|
|
|
|
|
| Master Ralph Bergamo readies himself to jump off a bed
of nails... |
|
|
| ... and drop an elbow onto a stack of 9 cement blocks
as part of his Creative Breaking routine at the 2004 US Open Martial Arts World
Championships. |
|
|
| Sheila Gallagher is attacked from behind by teammate
Robert Anderson during her Self-Defense routine at the 2004 US Open Martial
Arts World Championships, FL. |
|
|
| Team member, and representative for Puerto Rico,
Fernando Camanero executes a blind folded turning back kick as part of his
Creative Breaking routine at the 2004 US Open Martial Arts World Championships,
FL. |
|
|
| Daniele Silva-Carvalho executes a knife disarm during her
Self-Defense routine at the 2004 US Open Martial Arts World Championships, FL.
|
|
|
| Colin Thompson wins the Heavy
Weight ISKA World Power Breaking Championship and sets a new World Record by
demolishing a stack of 16 patio blocks. |
|
|
| Raphael Velez is congratulated by teammates after
winning the Light Weight ISKA Power Breaking Championship and setting a new
Light Weight World Record by crushing a stack of 14 patio blocks. The winning
break still stands in the foreground. |
|
|
|
|
|
Team Bergamo made their annual appearance at the 2004 US Open Martial Arts World
Championships July 3rd and 4th held in FL; this was the 5th year in a row the
team has competed at this event.
Over the past five years, Team Bergamo has made its way to the top of the
breaking divisions with consistent wins. This world-class tournament draws
competitors from around the globe to compete in categories such as fighting,
forms, self-defense, and breaking. The US Open has the highest ratings on both
the NASKA, North American Sport Karate Association, and ISKA, International
Sport Karate Association, circuits.
Members of the BMA Competition team competed in areas such as Self-Defense,
Fighting and Forms. Among the highlights was a World Championship win in
Self-Defense by Sean Anderson, his 2nd World Championship of the year in the
Under 17 Black Belt category; Anderson was followed closely by Jonathan
Hardwicke who placed 2nd and James Palmer who placed 3rd. Kelly Pearce won the
World Championship in the Under 17 Under Black Belt Self-Defense division, and
Earl Douty fought his way to a 1st place win in Intermediate Continuous
Fighting. Kelly Pearce and John-Tyler Markette also did well at their first
outing in Forms competition with a 3rd and 7th place wins respectively.
Team Bergamo
made their presence known in the Breaking portion of
this World Class event. Raphael Velez set a new Lightweight World Record and
acquired the World Championship in Light Weight Power Breaking by demolishing
14 Patio blocks with an elbow strike. Velez also became the first breaker ever
to win the ‘Triple Crown’ of ISKA Breaking by winning the US Championships and
The North American Championships earlier in the year. Peter DeMarco came in a
close 2nd in the Lightweight division; DeMarco was the World Champion in 2003.
Master Ralph Bergamo placed 6th in the division.
Colin Thompson shocked the competition by setting a new Heavyweight World Record
and winning the World Championship with a clean break through a stack of 16
patio blocks. Master Drew Serrano, also with a break of 16, came in second in
the Heavyweight division; this is the second year that Master Serrano has
placed 2nd in this division. Vincent Milo placed 4th in the Heavyweights.
Clinton Murphy kicked his way to a 2nd place finish in the Power Wood Kicks
division.
Congratulations to all the competitors and the continued success of BMA and
Team Bergamo. The breaking portion of the event will be aired
on ESPN2 later this year and will feature many of the members of Team Bergamo. The team will soon be traveling back to sunny Puerto Rico to
perform a demonstration for the island’s National Martial Arts Day.
The team's complete results from the US Open are listed below:
Results from the 2004 US Open in FL
Master Ralph Bergamo:
3rd place Black Belt Lightweight Wood Power Breaking, Foot
3rd place Black Belt Combat Wood
5th place Black Belt Creative Breaking
6th place Black Belt Lightweight Concrete Power Breaking
Master Drew Serrano:
2nd place Black Belt Heavyweight Concrete Power Breaking
Vincent Milo:
4th place Black Belt Heavyweight Concrete Power Breaking
Clinton Murphy:
2nd place Heavyweight Wood Power Breaking, Foot
4th place Black Belt Combat Wood
8th place Black Belt Creative Breaking
Colin Thompson:
World Champion Black Belt Heavyweight Concrete Power Breaking
2nd place Black Belt Self-Defense
Raphael Velez:
World Champion Black Belt Lightweight Concrete Power Breaking
Peter DeMarco:
2nd place Black Belt Lightweight Concrete Power Breaking
6th place Black Belt Creative Breaking
Fernando Camanero:
9th place Black Belt Creative Breaking
James Palmer:
3rd place Under 17 Black Belt Self-Defense
Jonathan Hardwicke:
2nd place Under 17 Black Belt Self-Defense
Sean Anderson:
1st place Under 17 Black Belt Self-Defense
3rd place Under 17 Advanced Continuous Fighting
Robert Anderson:
4th place Adult Advanced Continuous Fighting
Kelly Pearce:
1st place Under 17 Under Black Belt Self-Defense
3rd place Under 17 Advanced Traditional Forms
6th place Under 17 Female Advanced Sparring
John-Tyler Markette:
5th place 10-12yr Advanced Sparring
7th place 10-12yr Advanced Traditional Forms
Sheila Gallagher:
4th place Under Black Belt Self-Defense
5th place 17-34 Female Advanced Fighting
Christopher Guzoski: 3rd place Under 17 Under Black Belt Self-Defense
Daniele Silva:
3rd place Under Black Belt Self-Defense
Earl Douty:
1st place Adult Intermediate Continuous Fighting
Dayna Ciarlone:
5th place Under Black Belt Self-Defense
|