Eastchester Martial Arts Students Excel At Competition

After competing for the first time in the kickboxing and Brazillian Jiu Jitsu division of the Danbury Takedown 2011 Tournement, students from (WMAA) in Eastchester took home gold medals triumphantly.

The WMAA competitive team trains under the guidance of Juan Ortega, the Academy's new stand-out instructor, who is also an avid martial arts competitor and a student of the legendary Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist, Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro.

The WMAA students, ranging in age from 8-13 years, were among several young competitors from martial arts schools across the tri-state region and the team trained steadily for three months leading up to the event.

All of the students were encouraged to balance their martial arts training with school work and other activities, as encouraged by their instructors and owners of the academy, Chuck and Kara Giangreco.

"We're very proud of our team, all of whom learned to overcome the inherent fear and anxiety of facing an unknown opponent and still compete at a high level with excellent sportsmanship," said Giangreco.

"In martial arts competitions, the students train as a team, but unlike team-based sports, the athlete's success or failure is based on their individual performance."

The team included: Isabella Amico, Harrison Boyer, Trevor Frey, Hayden Hunt, Edouard Khawley, Dylan Kipp, Matt Kuo, Colin Loughran, Ryan Martin, Ryan McLane, Dan Rodriguez, Jack Schlamkowitz, and Zac Shearon.