ONRA:November21st,2008

Hafa Adai,

Welcome to Guam UFC and EliteXC veteran Renato “Charuto”Verrisimo! he will be the guest Jiujitsu and Submission Grappling Instructor at the new Spike22Athletics in Tumon. For a recap, JoeDuarte won his fight at the Colloseo Fighting Championships in Canada. HermanTorrado is won his fight last weekend in Desert Rage 4 in Arizona.

And on Saturday, Justin Cruz is on deck for Superfight Belt in URCC13:Indestructible in the Philippines.

PXC16 makes Yahoo!Japan news with its visiting competitors for tomorrow nights event at the University of Guam Fieldhouse.

TeamPurebred/LlydIrvin Jiujitsu is sending out 26competitors for Guams largest off island BJJ conitngency in next weekend’s Asian Open Jiujitsu Championships in Tokyo Japan. Where just a week later , also in Japan, Jesse”TheSpiderMan”Taitano will be competing in Cage Force9 . Finally, And Saipan MMA is busy again with TrenchWarz9:The Annihilation on December 12th

A large discussion has been raised collectively on the island with the recent campaign for and against Proposition A. Regardless if this is not the first time that the pursuit of legalized casion gambling has been disappointed by our island, we should all be very grateful for the awareness, concern, and appreciation it has raised among our people;

Regardless of what side we supported, respect goes to the folks behind the campaign for fighting so incredibly(for prop a) despite fighting against the odds and fr what they believed would be healthy for the island.

For our voters, hopefully in Voting for yes or no on prop a in the end, we were ultimately voting yes for our island. So our people have spoken clearly that no physical incentive will compromise our commitment to uphold our current way of life.

In this light, Its healthy that we are taking pride in the value of our culture as an immovable object. But in acting consciously not only to sustain but also to promote, cultivate,and develop these things weve proven to be priceless, the movement for improvement and the cultivation of our people can operate, just as importantly,as an irresistable force.

This active pursuit will give added blessings for every sport and endeavor in the interests of promoting Guam; scholars, fighters, and other talent in the interests of promoting our flag.

IN this time of Thanksgiving, its healthy to reflect on what our semi divided MMA entities have accomplished separately in the past, but also to look forward to and to plan for the growing avenues that willbe made cllectively for our athletes int he future.

Excellent to see Guam’s MMA outreach extending once again past the Marianas, as imprtant as it is for our fight industry to gage itself locally, the momentum of our sport and combat sports identity locally is greatly interdependent on our ventures off-island.

So that the mre ften we cmpete internationally, and the more that, in effect, we share bits and pieces of ur island, fighter athletes frm around the world will be standing in line eagerly to ask our promoters ‘So when am i going to get to compete on Guam?”

Beautiful

VotingForGuamSinceEverSince

http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810280320

FokaiCombatUnit:MACP2008

Singanta:OurSpokenWord

CultivatingtheSpirit:Sinanganta

Onra:10.09.08

 

 

MMATalentGrowingInMarianas

Hafa adai.

Congratulations to the Guam Army National Guard for their 13th place finish at the Fourth Annual All-Army Combatives tournament.

In San Diego, Herman Torado defeated Guerrilla Warfare veteran Johnny Mercurio by referee stoppage in Total Combat 32.

Locally, BJT Entertainment opens up in Talofofo as a fight industry service center for the southern side of the island, while the fight cards are in the making for an upcoming Pacific Xtreme Combat in late November and the next Trench Warz in Saipan.Hats off to the Muna Brothers for a great tour throughout for an excellent experience in the promotion and deliverance of Guam’s first full length film. With Guam’s mixed martial arts feature movie hopeful “I Fuetsan I Tao Tao” in the works, a great harvest is in the waiting for Guam’s flourishing entertainment industry. I’m more than happy to see that sport and martial art are part of that equation.

Tremendous strides

The developments between the Mariana Islands through MMA has been tremendous. Although it’s great to see how far we’ve come in skill and talent, what’s just as impressive is the bridge that has been built with our brothers in the Marianas.

I was lucky enough to be involved with the Fury Fighting Islands Promotional Team. The first of the event series was in April of 2004 in Tinian, although the level of MMA on Guam has jumped incredibly since then, at the time we were still leaps ahead of the rest of the Marianas.

Now it’s a different story. Fighters like Frank Camacho, Cuki Alvarez, Charles Aiken and Patrick Ayuyu have stood with Guam’s best for a stronger international presence with a conscious promotion for all of the Marianas. There have been many initiatives to stimulate Mariana Island interactivity and it’s awesome that MMA has become another vehicle.

We’re going to be around for a long time. As our fighters start to venture internationally and more frequently, there will be victories, but we’re also bound to face some disappointments. Moving collectively among the islands, there will be bigger components to pick up the pieces.

It’s important that we recognize, if not emphasize, that MMA in the islands is not just here to entertain, or to prove who’s the best fighter on the island.

We are a sophisticated people and the longevity and community impact of our combat sports should already put us on top of that understanding.

Standing ovation

A standing ovation goes to Cuki Alvarez, who seems to have taken the lead in helping to provide our neighbors with a competitive MMA environment. An environment that can look through the importance of victory in competition, can appreciate the excitement of a good fight, and can recognize and celebrate technique.

All of this is done while providing a growing platform for fighter athlete hopefuls throughout all the islands of Micronesia.

Great rewards

We will be fortunate to live and grow in this spirit, especially this early in a sport and lifestyle that will continue to grab interest across every demographic. The rewards are bigger than a championship belt, a front-page photo in a magazine or an appearance on national TV. It is more about getting our name across; it is about supporting the name with quality backbone. And we are well on our way.

Biba Marianas!

EliteXC:FuryMadnessinCBS:

Exhaust.Proceed.Cultivate: MasterLloydIrvin

Sinanganta:Tribunal13

GuamWaterMensClub: VoiceOfThePeople

Lifeguards Put Their Lives On The Line

Kudos to Terry Mayberry for his address to parents regarding children and water safety. Allow me to add onto Mayberry’s plea.

To all parents: Do not place the life of a child into the hands of another child. “Watch your brother/sister.” Sound familiar? Older children are just that — children — and should not have thrust upon them a responsibility they cannot begin to comprehend. Although fun and enjoyable, the water can be a life or death situation and no eye is as watchful as a parent’s eye on a child.

To our island leaders: Our lifeguards need more training and support. Not only are they the most knowledgeable about the conditions of the waters they patrol, but lifeguards put their lives on the line every single day.

Their rescues often do not make the paper, though they prevent drownings daily, whether it’s the swimmer who cramps up and gets pulled in or the snorkeler who swam out too far, can’t fight the current at Ypao and gets towed in.

The people rescued are local residents and tourists alike. Perhaps the Guam Visitors Bureau could find it in their budget to assist in implementing a lifeguard training program modeled after other island destinations such as Hawaii. Top-notch lifeguards plus beautiful beaches would definitely be a plus for Guam.

LETITIA SHIMIZU

Sinajana

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