NAGA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GRAPPLING COMPETITION -
04/10/10 and 04/11/10
Team AMMA does it again! At this year’s
NAGA Tournament, Team AMMA proved to be some of the most impressive
competitors in one of the largest international grappling contest. With nine
medals under their belt, Team AMMA is on the road to becoming a legendary
team in the martial arts!
STORM Team member and regular competitor
Isabella LaPolla fought in the Intermediate category, winning her first
match on points and losing her second in a close battle on points. Earning a
Silver medal, she decided to step up and compete in the Expert category. In
a hard fought match, Isabella lost by submission but earned a Silver medal
in the toughest division for her age!
Second-time competitor Sabrina Krasner
stepped up and fought two hard battles, winning the first by points. Her
second match, with a very experienced competitor resulted in a win for
Sabrina and a Gold medal!
AMMA Team member Apurva Memani fought a
valiant battle against an incredible grappler, losing a close match on
points. Amazing job, Apurva, we were all proud of your demonstration of
Black Belt Excellence!
David "The Doctor" Kumar proved
himself once again at this year’s NAGA competition. Winning one match and
losing a second in a very difficult division, earning a Silver Medal and a
very impressed "Osu!" from Team AMMA!
Another regular and very impressive
competitor, Matt Kumar lost a close first match but came back determined in
his second contest, winning by submission! This amazing victory earned Matt
a Bronze Medal!
STORM Team Captain Dylan Kessler entered
a very difficult division and after a hard battle, lost on points. This
earned him a Silver Medal, showing another reason why this Black Belt is one
of the young leaders of AMMA.
Newest adult member of TEAM AMMA Greg
Politi, who only joined the dojo one month ago, competed against a larger
and far more experienced opponent. Winning on points and taking the other
grappler down at will, he fell victim to an advanced technique and lost by
submission. Team AMMA anticipates an amazing future for their newest member!
First-time competitor Mario LaPolla
fought two matches in the 40+ age group. In his first match he won 6-4
against a long-time competitor. His second match was a close one, but he
lost in the end, 6-4, missing a chance to tie by mere seconds. Earning a
Silver in his first outing, Team AMMA looks forward to even more victories
in the future!
Long-time Team AMMA member, Steven Siegel
entered two categories, no-gi grappling as well as gi grappling. In a series
of close matches against competitors who only train in that form of
fighting, Steven earned two very impressive Bronze medals to add to his
growing collection of incredible victories!
The staff at AMMA would like to thank all
the parents, families and friends who came out to cheer our students. Your
spirit helped lift Team AMMA to an incredible series of victories and
spectacular demonstrations of Black Belt Excellence! OSU!!!!
The
November 14th NAGA Grappling Tournament proved to be great
success for Team Amorosi! AMMA Team Leader Steve Siegel competed in the very
competitive Gi Division and took the Gold! He also competed in the No-Gi
Division and earned a Bronze Medal! Dave Hellar, a newcomer to AMMA competed
in the 50 years and over division and with an amazing show of skill, earned
the Gold! First time competitor Mike D’Urso was placed in a very difficult
division with a more than 30 others. His first match resulted in a
submission win with a shoulder triangle in 3 minutes 10 seconds. His second
match resulted in a submission victory at 2 minutes 40 seconds from a neck
choke. Mike’s third match was a points victory after a controversial
decision by the referee, awarding Mike’s opponent two points after a
takedown out of bounds. Mike won the overtime with a takedown, taking the
match, 2-0. His next two matches resulted in close losses, resulting in a 4th
Place out of 30. Great job Team AMMA.
This
was AMMA’s first time competing in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC), an
elite tournament with some of the best competitors from across the country.
Dai-Sempai
Steve “The Silent Assassin” Siegel, competing at intermediate level for
this competition, was able to come in at 190lbs for light heavyweightweight class.
He
was supposed to compete in Men 35+, but they consolidated the division with
the Men 18+.This made for a
much tougher competition.Steve's
first match was against 25-year-old wrestler from Hofstra University.
The wrestler initiated a take
down and Steve pulled guard. Steve locked up a strong submission attempt
with a Kimura. After a successful sweep Steve landed in top mount. At the
halfway mark of the six-minute match, they started to award points. His
opponent swept him and then they scrabbled back to their feet. The wrestler
hit another takedown and Steve tried many submission attempts, constantly
pivoting his hips.It was a battle for the duration of the match, however Steve
lost on points.
Shihan
was proud of his performance and the challenge in this open age division and
higher skill level.
NAGA
BATTLE AT THE BEACH - 08/01/09
Mike Hernandez competing at Battle at the Beach!
NORTHEAST GROUNDFIGHTING
CHAMPIONSHIP - 05/02/09
Sempai Steve
"The Silent Assassin" Siegel, once again was back in competition.
Steve entered the Men’s No-Gi Intermediate division. He lost his first
match 2-0, but defeated his second opponent with a kimora submission. That
won him the bronze medal. Sempai Steve will be testing for black belt this
month. Great job and good luck at the test. Osu.
NAGA Grappling
Competition - 04/04/09
The NAGA Grappling Tournament on April 5, 2009
was an outstanding demonstration of the spirit and determination of all the
AMMA students who participated! Shihan, Deshi, Sempai Steve Seigel and Mario
LaPolla were on hand along with a huge contingent of parents and family to
cheer on the AMMA Fight Team! All kids competed in the no Gi divisions.
Sempai Steve
"The Silent Assassin" Siegel, a long-time AMMA Fight Team member,
entered the Men’s No-Gi Beginners and demonstrated more skill and strength
than ever. Taking on all comers, he dominated a Tiger Schulman and a Renzo
Gracie fighter to earn a Gold in this very tough division. Steve then
entered the Men’s Intermediate Gi Division, fighting and defeating every
opponent for a second Gold Medal in this tournament!
Isabella
“Zizzer” LaPolla, who moved up to theGirl’s Beginners division was in a tough and technical this time.
She won her first match with a powerful Mummy and tapped her opponent out in
a little over two minutes. In her second round she fought a close battle
with a very experienced opponent, transitioning from a leg triangle into an
arm bar that caused the other girl to tap out and win the Gold for the
Zizzer!
Anthony “Ant”
Lee returned to competition in the teenage division after a long time away
and demonstrated he still possessed unbelievable skills. In his first round
he totally dominated his opponent and moved to an impressive victory. His
next match was a close battle with a powerfully strong fighter that he lost,
but gave his opponent the fight of a lifetime. Ant earned a Silver medal and
proved why he’s one of AMMA’a premier fight team members.
Matt Kumar won his
first match on points in a hard fought contest that went the distance. In
his second round against a highly skilled opponent, Matt found himself
fighting on guts and determination, but eventually tapped out from an arm
bar. His performance earned him the Silver and the respect of all of his
division.
Sabrina “ ”
Krasner, a newcomer to grappling, entered her first fight against the very
talented daughter of the President of Naga himself! Sabrina forced her
opponent to work for every point, losing but impressing everyone viewing
this close watched match. In her second round, Sabrina fought with true AMMA
spirit and dominated, winning her match and earning a Silver medal in her
first attempt at competition!
Tomasz
“ “ Radomski entered a highly competitive division and fought with
amazing determination and spirit and attempted many of the submission
attempts taught to him by Shihan. He earned an impressive first round
victory and then lost by points in the second round. Earning a Silver medal,
Tomasz proved to be a powerful force for the AMMA Fight Team!
Dai
Sempai Jon Radomski, Mikal Radomski, Mike Hernandez, Ryan Coia, David Kumar-
All competed. Shihan and the other instructors wish to congratulate all the
students who entered NAGA this year, you demonstrated true Black Belt
Excellence! OSU!!!
AMMA INTRAMURAL TOURNAMENT
(AMMA-IT) - 03/21/09
Congratulations to all the AMMA competitors who participated in the
AmmA-IT on Saturday. We are very proud of all those who challenged
themselves and the other competitors. You all did an outstanding jog. Osu.
Team Amorosi once again makes a stellar appearance at NAGA. Five out of
nine team members took home medals.
Upcoming star,
Giuseppe
Tedeschi fought in the Super-Heavyweight
division taking home the gold. Joe won his first match with a key lock at
1:30 of the first round. He than did a repeat in his second match,
submitting his opponent at 2:30. He fought a huge player for the gold.
They battled on their feet for most of the round until Joe took the larger opponent
down with a wizzer. Final score 4-2. Awesome job.
Once again,
veteran fighter and Team Amorosi member Steven Siegel fought in the Open
Division taking silver. He won his first match 6-2. Steve totally dominated
his second opponent 10-4. Though he battled hard for the gold, Steve had to
fight with out much rest from his last match and fell short of wind getting
caught in a shoulder triangle.
Chase Hookway, is fast becoming a prominent figure within Team Amorosi.
He competed and took the silver medal in his second competition adding 225
points for the Team. Keep in mind Chase has been training for a short two
months. You are definitely setting the pace for all Team Amorosi members. We
are proud of your performance and leadership spirit.
Team
Amorosi made another appearance at the October 6th
Grappler’s Quest tournament with impressive results! Grappler’s Quest,
one of the larger grappling tournaments in the world, is the site of some of
the best fighters in the United States and abroad.
New
team Amorosi member Giuseppe Tedeschi fought in the Super-Heavyweight division,
taking on a larger and more experienced opponent in his first match. Joe,
who only took up grappling three months ago, defeated his opponent 9-0 in an
spectacular victory! In his second match he was winning 6-0 when his
opponent, a fighter with over one year experience, caught Joe in a kimora
and earned a submission. Joe took third place in his debut competition, and added
125
points for Team Amorosi.
Great start!
Another
new Team Amorosi fighter Chase Hookway, who only took up grappling two
months ago, surprised everyone by earning seven points against a much more
experienced fighter who had over one year fighting experience. Chase, who is
still a beginner fighter, used up his energy earning those points and was
exhausted by the last minutes of the fight. He lost the fight 9-7, but made
everyone proud with his strong first showing.
Veteran
Team Amorosi fighter Steven Siegel fought in the Open Division, one of the
toughest groups in any grappling tournament. His opponent was much younger
and more experienced. Steve constantly tried to hit submission moves, and
nearly submitted his opponent with a kimora. Steve lost the fight, 7-2, but
made all of Team Amorosi proud of his spirit and determination throughout
the match.
Congratulations
to all members of Team Amorosi who competed for an excellent showing at
Grapplers Quest! You demonstrated true AMMA fighting spirit in each of your
bouts and made Shihan and the dojo proud!
Competition Photos
