Karate, Ju-Jitsu tourney scheduled

    The 17th annual Graves Summer Kick Off Karate and Ju-Jitsu Tournament takes place at the Houlton High School gym this Saturday, June 14.    Events get under way at 10:30 a.m., with kids point sparring and form kata competition running concurrently in eight rings. Martial arts competitors from at least 20 Maine and Canadian dojos have entered competitors, and ages of entrants will range from 5 to 65, with belt levels from white belt beginners to various degrees of black belt.
    More than 240 trophies and 100 medals will be awarded throughout the day to top-placing competitors in point sparring, form kata, weapons kata, ju-jitsu throwing pairs and power impactor. Each event will have several divisions set up by sex, age, weight, and experience level (belt color) to assure fairness and produce the most challenging matches. One head judge and four referees, all black belts, will oversee each ring to ensure safety and enforce the same guidelines for all competitors. Eight rings will run concurrently throughout the day, offering plenty of action to keep spectators entertained.
    All of the black belt fighting and ju-jitsu divisions will culminate in grand championship matches to determine the best of the best. Men and women black belts will have the opportunity to spar and demonstrate high level throwing and falling techniques against other random opponents. The top winner in each event will be awarded a four-foot tall, three-tier, four post, ornate trophy with an engraved plaque, each sponsored by a regional business.
    York’s of Houlton, a local auto dealer and vehicle service center continues their support of the Graves’ tournament and remains the only business to have contributed a grand championship trophy for all 17 Graves’ events. This year’s award from York’s will go to the ultimate winner from men’s black belt light, middle and heavyweight fighting events.
    This year’s women’s black belt point sparring grand championship trophy is provided by TD Banknorth, with branches throughout Maine.
    Patrick Hunt, a well known Island Falls attorney, provides a grand trophy for the fifth straight year, this one for Black Belt Senior men’s point sparring. Jerry’s Thriftway of Island Falls sponsors the pair of giant trophies to be awarded to the duo of black belts that win the pairs Ju-Jitsu grand championship.
    A black belt pair from one of the nine regional Graves’ schools of martial arts have won grand championship honors for the past five years, so it will be interesting to see who will come out on top this year of several new pairings in the competition.
     Last June, four of the six grands were garnered by county competitors, and local martial artists are hoping to improve that number this weekend. All signs point to an exciting day of events.
    General admission opens to the public at 9:30 a.m. and all martial arts fans, as well as folks who have never experienced one of these thrilling competitions, are invited to attend. A concession stand co-sponsored by Hedrich vending and Pepsi will offer a wide variety of food and beverages throughout the day’s events.
    Plan on attending Aroostook’s largest and oldest martial arts tournament from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday at Houlton High School .