DISNEY MARTIAL ARTS FESTIVAL 2008
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Combaton Championship Games At Disney Martial Arts Festival
Combaton will be added as a discipline to this year’s Disney Martial Arts Festival in October.
The exposure that Combaton and the Combaton teams will gain from being in this event cannot be over-estimated. Combaton was first featured at the Disney Festival as a demonstration sport two years ago. We had the opportunity to demonstrate on Friday evening inside the Milkhouse for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Nick, Josh, Brian and Seth outside the Milkhouse
At the last Disney Festival in October we were placed outside between the Milkhouse and baseball stadium on Saturday where it rained intermittently, sometimes pouring for significant periods. Not willing to give up, we stayed throughout the day.
Ninja coach/player Brian Schneider and three of his Ninja players (Josh Stetchenfinger, Seth McKinley and Nick Richartz), demonstrated plays and willingly explained the rules to any and all who stopped to watch. Later they practiced trick kicks on the goal poles to entertain onlookers between showers.
We had a good time just hanging out under cover during the worst rainstorms. It was exciting just to be there. CJ Vickers and Gabe Allen stopped by at the end of a long day and played dressed in suits after a day of officiating. Some of the videos are still on our YouTube Channel. (www.youtube.com/combaton)
Our refusal to let adversity stop us earned the respect of Rob Hartman, one of the co-directors of the festival, and opened the way for this year’s participation as a discipline. But without our association with Master David Turnbull, we would not be making this announcement. He opened the door to the Disney Martial Arts Festival due to his reputation as AAU Tae Kwon Do’s President for the state of Florida and his past affiliation with the festival. As the first school owner to have a comBATON Team, David Turnbull is an integral part of the sport.
The games will more than likely take place on Friday evening, the first day of the festival. This is so that players, coaches and officials participating in other disciplines during the event do not have a conflict, since Saturday is the featured day.
By becoming a discipline, Combaton will gain legitimacy and exposure from an international audience. This will help to create the buzz that we need to create significant interest in and outside of Florida. We will keep you updated as more information comes in.
MVP for Miami Tournament of Games
Hollywood, FL – There were some great plays made from players on each team in each division on January 12th, however there was one player that consistently stood out and made plays on both defense and offense. He is number 3 from the Samurai division 1 team: Antwaun Wilson, the Most Valuable Player.
Antwaun High Flyer
Every sport has an ideal physical stature for specific positions. Antwaun fits this dynamic for comBATON. He has the ideal height, weight, speed, and power. Even more importantly, he has a special passion for the game.
Some may think he is cocky and over-zealous. Actually, he is just very competitive. From an observer’s point of view, he is exciting to watch. At the Miami games, he scored four different
times, sometimes just bulling his way straight through from the strike zone line or by gracefully receiving the baton and flying in from the side and scoring.
But all of his plays were not outstanding. One play he threw the baton to a spot anticipating a teammate’s move, however no one was there to receive it. He immediately reacted by taking himself out of the game (his competitive nature). He was back in later, and didn’t make the mistake again. He is a quick learner.
While attending the Full Sail School for the Recording Arts, Antwaun, trained with Master Turnbull (the Samurai coach) at the Lake Mary YMCA. He later relocated back to his home in the Miami area and is helping to manage the school where his Master was killed outside his dojang. This tragedy still remains unsolved. Story on Master Young Soo Do
It’s All in the Details
For those of you that don’t already know, Combaton has a utility patent on the game and the equipment. Not that we have to worry now, but once the sport takes off, it will prevent anyone from just starting a team or a league. This protection will keep the sport strong as it grows from year to year.
New Operations Manager for Combaton
Kitty, Steve’s wife, will be taking over many of the daily chores of Combaton. She has been doing all of the blogging and other administrative duties for Combaton. In addition, she will handle various aspects of production for the Tournament of Games and coordinate with the teams. Additionally, she will assume responsibility for mat rentals, venue contracts, budgeting, vendor setups, and so on.
Kitty Breed
My Space Pages For Teams
Kitty has designed a MySpace page for each of the active teams. Team coaches have the option of maintaining the pages or they can e-mail updates to her (combaton1@yahoo.com) and she will take care of it.
www.myspace.com/combatonsamurai 
www.myspace.com/combatontigers 
www.myspace.com/combatonspartans 
www.myspace.com/combatonlionheart 
Croix and Crusty
Wendi Turnbull is Combaton’s official photographer. Her company name is 2 Dog Photography. The name comes from their two dogs Crusty and Croix, whom many of you know. Wendi comes from a journalism family and is also the editor of the Combaton Program booklet that we hand out at the Tournament of Games.
She has a natural gift for composing pictures, and has a portfolio that ranges from wildlife to sports. Her website is currently under construction. As soon as it completed and online, we will post it on our website as a link.
To purchase Combaton photos of varying sizes e-mail Wendi at: wen2dog@aol.com
Player Spotlight – Joelian Mislay From the Spartans
The Division 3 (11 thru 13) Spartans are undefeated. This is due in large part to Joelian Mislay (#5) who has been making it a habit to steamroll on opening attacks. At least twice in each game Joelian kicked an opponent clean off his feet with the momentum of a full run flying side kick. His development as a martial artist has been elevated to a new level.
Joelian
Joelian originally started with the Ninja under Coach Brian Schneider’s team. He never missed a practice and adapted very well to the game. His father Joel also was a player for the Ninja and played in the very first Combaton game against the Samurai in 2005. Joelian now trains at Regis Lima’s Martial Arts school in Port Richey. His teammates are the Johnson brothers, Nathan and DJ. All three compliment the other and are very effective in scoring and defending as a team. Paul Ruby took over coaching duties for Regis at the Orlando games and coached the time into an impressive win in overtime. They had their toughest challenge to date with the Tigers squad from Master Dejesus’ school in Pembroke Pines. It was a great game to watch.
The Spartans Division 3 are undefeated!