2014 Korean Martial Arts Festival

If you are involved with Korean martial arts, Crestview, Florida, was the place to be the weekend of April 4-6, 2014. This three day event included training sessions Friday evening, Training sessions, lunch and dinner banquet all day Saturday, and more training on Sunday morning. Nearly 100 people gathered to experience the awesome 8^th Annual Korean Martial Arts Festival hosted by Chief Master Thomas Gordon.

The talent and years of experience CM Gordon put together to instruct at this event is phenomenal. Look at this lineup of instructors and session topics:

These were the six key note sessions:

Grand Master Inwan Kim – Leave the Flashy Stuff for Demonstrations

Grand Master Ken MacKenzie – Defense Against Hapkido

Grand Master Geoff Booth – Improvised Weaponry with a Focus on Flexible Weapons

Grand Master Shelton Moreland – Hapki Conversion Technique – Entering and Centering

Chief Master Marlin Sims – Knife Throwing

Grand Master Jimm McMurray – Flex Weapon vs. The Exposed Knife

These sessions were presented two at a time, but each instructor did his session twice during the weekend so people could be sure and attend the ones they wanted.

Grand Master Troy Trudeau – Cane Techniques

Chief Master Kevin Janisse – Developing Your Hindsight

Chief Master Thomas Gordon – Hard Style Knife Defense

Master Steve Kincade – TeukGong Military Shovel Techniques

Master Alain Burrese – Lessons From the Street

Master Chris DuFour – Dynamic Kicking

Master Calvin Longton – Long Gun Disarming and as Impact Weapons

Master Greg Bledsoe – Pocket Short Stick

There were also special Junior Seminars taught Friday and Saturday for the younger participants. These included:

Chief Master Kevin Janisse – Cool Techniques Made Easy

Grand Master Ken MacKenzie – Redirect the Bully

Grand Master Shelton Moreland – Taekwon-Do Skill Sets

Master Calvin Longton – Escaping the Ground (worse case scenarios)

Master Chris DuFour – Dynamic Blocking and Kicking

Grand Master Troy Trudeau – Breakaways and Escapes

Master Wesley Wing – No Retreat Sparring Combos

Grand Master Jimm McMurray – Circle of Bullies

Besides the chance to learn from these outstanding instructors, participants were provided ample opportunity to network and interact with each other and instructors between sessions, during lunch, and especially at the Saturday night banquet.

Above all, the most satisfying element of this weekend is the camaraderie between everyone in attendance. Egos, if anyone had one, were checked at the door, or left at home. It was an atmosphere of sharing, training, and friendship. This includes those who have known each other for decades and those who just met this year. CM Gordon must be commended for putting together such an outstanding weekend even that will be celebrating its 9^th year next April. If you are thrifty, you’ll register early like some have already done and save some money on registration fees. Regardless of when you register, put April 10-12, 2015 on your calendar to attend the 9^th Annual Korean Martial Arts Festival. For more information on registration, visit KMAF.