8/21/08
By: Sid Riley
"Ready on the right! ..Ready on the left! …OK – GET IT ON!"
It isn’t quite at the UFC level as seen in the popular martial arts combat television events, but it is the initial training required for development of the disciplines and multiple martial arts skills that lead to becoming a UFC combatant.
The passion of two local young men, the training center is now open and already teaching over forty students a variety of new skills. David Iturrino and Horacio Rodriguez opened the new school in July, fulfilling a goal they have been separately working towards for many years. The name of their marshal arts training school is "Supreme Combat".
A significant, yet unique aspect of their new training program is that it is Christian based. A centerpiece of their logo is a closed fist with the numbers 7-7-7 across the knuckles. "This signifies The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit, they explain". They stress this aspect of their training because both men feel that the disciplines of their sports have led them to having strong Christian beliefs after being tested earlier in their lives. They include a Christian base with their intensive training programs.
They also feel that it was divine intervention that led them to meet here in Jackson County and become friends when they both previously lived far apart. However, they both share a common lifetime interest in martial arts training.
Rodriguez began his martial arts training in judo at the age of nine. At the age of ten he won the national championship in his age bracket. He was the Greco Roman Wrestling Champion for the state of Florida on four occasions. He was the state runner-up in free style wrestling. Another part of his training regimen resulted in his breaking the Florida High School bench press record for his weight class. He bench pressed 255 pounds at a weight of 119 pounds.
It was his father, Dr. Rodriguez, who began encouraging his son to enter judo training at an early age. Today they both hold a black belt in the discipline. His father is assisting him in the new business venture and in his continuing training.
After graduation from South Miami High School in 2000, he lost interest in wrestling for a few years. During this period he went to work for the Department of Corrections in Marianna, transferred to Orlando and later returned to Marianna. He eventually became part of the staff at Marianna FCI.
He had been inactive for two or three years when one evening he was watching the NCAA National Wrestling Finals on television, and was surprised to see the winner in his weight division was a boy he had beaten badly in high school on four occasions. This inspired him to return to the sport.
He resumed training and entered the Law Enforcement Olympics and won the State Championship in 2002. In 2004 he won his way to the world finals in Las Vegas, and won the national titles in free style wrestling and Greco Roman.
His business partner in the new training center is David Iturrino, who was raised and attended high school in Brooklyn, New York. His uncle operated a martial arts academy there, and David has been immersed in the sport since he was five years old. His specialty is Brazilian Style Jiujutsu, in which after fifteen years of work he earned his black belt. He currently has black belts in three martial arts disciplines. He has a 41-3 overall record in combat competition.
After retirement his uncle moved to Orlando, and David moved there with him in order to continue his training. He later won the title of "Most Complete Fighter" in Puerto Rico. He has held several championships, including being kickboxing champion in his weight class. He is a born again Christian, and has always dreamed of opening a Christian based fight training school.
Their new academy offer programs for men, women, and children. These include:
- Rape prevention
- Body Sculpting
- Kids Martial Arts
- Adults Martial Arts
o Brazilian Jiujutsu
o Judo
o Kick Boxing
o Greco Roman Wrestling
o Boxing
o Free Style Wrestling
o General health and fitness
They are conducting classes daily with the programs beginning at 9:00 A.M. for mixed open classes, at 4:00 Kids Classes, at 5:30 Classes for Women, and at 6:30, Classes for Men. They are also developing special programs for law enforcement and corrections personnel.
They are located at 4215 Kelson Avenue in Marianna (The previous downtown Russell Athletics sewing plant facility.) They lease a portion of the building from Kerry Eaton who operates Mega Gym Gymnastics in the facility.
So, if you want to learn some new skills, and REALLY want to get into shape, contact David or Horacio at 209-5288 or 557-6410, or just stop by their gym on Kelson Avenue in Marianna.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like…Football
8/14/08
By Clint Cox
If you drive by the old Marianna High School football practice field (formerly known as Baltzell Field) you’ll see a flurry of activity in the afternoons. The Marianna Area Youth Football Association (MAYFA) has kicked off the 2008 football season with practices for the football players and cheerleaders. Brandt Spooner, one of the coordinators for MAYFA, said that approximately 90 players take to the field each afternoon. There are three teams grouped by ages. The A Team is made up of 11 and 12 year olds and is coached by Eddie Klotz and Greg Weston. The B Team is made up of 9 & 10 year olds and is coached by Scott Phelps, Steve Crumpler and Vernon Spencer. The C Team is comprised of 7 and 8 year olds and is coached by Marcus Kelly, C.J. Toal and Jimmy Spooner. The 2008 season will open with a Jamboree on September 6th at 10:00 am in Bonifay. The regular season starts the following Saturday (September 13th) with a road trip to take on Bainbridge.
The MAYFA Cheerleaders are also busy preparing for the upcoming season. Cheerleading coordinator Latisha Opfermann said that they have approximately 31 young girls that have come out for this season. The cheerleaders are grouped in similar age groups to that of the football teams. The cheerleaders are in the process of conducting a fundraiser and will be selling cookie dough, candles and coffee. They will be out selling these products through September 1st. Anyone interested in purchasing any of the items to help with this fundraiser can contact Latisha Opfermann at (850) 272-7389 or (850) 592-2426.
By Clint Cox
If you drive by the old Marianna High School football practice field (formerly known as Baltzell Field) you’ll see a flurry of activity in the afternoons. The Marianna Area Youth Football Association (MAYFA) has kicked off the 2008 football season with practices for the football players and cheerleaders. Brandt Spooner, one of the coordinators for MAYFA, said that approximately 90 players take to the field each afternoon. There are three teams grouped by ages. The A Team is made up of 11 and 12 year olds and is coached by Eddie Klotz and Greg Weston. The B Team is made up of 9 & 10 year olds and is coached by Scott Phelps, Steve Crumpler and Vernon Spencer. The C Team is comprised of 7 and 8 year olds and is coached by Marcus Kelly, C.J. Toal and Jimmy Spooner. The 2008 season will open with a Jamboree on September 6th at 10:00 am in Bonifay. The regular season starts the following Saturday (September 13th) with a road trip to take on Bainbridge.
The MAYFA Cheerleaders are also busy preparing for the upcoming season. Cheerleading coordinator Latisha Opfermann said that they have approximately 31 young girls that have come out for this season. The cheerleaders are grouped in similar age groups to that of the football teams. The cheerleaders are in the process of conducting a fundraiser and will be selling cookie dough, candles and coffee. They will be out selling these products through September 1st. Anyone interested in purchasing any of the items to help with this fundraiser can contact Latisha Opfermann at (850) 272-7389 or (850) 592-2426.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Loewen Retires From the Mound
8/8/08
By: Clint Cox
It’s been a long and tough road for former Chipola Indian Adam Loewen. After re-fracturing his elbow for the second time recently while pitching for the Baltimore Orioles, Loewen has announced that he plans to retire from pitching and become a position player again. The decision was made after consulting with the Orioles Team Physician Jon Wilckens and noted Orthopedic specialist James Andrews. "They believe that the only reason that my arm feels the way it does is strictly from throwing off the mound at a high intensity," Loewen said. "So if I was playing first base or outfield or just having time in between throws, not throwing 90-93 off a mound, then my arm’s going to be fine. It’s not going to bother me swinging the bat, and I won’t have to have surgery.
Loewen, the fourth overall pick in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, was a member of the 2003 Chipola Indians baseball squad. In addition to his pitching duties while at Chipola, Loewen was also played first base and outfield. He showed that not only could he pitch well but he swung a pretty good bat. During that season he batted .353 for the Indians. He knows however that was five years ago and that it will be hard to overcome that long of time spent without swinging the bat. But he also knows that it’s virtually his only choice.
"The good news," added Andy MacPhail, the team’s president of baseball operations, "is that we have a player here that, as an amateur, [was] very much a hitting prospect as well, and he has assured me that he can still hit and wants to hit. So the club is prepared to embark on that path with him, and once this season is over, we will start career No. 2 for Adam Loewen, which will be in the outfield somewhere in the Baltimore Orioles system, provided we can sort through a number of obstacles and technicalities that we have to agree upon to sort of get this career re-started."
"We talked about starting in the Instructional League," he said, "the decisions after that become self-evident after he plays. Maybe he’s ready for something very fast and maybe he does something on a slower track and maybe he needs more time. Those things become more evident as we approach them, but there is no sense in speculating now other than that we think the Instructional League is probably the right first step."
Loewen’s coach at Chipola, Jeff Johnson, said if anyone can pull off the career switch it is Loewen. "He is probably one of the few players that I know that has the ability and talent to be a big league pitcher or hitter. During his senior year before coming to Chipola he played for Team Canada and hit .700. But his size (6’5") and the fact that he is a left hander made the pitching route the most attractive to the scouts. He is a very good hitter and hopefully this will work out for him," said Johnson. Johnson also hinted that Loewen may come to Chipola later in August to work on his hitting before heading off to the Instructional League.
By: Clint Cox
It’s been a long and tough road for former Chipola Indian Adam Loewen. After re-fracturing his elbow for the second time recently while pitching for the Baltimore Orioles, Loewen has announced that he plans to retire from pitching and become a position player again. The decision was made after consulting with the Orioles Team Physician Jon Wilckens and noted Orthopedic specialist James Andrews. "They believe that the only reason that my arm feels the way it does is strictly from throwing off the mound at a high intensity," Loewen said. "So if I was playing first base or outfield or just having time in between throws, not throwing 90-93 off a mound, then my arm’s going to be fine. It’s not going to bother me swinging the bat, and I won’t have to have surgery.
Loewen, the fourth overall pick in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, was a member of the 2003 Chipola Indians baseball squad. In addition to his pitching duties while at Chipola, Loewen was also played first base and outfield. He showed that not only could he pitch well but he swung a pretty good bat. During that season he batted .353 for the Indians. He knows however that was five years ago and that it will be hard to overcome that long of time spent without swinging the bat. But he also knows that it’s virtually his only choice.
"The good news," added Andy MacPhail, the team’s president of baseball operations, "is that we have a player here that, as an amateur, [was] very much a hitting prospect as well, and he has assured me that he can still hit and wants to hit. So the club is prepared to embark on that path with him, and once this season is over, we will start career No. 2 for Adam Loewen, which will be in the outfield somewhere in the Baltimore Orioles system, provided we can sort through a number of obstacles and technicalities that we have to agree upon to sort of get this career re-started."
"We talked about starting in the Instructional League," he said, "the decisions after that become self-evident after he plays. Maybe he’s ready for something very fast and maybe he does something on a slower track and maybe he needs more time. Those things become more evident as we approach them, but there is no sense in speculating now other than that we think the Instructional League is probably the right first step."
Loewen’s coach at Chipola, Jeff Johnson, said if anyone can pull off the career switch it is Loewen. "He is probably one of the few players that I know that has the ability and talent to be a big league pitcher or hitter. During his senior year before coming to Chipola he played for Team Canada and hit .700. But his size (6’5") and the fact that he is a left hander made the pitching route the most attractive to the scouts. He is a very good hitter and hopefully this will work out for him," said Johnson. Johnson also hinted that Loewen may come to Chipola later in August to work on his hitting before heading off to the Instructional League.
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