Team Challenge
My
name is Jermey Bowers; I am a fourth degree (fourth Dan) black belt in two
styles of martial arts. I teach martial arts to youth and adults of all ages
with over thirty students. I also work as a project designer at New Millennium
Building Systems. I have one dojo located at the YMCA in Ashley and one in
Auburn, Indiana. I am starting a martial arts team called Team Challenge, which
will compete on the NASKA (North American Sport Karate Association) competition
circuit. The following will explain the NASKA competition circuit and Team
Challenge’s requirements. Team Challenge is in need of a sponsor or several
sponsors to provide an opportunity to area youth and adult martial artists.
Team
Challenge will be comprised of a group of black belt martial artists, the best
this area has to offer. The main objective of Team Challenge, a non-profit
organization, is to give the opportunity for local martial artists to compete at
the next level. Without the necessary funding this is well out of reach for
these outstanding participants. With the added exposure these superb martial
artists have a chance to compete in other areas such as with the U.S. National
Team or even the Olympics.
Martial
arts has taken a giant leap forward in today’s society where people of virtually
any age, sex, or race have had their lives touched by martial arts in one way or
another. The movies are typically how most people are introduced to martial
arts, although this can be somewhat misleading compared to real martial arts.
There is one definite comparison, however, in that both of these areas take an
extraordinary person to succeed.
The
local martial arts tournaments are good tournaments, however, these tournaments
are limited in size and level of competition. The martial artists that will be
asked to join Team Challenge to compete on the NASKA tournament circuit will be
local martial artists excelling in these local tournaments. To get an idea of
the competition difference, consider size. Most local tournaments have an
estimated average of 60 to 70 competitors where the NASKA circuit tournaments
have an estimated average of 2000 competitors.
The
NASKA Competition circuit is a competitive circuit that holds many tournaments
all over the United States. The closest tournament is Blue Grass Nationals
located in Louisville, Kentucky. As a martial artist I try and compete in this
tournament every year along with my students. Traveling is a necessity to get to
all of these tournaments, so there is a need for sponsors because the costs can
be quite substantial.
Please
review the following pages for more information on Team Challenge. If there are
any further questions or if you are interested in sponsoring Team Challenge,
please call me at (260) 927-5897.
Thank you for your time,
Jermey Bowers, 6th Degree Black Belt
Instructor: