Every month we will turn the spot light on one student that we feel has had the most progress and sets the best example for young martial art students for that month, and at the end of the year one of these students will be named student of the year.

DECEMBER 2002

 Congratulations goes out to Rhett Mason Boatman for being chosen as the student to be spotlighted for December 2002 Rhett began his martial art career in April of 1995, two months before his 4th birthday.  During 1997 & 1998, Rhett had great training opportunities and would often train for 4 to 5 hours per day, five days per week. Rhett received his first black belt in sport karate on April 22, 2000 from World Champion Kyokushin-kai Master Johnnie Murphy. Rhett earned his second shodan in traditional karate on October 15, 2000 under Goshin Master Matthew Durant.  Rhett realized his true passion for the Chinese arts when he began training with Shaolin Temple Monks Shi De Shan & Shi Xing Hao.  Rhett currently trains under Madame Wang Ju Rong at the Taiji Kung Fu Health Academy in Houston, Texas. Rhett is presently studying International Competition Wushu, and Chen Taiji. Rhett is a multiple national forms champion, a Texas state weapons champion, and has been featured in several martial art publications.

Rhett began an acting career in 1999 and has been featured in commercials, television, and film.   See Rhett's promo shot (left) for the feature film "Duo" also starring Tommy Lister. Rhett has been an opening or featured act for various civic events, charity benefits, beauty pageants, body building contests, and sports & fitness expositions. Rhett is currently available for martial art and professional stunt demonstrations. For more information contact BTG Consulting at 832.274.5755.

Rhett along with his father RJ Boatman of BMA Wushu Organization travel throughout Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico speaking to school age children about right choices, peer mediation, conflict resolution, and prevention / resistance education programs.  Rhett captivates their attention with dynamic performances and then they both follow with a resurgent presentation. He is our choice for December 2002.

Congratulations goes out to Adam Jackson for being chosen as the student to be spotlighted for December 2002. Adam Jackson is a 15 year old black belt from Blytheville, Arkansas. He has been competing on the NASKA Circuit for three years and has been world champion in traditional weapons for two of those years.

He began his martial arts career at the young age of 7 when he joined a local martial arts school. He developed an interest in karate like most kids did from TV. Although mom and dad weren’t sure the interest would last, Adam proved he had a natural ability for it. He quickly began to enjoy training a lot and began competing in local tournaments throughout the mid-south. He was very interested in learning about weapons, especially the Bo and he sought special training with it.

In 1999 Adam began to compete on the Regional Sport Karate Circuit and moved on to NASKA during the year 2000 while he was still an underbelt. In his first full year as a black belt in 2001 he became the traditional weapons world champion at age 13 and continued to win the division in 2002 as a 14 year old. Since beginning tournaments, he has won over 400 trophies.

Adam has trained in several places, including Blytheville, Arkansas, Benton Kentucky, Memphis, Tennessee and Bowling Green Kentucky. He joined Team KIKS in Louisville, Kentucky in 2000 and has been a shinning member of the team for three years.

Martial Arts is very important to Adam and occupies much of his time. When he is not competing or practicing, he is often conducting seminars on the bo or performing for local groups, including nursing homes and the DARE organization. He appears each year on the local St. Jude telethon in Blytheville with his martial arts.

Adam feels that his training in Tae Kwon Do and Karate helps to keep in focused and goal oriented. As a freshman in high school, he maintains a 4.0 GPA and has already scored high enough on his ACT when he was a 7^{th grader to enter most colleges. He knows there are many challenges ahead and his martial arts training will help direct him. One of the nicest thoughts he says is that his accomplishments show that kids can be a positive influence and role model for others (kids and adults alike.) This submission comes from reporter Sensei Mark Huard snd our choice for December 2002.}

NOVEMBER 2002
 

Congratulations goes out to Alexander Abregana for being chosen as the student to be spotlighted for November 2002. Alexander is currently 16 years of age and attends Kapolei High School in Kapolei, Hawaii on the Island of Oahu. He participates in Football, Wrestling and Judo, news writing and student government.

Alex has been training in the martial arts at the age of 6 yrs. From 1996-98, Alex has won several Hawaii State Martial Arts Championships in Kumite, Forms and Weapons. He has been awarded the State of Hawaii Mayor's Award of Excellence and Inducted in the United States Martial Artists Association Hall of Fame. He also participates in Lion Dancing Competition.

Alex is currently a member of the Honor Society in Washington D.C. for High School Students and the United States Student Ambassador for High School Students. In 2003, he will be traveling to Europe as an Ambassador for High School Students representing the United States. He is also a 3.8 GPA student. He will be attending the University of North Dakota Aero Space Studies to become a pilot.

Congratulations goes out to Jeremy Abregana for being chosen as the student to be spotlighted for November 2002. Jeremy was the Hawaii State Champion in Forms and Kumite from the years 1996-1998. He is currently a freshmen at Kapolei High School in Kapolei, Hawaii. He participates in Football, Wrestling and Judo.

He has also received the Mayor award of Excellence for his accomplishments in the martial arts. Keep a sharp eye out for these brothers as they continue to accomplished great things in martial arts and in other areas of life, they definitely bring young martial artist to a different level. They are our choices for November 2002

OCTOBER 2002

Congratulations goes out to 7 year old Ashley for being the student spotlighted for October 2002. Ashley is a Brown Belt on her way to earning her Black Belt. She has competed in a few Martial Arts events and has been training for the past three years diligently. She is also looking forward to getting involved with modeling, acting, singing and learning the piano and guitar. She has been involved with a few fashion and modeling events. Some of her goals are to make commercial appearances, act in films and perform her music on stage. Her future is very bright and its just a matter of time before you will see her in your local theater or on your local television station so keep tuned to this up and coming star as she goes to light the world on fire. She is our choice for October 2002.

SEPTEMBER 2002 Future star 14 year old Ryan Pinkston from Highland, Maryland is a martial artist, dancer, and actor. In karate, he is a member of Team Charlie Lee, and also a member of the synchronized forms team Team Air with adult superstar Anthony Atkins. Team Air ended 2000 ranked #1 in team synchronized forms (and believe me, they deserve it!). Ryan also does a great job competing individually. He's one of the most entertaining to watch in forms competition. Though he's more well-known for open forms competition, Ryan consitently wins his traditional form division. In 2001, Ryan moved on to a new weapon, nunchuks, for his musical weapons division, and is now stretching his limits by competing in traditional weapons with the bo staff, all a testament to his wide range of talent. Also, Ryan recently appeared on a talented kids special on the Jenny Jones Show and won Ed McMahon's Next Big Star Talent Search this July. He wants to start an acting career, and after the Jenny Jones show aired, he got an agent to get him started on that. Congrats, Ryan! This kid is well on his way to becoming a star. He is our Choice for September 2002. UPDATE: Ryan has been Sync World Champions in 2000, 2001 and now 2002 (with only one NASKA tourney left they cant lose the title even if they didn't show up in Minnesota) He also is ranked #1 in traditional for the 2nd consecutive year, and him and Anthony Atkins have won titles in Guatemala City, Paris France and Quebec City. (all places of which they were invited to and brought  there by the promoters) Ryan's acting career has even taken off more than his martial arts. He has a top notch agent and manager in Beverly Hills and spends many days on the West Coast. He has auditioned for a ton of feature movies and already did a tv pilot for ABC. Visit Ryan at www.ryanpinkston.com ,support this young and upcoming superstar and keep tuned as he sets the Martial Arts and Entertainment World on fire. Check out Ryan on the front of Spar Magazine next month, and on ESPN2 on October 11th (11:30 pm EST) winning the ISKA Title for Sync teams. (The other team Demo is his brother Aaron)       AUGUST 2002 Congratulations goes out to Rachael for being the student spotlighted for August 2002. Rachael just earned her Black Belt Rank at the Parker Martial Arts Academy.  She has competed and ranked  high in several Martial Arts events. She makes it a point to participate in all the events that the Parker Martial Arts Academy is involved in both charitable and not. She has proven herself to have the highest level of Martial Arts dedication and earning her Black Belt is just the first step in her long journey. We consider her to be a excellent example to the young girls involved in martial arts showing them if they persevere nothing can stand in their way. We wish her the best of luck in her martial arts journey and we are sure that we will hear a lot more from her in the future. Rachael is our choice for August 2002.     JULY 2002 Congratulations goes out to Justin for being the student spotlighted for July 2002. Twelve year old Justin, has been a student of Karate since he was 4 years old. He competed in his first National Championships in 1996. Since then he has become a five time National Champion and a member of the U.S. Junior National Karate Team. In November 1999 he had the honor of representing the United States at the Junior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Now he has another opportunity to compete for his country. He has been chosen as a member of the U.S. Karate Team. A fine example of how involvement in Martial Arts has its rewards. He is our choice for July 2002.   JUNE 2002 Congratulations goes out to Anthony for being the student spotlighted for June 2002. Anthony has just earned his black belt at the age of 7, that is a major accomplishment within itself. He has also ranked high in several major tournaments while still making time to enjoy baseball and other sports. He is a prime example of what a young martial artist should be, with the consistent support of his family and friends we are sure that this is only the begining for him. We wish him the best of luck in the future. He is our choice for June 2002.

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