Local Martial Arts instructor is Three Time Hall of Fame Award Winner
Local martial arts instructor, Kevin Seaman is at it again. Seaman was recently inducted into a Martial Arts Hall of Fame for the third time. The formal dinner and induction ceremony was held at the Tropicana hotel's Grand Ballroom in Atlantic City, NJ. This was said to be the largest martial arts event of its kind, and was a virtual who's who of the martial arts masters, authors, and film stars with over 1,200 in attendance.
Kevin Seaman was inducted after nomination and careful review by a panel of officers on the board of directors of the AMA Hall of Fame. Sited for his outstanding achievements and contributions to the martial arts, Seaman was presented with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" marking his 30 years in the martial arts. Seaman noted, "Most of my life I have strived to improve myself and the lives of others around me. I just really love to teach, it's one of the most wonderful gifts I've been given and I'm very thankful for it. I have had the incredibly good fortune to have studied with some of the greatest martial arts masters of all time and I enjoy sharing it." The 47 year old Seaman says, he has "taught the martial arts to literally thousands throughout the years."
In edition to the awards ceremony, Seaman accompanied a select few film stars, authors, and celebrities in an autograph and book signing. Seaman signed copies of his recently released book "Jun Fan Gung Fu, Seeking the Path of Jeet Kune Do" based on Bruce Lee's Martial arts style, for those in attendance.
In addition to teaching at his 5,300 sq.ft. Cortland School
the East West Martial Arts Academy, Seaman also teaches in the Physical
Education Department at Cornell University. There he teaches credit PE
courses in martial arts and heads the boxing program, having taught on
the staff now for nine years.
It was a night of "firsts" this past March 28 at an amateur Thai Boxing championship held at the East West Martial Arts Academy at Tompkins Street in Cortland. It was the first time that Academy student Jessica McCall of Cortland competed in an International rules Kickboxing match; in fact, it was the first time women competed in a championship sponsored by the Academy (this is the third such event). It was the first time that Academy instructor Erik Russell, a local fighter, competed in an official Shoot Wrestling match; in fact, it was the first time such a match was held in New York state. It was the first time SUNY Cortland student Austin Randolph and Cornell University student Guy Geller, both East West Academy students, competed in an official Thai Boxing match. Lastly, it was the first time that all East West Academy entrants, including Joe Stritmater of Cortland and Michael Moreno of Tunkhannock (PA), won their respective matches.
Competitors at the tournament came from: Stamford, CT; Baltimore, MD; Pennsylvania entrants were from Philadelphia, State College, and Friendsville; and New York representatives were from Queens, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Rochester, as well as Cortland. In addition to Thai Boxing, traditional Boxing and Shoot Wrestling were featured.
According to East West owner and Chief instructor Kevin Seaman, Thai Boxing is a centuries-old martial art form and ring sport in the Southeast Asian country of Thailand, and has been very popular in Europe and Asia for years. As a recent import to the United States, most people confuse it with the more well-known form called Kick Boxing. Seaman added that Thai Boxing, or "Muay Thai" as it is known around the world, differs from the latter because it allows kicks to the leg and thigh, and uses knee strikes to the torso.
Shoot Wrestling, an even more recent martial art import, this time from Japan, combines the sports of Muay Thai, Kick Boxing, and Grappling / Wrestling. Shoot Wrestling is a popular ring sport in Japan. Also, Boxing was featured during the championship, largely due to the presence of Chet Cashman who is the trainer and coordinator of the amateur Boxing program at East West Martial Arts.
Opening matches included a Muay Thai exhibit performed by 15-year old Lance Loomis of Cortland and 12-year old Curt LaBouf, of Homer, and a Boxing exhibit performed by Bob Gambitta, a Cortland Jr.-Sr. High School History teacher who trains at GIAC, and Charlie Fisher, an engineer with Lockheed Martin in Syracuse who trains at the Syracuse Boxing gym NAAC and is an instructor in Muay Thai at East West Martial Arts Academy.
One
of the competitions of the night featured Academy student Michael Moreno,
2-0, versus Hiroshi Takamatsu, 22-1, of Philadelphia. Moreno won by unanimous
decision. Another of the night's other "firsts" had Academy student Guy
Geller pitted against Steven Fletcher of the American Bando Association
of Rochester, NY. Geller's previous amateur experience had only been in
Boxing. Yet in his first official Muay Thai match, Geller delivered unrelenting
well-executed kicks and knee strikes. Although a strong opponent, Fletcher
was felled by Geller four times during the three rounds.
Academy student Jessica McCall went up against Kelly Nemchick of the Binghamton branch office of the Thai Boxing Association U.S.A. Since this was the first official Women's match at East West, the initial silence of the audience seemed to signal bewilderment. As both entrants demonstrated that women can indeed fight, silence turned into raucous enthusiasm. During the rounds, Nemchick frequently struck air as McCall's long arms kept her at bay. McCall's gloves landed many times on Nemchick's unguarded face, forcing referee Blair Talmadge to stop and inquire if Nemchick wanted to proceed in the third round. Nemchick did, but the crowd's clear choice, and the winner, was McCall.
Academy
instructor Erik Russell's winning performance in his first Shoot Wrestling
match, against Joe Elberti of the American Bando Association of Rochester,
seemed good enough to beam up to the HBO satellites. Late in the first
round, Russell escaped an Elberti stronghold, then picked Elberti up in
the air and trounced him on the ring floor. Mid-way through the second
round, Elberti again had Russell in a submissive hold, but not for long,
as Russell locked Elberti into an inescapable choke hold. As a result,
Referee Bill Gebhardt stopped the match in the second round when Elberti
tapped in submission.
In East West Academy student Austin Randolph's first Muay Thai match, brute force overcame competitor Vassil Makarov of Stamford, CT. The judge's split decision favored Randolph.
East
West Martial Arts student Joe Stritmater prevailed over Richard Gray of
Baltimore, MD, in the Super Middleweight Muay Thai division. Stritmater,
1 - 0, and Gray, 3 - 1, were not evenly matched. In all three rounds,
Gray constantly clinched Stritmater, effectively preventing any offensive
kicks or hits from taking place. Despite this, Stritmater delivered enough
blows and knee strikes to garner a unanimous decision in his favor.
In other tournament action, the judges favored:
Serg Konkovsky of GIAC, Ithaca over Dan Sopp (independent boxer, Cortland). Sub novice, Boxing. Sopp, tired at the end of round one, did not recover from Konkovsky's endless string of multi-count combinations. Referee Chet Cashman stopped the match in the second round at 1 minute, 19 seconds, with Sopp obviously winded.
Keith Paton of State College (PA) over Tommy Cook of Friendsville (PA). Lightweight, Muay Thai. Paton's sure-fire techniques put Cook on the defensive in all three rounds. Other times, Paton's blows found their destination because Cook's lowered hands revealed an easy target.
Amery Bernhardt of Binghamton over Mike Wolnick of State College (PA). Middleweight, Muay Thai. Bernhardt seemed to play the Sugar Ray Leonard in the first two rounds by holding back in the beginning of the rounds and then giving a strong performance at the end.
Rob
Estrella of Friendsville (PA ) over Zek Lor of Queens (NY.) First round,
advantage Lor. Second round, advantage Estrella, who emerged with a more
aggressive attitude.
Damon Stead of Philadelphia (PA ) over Aaron Thompson of Rochester (NY). During the second round, Stead delivered ten round kicks to Thompson's right leg. Thompson's face said pain, but he forged on. However, so did Stead in the third round, delivering about thirteen more kicks to the same side.
Amateur Michael Moreno of Cortland's East West Martial Arts Academy scored a 10-second TKO in a international-rules Kickboxing match in Albany on December 13th. Fellow Academy student Charlie Fisher went three Thai Boxing rounds, with a split decision in favor of the opponent.
The evening's card featured four Kickboxing bouts, one Boxing bout, and one Thai Boxing (Muay Thai) bout. The event was sponsored by promoter Andy Faragon of U.S. Freestyle Karate and Kickboxing in Albany. Kevin Seaman, owner and chief instructor at East West Martial Arts on Tompkins Street in Cortland, and assistant trainer Guy Geller accompanied the competitors to Albany.
Moreno, with only one prior fight to his name, bewildered the Albany audience with his performance of the Ram Muay, the traditional pre-fight Thai ceremony which pays homage to the fighter's academy and demonstrates the fighter's agility. After the performance, only four people in the audience applauded.
The first and only round for Moreno, started with Mark Proper of Clifton Park, N.Y., coming out of the corner swinging. Only seconds later, Moreno delivered a hard kick to Proper's thigh. A third kick from Moreno knocked the wind from Proper, felling Proper into the corner, resulting in the 10-second TKO.
Moreno's earlier performance in the ring was enough to warm the crowd to Fisher's pre-fight Ram Muay ceremony, with noticeably more applause from the audience.
Fisher's match pitted him against an old rival, Hiroshi Takamasso, of Philadelphia, PA, who had a career combination of Kickboxing / Thai Boxing matches totalling 12 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. Takamasso's only career loss, almost two years ago, was at the hands of Charlie Fisher.
The first round proved an even match between Fisher and Takamasso, with each showing strong form. Mid-way through the second round, Takamasso foot-jabbed Fisher in the chest, causing Fisher to fall. Fisher stood up, and fought back with a combination of punches to Takamasso's face and knees to the chest.
Early in the third round, Fisher and Takamasso were locked in head-holds,
each jockeying for position by delivering knee-blows to the chest and
kidneys. Takamasso broke the dead-lock by throwing Fisher to the ground.
Undeterred, Fisher stood up and fought until the end, with the judges'
decision in favor of Takamasso.
Persistence has paid off for Sifu Kevin Seaman! His article, "The Art
of Moving--Fancy Footwork for Explosive Techniques," was selected to appear
in the March issue of Martial Arts Training. (Be sure to pick up your
copy!)
The magazine is a sister publication of Black Belt Magazine; both are published by Rainbow Publications of California.
The highly selective process took one year from initial submission to actual print. Rainbow Publications, in addition to its planned articles, receives over 300 unsolicited manuscripts per month. Sifu's article was first submitted to Black Belt Magazine, but due to an overabundance of articles, was not selected. Although Martial Arts Training is a part of Rainbow Publications, Sifu's article was not automatically routed from Black Belt. Sifu Kevin had to resubmit the article and then undergo the same rigorous process of selection. Persistence pays!
Note: Charlene Seaman provided the pictures for the photo
spread. Also, Sifu Al Gutchess makes a cameo appearance as an assistant.
East West Induction to Hall of Fame
Recently, Sifu Kevin was inducted into the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place in the Manchester, N.H., Holiday Inn grand ballroom, where Sifu received recognition in the Master Instructor of the Year category. Sifu was honored for dedication and advancement as a student and instructor of martial arts, and for his contributions to the teaching and promotion of Bruce Lee's Jun Fan Gung Fu. At the September Guro Dan Inosanto Seminar, Sifu Kevin was honored with two Full Instructor certificates from Guro Dan, one in Kali, and one in Jun Fan Gung Fu and the principles concepts and science of Jeet Kune Do. Guro Dan explained that he had conferred the rank of Full Instructor in Jun Fan/ JKD to only a chosen few.
Sifu is a senior student under Bruce Lee's top student and protege Guro Dan Inosanto. The prerequisites for induction into The World Martial Arts Hall Of Fame include having studied in the martial arts for more than 25 years and having at least a 5th degree black belt ranking, or above, in at least one martial art. A student of the martial arts for 28 years, Sifu Kevin has attained instructor level in six different martial arts.
Sifu and his staff have for many years been active participants in community events such as the Cystic Fibrosis Kick-A-Thon to help fund medical causes for children with the disease.
The East West staff has also worked with Chuck Norris' Help Kick Drugs Out of America program and raised donations to help keep kids drug free.
For three years Sifu has been offering a free women's self defense course to the community as well as dozens of personal safety programs and various forms of martial arts for the past twelve years.
Offering one of the most extensive curriculums in New
York State, the East West Academy teaches both children and adults with
eight different programs available and one of the most fully equipped
facilities.