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By Benjamin Paris
On March 18, 2006, Grandmaster S. Henry Cho held
the 2006 All American Open at Manhattan College in New York City. After
the 40th All American Open in 2004, Grandmaster Cho held off
holding the tournament in 2005 before returning this year with a new
commitment to offering martial artists of all styles an opportunity to
prove their skills and learn from each other. This year winners came
from all over the United States as well as Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and
Aruba.
The Men’s Sparring Grand Championship featured
fighters with remarkably similar fighting styles. Usually, differences
in size, training, and personal preference leads to contrasting
approaches and tactics, but this year all four fighters in the final
preferred an attacking style with advancing 2-punch combinations being
the favored move of the day. Andrys Cristopher, a student of Master
Delgado of the Bronx, NY, and winner of the Lightweight Division, won
the Grand Championship with a 3-2 victory over Francisco Matute, a
student of Francisco Vigoroux and winner of the Heavyweight Division.
The final was as close as the score indicated, with both fighters
aggressively seeking points the entire match. Mr. Cristopher scored many
points today on charging reverse punches that often followed a lead hand
jab or fake. However, in the Lightweight final he also finished his
short match with a lightning fast charging side kick that knocked his
opponent (a former Grand Championship finalist himself) across the ring.
Mr. Cristopher and Mr. Matute advanced to the final with victories over
Luis Rivas, the winner of the Light Heavyweight Division and also a
student of Mr. Vigoroux, and Kerian Walker, a student of Earl Woodbury
and the winner of the Middleweight Division.
The Grand Champion Forms competition was even
closer than the Sparring final, if that’s possible. William Walter, a
student of Dennis Buzis and winner of the Men’s Tae Kwon Do division,
edged both Olivia Sun and Master John Nigro by a score of 26.2 for Mr.
Walter to 26.1 earned by both Ms. Sun and Master Nigro. Ms. Sun is a
student of James Roberts, Jr, of Rockville, Maryland, and Mr. Nigro is a
student C.S. Kim of Pittsburgh. Mr. Walter won with dazzling speed and
flexibility as well as solid basics. Mr. Walter’s roundhouse, side, and
flying side kicks might have been the difference in this close contest.
Ms. Sun’s performance of a special innovative form that has been taught
to only a few people was another highlight of the day. Her powerful and
varied kicks combined with traditional stances to make her a formidable
opponent. Master Nigro’s performance of a traditional Tang Soo Do form
was also graded just short of the winning score. His rock-solid stances
and dynamic arm techniques took him just short of the championship.
The forms finalists included Cristal Duante, the
16-year old winner of the Kung Fu Division, who beat all the adults (and
all the men) in her division to advance. But for one misstep in her
form, this student of Chris Robinson of the Bronx might have been right
there with the other top performances in the final. Other finalists
included Joe Yurschak, a student of Jim Devoe and the winner of the
Karate Men’s Division, and two more students of James Roberts: Claire
Wong, winner of the Senior Women’s Division, and Melissa Reyes, winner
of the Karate Women’s Division. Also of note, Steven Rodriguez of Ponce,
Puerto Rico took home the Best School trophy for his students’ strong
overall performance in forms, sparring, and breaking.
During the opening ceremony, Grandmaster Cho
Honored Amos Johnson for Mr. Johnson’s outstanding teaching and many
contributions to the All American Open. A teacher of many Grand
Champions, Master Johnson always brings strong competitors with
outstanding focus, technique, and etiquette. The crowd was also
privileged to see Steven Rodriguez perform a demonstration of applied
Tae Kwon Do.
In 1964, when the All American Open began, its
early supporters included American martial arts legends such as Ki Whang
Kim, Ed Parker, Tadashi Nakamura, Toyotaro Miyasaki, Jhoon Rhee, Don
Nagle, Peter Urban and Bruce Lee. The list of past champions of the
All-American reads like a "Who’s Who" of American martial arts. Chuck
Norris, Michael Warren, Herbert Perez, Mark Williams and Jerry Robbins
are among the Sparring Grand Championship winners. James Roberts and
Toyotaro Miyazaki are among the Form Grand Championship winners.
According to Grandmaster Cho, many contenders have
already begun intensive training for the 42nd All American
Open title, which will take place in March of next year. |
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