The group at the Gracie Humaita North Carolina In-House Tournament. Photo: Personal Archive
GMA Gracie Humaita North Carolina (Basulto Academy of Defense) held its annual Fall In-House Tournament on Saturday Nov. 16 in downtown Waynesville. Nearly sixty Jiu-Jitsu practitioners were in attendance along with family and friends to see the exciting sportive aspect of this self-defense art.
The tournament is organized to offer a chance for the children in the academy’s Young Warriors program to be exposed to their first Jiu-Jitsu competition. The event was also an opportunity for the young Ji- Jitsu students and their parents to learn the rules and etiquette of the sport, in which competitors are awarded points for takedowns and positional dominance or can win by submitting their opponent with a joint lock or choke.
In addition to all the mat action, a band formed by the academy’s students provided a musical background to the proceedings. Eric Peavy, Caden Painter and Kendrick Carpenter were named the “Acai All-Stars” and jammed for the duration of the tournament with a percussion cameo by Prof. Armando himself!
Here are the results of the tournament:
White belt ages 7 & 8 – Gold: Elijah Park, Silver: Everett Mahan, Bronze – Jack Briggs
White belt ages 12 & 13 – Gold: Daniel Birmingham, Silver: Matteo Foglio
Grey belt Featherweight – Gold: Parx White, Silver: Torin Pinault, Bronze: Kale Stephenson and Armand Basulto
Grey/yellow belt lightweight – Gold: Martin Tox, Silver: Christian Basulto, Bronze: Landon Yarrington and Tegan Laursen
Grey belt middleweight – Gold: Graham McLelland, Silver: Cameron Gerlach
Yellow belt – Gold: Levi Tox, Silver: Walker White, Bronze: Reilly Laursen
More information about Basulto Academy of Defense can be found at: www.gracienorthcarolina.com
The Acai All-Stars band. Photo: Personal Archive
