Jamaicans eyeing flying start at US Open

JAMAICA will be going all out today in their speciality, continuous sparring, across all ranks and age groups, setting the stage to eclipse the 68 medals won at last year's International Sports Karate Association (ISKA) United States Open.

Fighters from Seido Karate, Ningen Karate, Jamaica Taekwondo Federation and Jamaica Taekwondo Association, along with members of the male and female combined martial arts teams, bolstered by high-schoolers from Calabar High, St George's College, Jamaica College, Kingston College, Wolmers' Boys and Penwood High, are among the 50-strong squad at the Coronado Resort in Orlando, Florida.

The island's delegation also includes members of the High-Potential Combined Squad, high-schoolers on the verge of breaking into the male combined team.

The Jamaicans are looking for a bright start in continuous sparring, hoping their agility and fitness, which they have been honing since the Jamaican martial arts season started last November, will allow them to again dominate that format among the approximately 4,000 participants from all over the world.

Leading the charge for Jamaica today are the likes of male combined team stars Richard Stone and Akino Lindsay, Calabar high-school league captain Trevor Webb Jr, and Ackeem Lawrence, who successfully defended his Grand Champion title at last weekend's Seido Open at the University of Technology.

"Continuous sparring is about amassing points in timed rounds of fighting," Lawrence explained. "On Saturday, we will have clash sparring, which is points accumulated after three techniques per fighter. There is also points sparring on Saturday, which is one point per hit, then you separate."

Meanwhile, Night of Champions showdown Interna-tional Taekwondo Federation showdown between Italy's three-time world champion Timothy Bos and Jamaica's Nicholas Dusard's will be among the events aired live on ESPN starting at 4 p.m. (3 p.m. Jamaica time).

The Jamaicans are using this year's US Open as major preparation for the historic hosting of the 2018 ISKA Amateur Member Association World Championships set for the Montego Bay Convention Centre, September 13-15, for which a 100-member squad is being gathered.