Don’t mess with me—I know karate

Only once has sixth-degree black belt Matt Randall been forced to use his martial arts training outside the ring or classroom. He was at a bar in Durham while in college when he accidentally bumped into another patron, spilling some of his beer. The man became “quite irate” and grabbed Randall’s shoulder. In a flash, Randall swept the assailant’s arm and locked up his wrist. He then calmly advised the man that accosting him was a “bad idea.”

During a recent lesson at Matt Randall’s Black Belt Academy in Dover, Master Randall showed his students how to use similar techniques. During a demonstration for the class, Randall fended off a young student’s downward hammer fist with a high X block. “Now I can sweep his arm and trap it very easily,” he explained.

But Randall’s classes teach students to avoid confrontation whenever possible, dissolving potentially hairy situations before fists start flying.

Growing up in the area, Randall was a short, skinny bookworm with glasses—attributes that made him a common target for school bullies. The harassment got so bad that Randall started attending martial arts classes around the region. He eventually fixed on a tae kwon do school, he says, “because everybody was sweating more.”

Almost instantly after he began training, the bullying ceased. And Randall didn’t even have to raise a finger against his aggressors. It was the way he carried himself, the way he looked people in the eye.
“All of a sudden, I felt better about me. I felt confident,” Randall said after a recent class. “I don’t get bullied anymore.”

During his 27 years of practicing tae kwon do and mixed martial arts, Randall has competed in three world championship events. He earned bronze in the Soviet World Championships in Uzbekistan and won gold in North Korea in 1992. Even with that caliber of skill, he said, competing against 75 other countries can be a bit unnerving. “I don’t think anybody competes well without being nervous,” he said.

Randall started the Black Belt Academy in 1987 and now offers classes in Dover, Barrington and, most recently, Stratham. His wife Caz, also a black belt, is another instructor. Their 13-year-old is already a black belt and their two other children, ages 8 and 10, are well on their way. The family lives in Rollinsford.

Randall’s school welcomes students ages 4 and up, offering a “family schedule” with people of varying ages and skill levels participating in classes together. The academy has trained thousands of students and graduated more than 200 black belts from its 12-belt program. A recent class included everyone from 7-year-old Aydan Liberman, of South Berwick, Maine, to 61-year-old Gene Paltrineri, of Dover. A father and son were also taking lessons together.

The Black Belt Academy on Central Avenue played host to the Dover Chamber of Commerce’s business open house on Jan. 22. But Randall’s business is just one of dozens of martial arts schools in New Hampshire. Various schools in the area offer classes in karate, judo, jujitsu, kung fu, tae kwon do, tai chi, kickboxing and mixed martial arts for students of all ages.

The wealth of martial arts talent on the Seacoast is impressive. Guru Guy Chase, who runs the Guy Chase Academy of Martial Arts in Greenland, has traveled the world sharpening his skills in a number of disciplines.

Hailing from Seabrook, Chase studied Muay Thai kickboxing in Thailand and Boxe Savate in France. He spent close to a decade learning Bruce Lee’s teachings under one of Lee’s top students, Dan Inosanto, and trained under the late “God of Grappling” Karl Gotch.

“Guy has spent most of his life traveling the world,” said Brian Bradbury, an instructor at the Guy Chase Academy. “While other people were working in jobs and going to school, all he did was travel and train.”

“Guru Guy really is an unsung hero to a lot of people,” added Stephen Kennedy, one of Chase’s students and owner of Gilley’s PM Lunch in Portsmouth.

Kennedy takes most of his lessons from senior instructor Ken Long, who has been working with Chase since the early 1990s. He teaches Filipino Kali, Indonesian Silat and Muay Thai kickboxing. He is also a former amateur boxer and has competed in stick fighting and grappling tournaments.

Although there are a countless array of martial arts styles in the world, Long said most of them have more similarities than they have differences. “There’s only so many ways you can kick. There’s only so many ways you can punch. The differences come from the culture,” Long said.

For example, karate is practiced barefoot because students were traditionally trained in people’s houses, where they were required to take off their shoes. According to Bradbury, kung fu is based on the movements of animals and how they defend themselves in the wild. Some martial arts forms focus on footwork, while others revolve mainly around wrist locks and grappling.

The Guy Chase Academy is located in what looks like an old public works garage off Route 33 in Greenland. Inside, there is a large elevated ring and a matted floor with heavy punching bags suspended from the ceiling. An office upstairs is decorated with dozens of Chase’s certificates and awards.

Chase was ill during a recent lesson and couldn’t attend, but Long led a half-dozen students through an evening kickboxing class. Partners sparred barefoot with boxing gloves, punching and kicking each other at half-strength, while Long intervened to offer tips.

As students advance in martial arts training, what begins as a simple desire to defend oneself or get in shape often evolves into a way of life.

“You start wanting to just be a better person as a whole,” said Bradbury. “You get your body in better shape, you get your mind in better shape and then you just live better through the teachings.”

At the age of 7, Aydan Liberman has been studying martial arts under Matt Randall for about a year. His mother, Kristen, said the training has already helped her son “with respect, confidence—discipline in general.” She said he enjoys the class and expects him to continue taking lessons for at least three years.

Gene Paltrineri, a 61-year-old student who has been training under Randall for about two years, said skills learned in martial arts classes translate to almost all of life’s endeavors.

“The whole concept of martial arts, of always being in control, is very helpful in everything you do,” he said, noting that the same principles apply to the business world.

Fortunately, Paltrineri has not been forced to use his training to defend himself outside the classroom. Part of the reason might be that martial arts have given him an air of confidence that makes potential assailants think twice. “A person’s going to attack someone if they appear weak. They’re not going to attack someone who appears strong,” he said.

During Randall’s recent class, students practiced high and low X blocks before moving on to a variety of kicks. Volunteers from the audience held pads a few feet off the ground while students practiced front kicks, crescent kicks, hurricane kicks, turning kicks and side kicks. Later they worked on shoulder throws and shadowboxed with wooden knives, all while wearing helmets, mouth guards and gloves.
But Randall also instructed the students with exercises that had as much to do with the mind as they did the body. They recited mantras like, “Know what you want; have a plan (and a success coach); take consistent action; review your progress; renew your goals.” They also recited key points for building confidence and focus, yelling words like, “patience, body position, posture, facial expression, eye contact, attention, attitude,” each of which was accompanied by various hand and body signals.

Randall said his training technique starts by improving public speaking and classroom leadership skills. “Our goal is to make people confident first,” then teach them to fight, he said.

At least one of Randall’s students has become adept at both. William Jones, who has been studying under Randall for a mere 18 months, has already fought professionally in several competitions. A roofer by trade and a father of three, the 30-year-old Berwick, Maine, resident became interested in martial arts after watching a couple of professional fights in the area with friends.

Jones soon discovered Randall and began his mixed martial arts training, and he was in the ring within three months. His first fight, hosted by Reality Fighting, took place at Everett Arena in Concord in September 2007.

“My heart was beating real hard. I was sweating. I was nervous. I didn’t know what was gonna happen,” he said. “I had no idea. I didn’t know whether I was supposed to hurt the guy or what.”
But Jones quickly found himself dominating the match. He won with a technical knockout after three rounds. “I didn’t even get hit in that fight. It was really good,” he said.

Since then, it’s been much easier for Jones to step in the ring, even if he doesn’t wind up winning. “It’s just such a rush to get in there,” he said.

Jones broke his foot during a fight on Nov. 1, but he still won the match and got in the ring again two weeks later, on Nov. 14. During that fight, he got kicked in the leg and broke his tibia. Still, he continued fighting, ultimately losing when his opponent got him in a rear naked choke hold and forced a submission. His record in the Reality Fighting league is three wins and two losses.

Despite all the kicking, punching and choking, Jones has made lasting friendships with some of his opponents. Only a handful of the fighters are jerks who just want to hurt people, he said. “Everybody that I’ve fought I’ve become great friends with. I’m surprised with how good some of the people are,” Jones said.

His next fight will take place on May 2, although the location has not been determined.

Mixed martial arts competitions have gained in popularity in recent years, driven largely by the well-known Ultimate Fighting Championship based in Las Vegas. But with the added attention comes more controversy and adversity. Mixed martial arts competitions are banned in New York and several other states.

Mixed martial arts fights are permitted in New Hampshire, but there are several rules applying to any match in the state. Fighters are not allowed to elbow, hit below the belt, jab the eyes, grab the neck or hit in the back of the head, for example.

But Jones said organized martial arts competitions are hard to come by in New Hampshire. A new organization called the Global Fight League held its debut event at the now closed Ioka Theatre in Exeter late last year, and another competition has been scheduled for Feb. 21 at The Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord. Reality Fighting no longer holds competitions in New Hampshire, Jones said, keeping most of its events in Plymouth, Mass.

Randall has not fought competitively for many years, as his family and school have demanded all his attention. “The training schedule for world class competition is just horrendous,” he said.

But Randall’s martial arts training continues. He is working toward advancing to a seventh-degree black belt, learning a new body of technique. The leap from sixth- to seventh-degree black belt takes seven years, he said.

Although it remains largely inside local academies, Randall said there is a strong martial arts community on the greater Seacoast. And the various schools in the area tend to see eye to eye.
“We get along very well with all the schools in the area,” Randall said. “It’s not like the good ol’ days, where calling another school was an invitation for a fight,” he added with a chuckle.

Written by Matt Kanner
http://www.wirenh.com/

You don't want to mess with Miah if you can help it

TEENAGE BOXER Khaliq Miah is just two wins away from being crowned the best in Britain after making it through to the last four in the English Schoolboys ABA Championships.

Miah, of Northolt Boxing Club, defeated Essex and Eastern Counties Schools Champion Dean Porter in the quarter-finals of the competition last Sunday.

He earned a majority points decision over three, twominute rounds, taking him into the semi-finals which are due to take place in Surrey in two weeks.

Whatever happens there, the 14-year-old is guaranteed to be ranked in the top four in the country for his age and weight class.

Khaliq's dad, Shakeet, said: "It was quite a tough fight for him. He got a little bit marked up but apart from that I thought he won quite comfortably.

"The other boy was really strong and came at him.

"He actually fought his [Porter's] fight rather than doing his own boxing so that will be a lesson for the next round."

Miah began his run of success in the U57kg competition by winning the Middlesex title and then defeating an opponent from Southgate to become the London Champion.

He saw off the Home Counties Champion on January 31 and a week later got the better of Porter, from Colchester ABC, to ensure he at least equalled the top four ranking he achieved in his first season of boxing, two years ago. And Miah now has his sights set on number one after claiming a couple of other notable scalps in recent months.

Eight weeks ago he beat Repton's John Lee King, the 2008 British Champion and European silver medallist, and a month later got the better of another British Champion, Jackson Collins from the Priory Park club in Birmingham.

Miah, a member of the Northolt club that produced Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison, has only been boxing for three years since his father asked if he and his 11-year-old brother, Shahad, wanted to try boxing or Muay Thai kickboxing, which is Shakeet's speciality.

"My dad started encouraging me," said Miah, whose idols include American Floyd Mayweather and Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto. "I was just sitting at home doing nothing so I thought I might as well do something with my life.

"It's going well at the moment. "I like the running, I enjoy everything about it.

"Boxing is a very enjoyable, disciplined sport, it keeps you fit, keeps you off the streets and keeps you healthy."

Even the idea of getting hit does not put him off.

"You don't really feel anything because all the adrenaline is going through you," he went on. "But it feels better when you hit them!

"If you move your head you shouldn't really get hit and I don't stand in the same spot."

Shahad is beginning to follow in Khaliq's footsteps and is set for his second fight at Brunel University this week.

By Scott Newman
http://beta.ealinggazette.co.uk/