Vero Beach Karate Association: Spotlight

Vero Beach Karate Association Spotlight

2008 U.S. Open: VBKA students excel again!!

2008 U.S. Open Participants

Congratulations to
Dana Pederson and Nicole Nixon...

The most recent recipients of the Student Excellence Award!

Click here to see more....

From left to right: Robbie Voyles, Jason Wesley, Sammie van Zyl, Attila Gabor, Chelsea Clements, James Moulton, Angelica Gabor, and Anastasia Gabor. (Not pictured: Jacob Hess, Richard Brown)

Student	Award
Attila Gabor	1^st Place Self-Defense; World Champion
Chelsea Clements	1^st Place Self-Defense; National Champion
Jason Wesley	2^nd Place Self-Defense
Jacob Hess	1^st Place Self-Defense
Sammie van Zyl	1^st Place Self-Defense
James Moulton	1^st Place Self-Defense; 2^nd Place Kata
Angelica Gabor	3^rd Place Kata
Anastasia Gabor	6^th Place Kata

Attila Gabor was named
NASKA World Champion
in Self-Defense
at the 2008 U.S. Open.

Chelsea Clements was named
NASKA National Champion
in Self-Defense
at the 2008 U.S. Open.

During the 2007 Family Day event,
VBKA Black Belts and members of
Mr. Willis' Noon Class presented him
with an engraved watch and certificate in honor of earning his 7^th Degree Black Belt.

Click here for videos of their final performances.

SPOTLIGHT ON .... Beth Donini

3^rd Degree Black Belt
Senior Camp Counselor
Instructor at Sebastian School
Sophomore at Villanova University
Cheerleader at Villanova University
Graduate of SRHS
Cheerleader SRHS
SRHS Weightlifting & Volleyball teams
Ballroom Dance teacher - VBKA Camp
St. Sebastian Church - Active member

Beth Donini
Beth shows her enthusiasm and team spirit as a
cheerleader for Villanova University.

Former Altar Server - St. Sebastian Church
Honor Roll student: High School & College
Fit, capable, and very attractive!
Great role model for young people.

Spotlight on Bob Micket and Family

The Micket family trains at the Sebastian School. Bob and Alejandrina are new Black Belts; Marland is a Brown Belt.

Above: Bob Micket, his wife Alejandrina, and son Marland
Below: Bob and Alejandrina after their September 2007 Black Belt Test

Bob Micket is a champion in every sense of the word. Not only did he recently earn his Black Belt, he is the 1984 New England Trials Champion. (See picture above.) He has written numerous articles on this most challenging sport, offering tips and advice to upcoming riders. At age 45, he has placed second in the last two VBKA Fun Runs!

Spotlight on .... Matthew Martin

Matthew is a 5th kyu Green Belt with Mr. Franklin in Sebastian, and he is making a movie! Part of this new movie -- Misconceptions -- is being filmed on location at a karate school in St. Petersburg Beach, FL. Matthew is part of the cast of characters being played by some pretty big stars: Orlando Jones, David Sutcliff (Gillmore Girls), and A.J. Cook (Criminal Minds).

Matthew plays the friend of a younger boy whose mother becomes entangled with Orlando Jones and then finds herself in an unusual situation. All of the other "karate" kids who have parts in the movie are actual karate students, except for the little blond fellow who plays the son of A.J. Cook's movie character.

Left: Matthew and the other child stars pose for a picture with David Sutcliff. All except the little boy in the middle are wearing belts which signify their actual rank.

Above: A.J. Cook discusses an upcoming scene with the camera crew.

Left: This picture is actually a prop created for the movie and will hang on the wall of the karate school where the movie is being filmed. It will be part of a poignant scene for the character played by A. J. Cook.

This movie is about half way through its filming schedule and is being filmed on location in Florida and Georgia. Matthew's mother told us, "he had lots of fun and was proud to wear his VBKA uniform in the movie." Matthew has filmed commercials, movies, Travel Channel, Disney, Scholastic Books, and more. Congratulations Matthew!