Mobile Martial Arts students clean up at Cincinnati tournament
Mobile Martial Arts on Main Street sent 14 students to Cincinnati on April 28 to compete at the Ahn Classic and they returned with 17 trophies. Contributed | Beacon
COSHOCTON – Mobile Martial Arts on Main Street sent 14 students to Cincinnati on April 28 to compete at the Ahn Classic and they returned with 17 trophies.
“We couldn’t be prouder of them,” said Jim Wilson. He and Brad Birkhimer are the instructors at Mobile Martial Arts. “The kids far exceeded what we expected.”
He and Birkhimer invited all of their students to compete as long as they felt they weren’t at risk for injury.
“The oldest competitor was 16 and the youngest was six and she was a beast,” Wilson said. “She mercied all three people she fought. She wanted it bad.”
One of the competitors was 11-year-old Courtney Barnhart who took first in board breaking and second in sparing.
“I don’t like big crowds so it was kind of stressful, but overall it was fun,” said Barnhart who is a black belt. “I like the social aspect of it, learning kicks and to defend myself. It’s something I look forward to each week.”
The students competed with more than 550 competitors at the Taekwondo tournament and Madi Brink was one of the lucky ones who came home with a first place in sparing.
“It was a good experience and I got to see how I’m doing,” said the 10-year-old green belt. “It was a pleasure being there.”
Brink has been taking lessons at Mobile Martial Arts for about a year and a half now.
“My mom wanted me to come to learn self defense and I ended up loving it here,” she said. “I like learning and going up against people.”
Kylie Roderick, who is 11-years-old and a purple belt, said this was her first competition in a while.
“It’s really fun to go compete because you get to go and see how you’ve improved.”
Roderick came home with a first place in board breaking and sparing.
Ellie Tompkins, a 14-year-old red belt, came home with first place in sparing after an intense match.
“We were tied and then the first clean shot won,” she said. “Sparing is fun.”
Jessica Brooks, a 15-year-old blue belt, came home with third in board breaking and second in sparing.
“It was overwhelming at first, but it ended up being really fun,” she said.
Mobile Martial Arts offers classes year round to children and adults. For more information on classes, look Mobile Martial Arts LLC up on Facebook.
Category: High School, Sports, Youth
