday.
