THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 1996 TAG: 9604090149
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
EVERYBODY WAS kung fu fighting.
Well, not everybody. But in Virginia Beach, martial arts practices of all forms have exploded in popularity over the past several years.
Youngsters are doing it, seniors, too. All ages in between.
Many enter the field for fitness reasons, others for discipline, still others for self-defense in a society where many don't feel safe on the streets.
And some are entering competitions to see just how good their new-found skills really are.
Virginia Beach citizens have been meeting with remarkable success.
Take Justin Farmer for instance.
The Cox High 15-year-old freshman won a pair of gold medals in the recent 22nd annual Virginia State Tae Kwon Do championships at Richmond's James River High.
Farmer - a second-degree black belt and instructor at the U.S. Tae Kwon Do Center - took top honors in the senior black belt division for forms and Kyupka (board breaking technique). He also competed in the sparring competition, but he did not place.
Farmer's victories qualified him to compete in this month's national championships in Colorado Springs.
Other qualifiers from the center were 10-year-old Beatrice Rodriquez, who took a silver in sparring, and 20-year-old Nick Pidgeon, a bronze in sparring.
STRONG ARM: Justin Norman continues to rage through the youth scene of national powerlifting, recently taking a national championship in the 132-pound class at the U.S. Powerlifting Federation Junior National Championships in Philadelphia.
Norman, a 14-year-old Brandon Middle School eighth-grader, squatted 242.5 pounds, bench-pressed 154.2 and deadlifted 270 for a winning total of 666 pounds.
Norman is the current national record holder for his age group and also holds nine AAU American records in two age groups.
He will defend his Virginia AAU championship April 13 at Ft. Lee.
GOOD HOOPS: The third annual Celebrity Basketball Game for the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters at Tallwood High was its usual cross between high-caliber hoop competition and professional athlete clowning around.
But hey, it was supposed to fun entertainment for a good cause and it was.
At least, Mike Smith had a good time.
The former Green Run High and Norfolk State University center competed in his second event with the celebrity team and was a force inside.
He plans to be a force in helping guide people's lives in the future.
``I formerly recognized my calling in 1994,'' said Smith, who graduated from Green Run in 1981 and NSU in 1986 before attempting to make in on with a European team. ``I'm currently teaching adult Bible studies at Atlantic Shores and am an assistant director of admissions at Norfolk State. I plan on attending Regent University to get my divinity degree.
``I still play a little basketball and this is a fun time for a good cause.''
MCI came on as a first-year sponsor of the event and played a big role in helping event organizers present another check for $1,000 to the King's Daughters.
The game features local Tallwood High players teamed with professionals from the CBA and NFL against a team from 103 JAMZ radio station.
Carlton Johnson of the CBA led the celebs with some hot shooting from far outside the 3-point line, but Rodney Wilson of 103 was too much in the end, leading his team to a 77-70 victory.
GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE: Thanks to the Tallwood High Future Homemakers of America club, that might just be the case for the Lions softball team.
FHA officers Rachel Nutt, Jessica McDevitt, Michelle Arseneault and Dawn Price recently raised $400 to help seed the team's outfield. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by JOE FICARRA
Cox High freshman Justin Farmer, 15, breaks a board to take the gold
medal in Kyupka (board breaking) at the 22nd annual Virginia State
Tae Kwon Do championships in Richmond.
by CNB