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Serving Pikes Peak Community College students |
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By Terry Biggs
Stacy Tartt was down four points to one. With a black belt and a member of the PPCC Karate Team, he fought back to even the score at five a piece. The next point would win the match. Sparring back and forth, both opponents looked at the judge. He didn’t say, "Stop the match," and the opponent hit Tartt and scored the next point, winning the match. Ultimately, the opponent won the whole tournament.
Tartt and teammates, Dan Ciolek, Heather Hibbard, Dawn Heathcock, Jennifer Nichols, Alicia Kerr, Buck Wilson, Melissa Kerwin, Craig Mayher, Gregory Farinelh, Chrisopher Makee, Anthony Knight, James Anderson, Phillip Platt, Brain Picklesiner, Nick Hermanson, Matthew Snow, Mike Soliz, and Leslie Demoss, competed last month against 70 to 80 schools across the United States. Only individual awards were handed out.
Five PPCC members finished first, including Tratt in sparring, Nichols in kata (forms) and sparring, Snow in kata, and Marshall in forms. Anderson finished second in grapping; Hibbard and Kerr finished third in sparring. Hibbard also finished third in kata, while Pratt finished third in grapping. Other PPCC winners include Heathcock who finished fourth in kata, sparring. Snow finished fourth in sparring. Soliz and Kerwin finished fourth in forms. They will fight again in Kansas City later this month.
Each year tryouts are held on the first week of school in the PPCC gym. A student has to have a minimum 2.0 grade point average to participate. There are 20 spots available on the team.
“You h ave to have the heart to want to do it,” said Kyoshi Terry L. Bryan, who coached the Pikes Peak team for three years. Bryan has been in martial arts for more than 40 years and is now a 9th-degree black belt.
“Discipline is what you are learning,” said Tartt. “You don’t sweat the small stuff. Practice helps a competitor win a match, and it also helps in life in general."
The karate team practices three times week. The mandatory practices are on Monday and Wednesday at 4 p.m.in the PPCC Gym. The optional practices are held on Friday in a different location throughout Colorado Springs. Coach Bryan also has a karate class on Monday and Wednesday at 3 pm. This class and practices are held at the PPCC gym.
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