The results of the Augusta tournament are:

4th and 5th Degree Black Belt Division:
Mark Webb – placed 2nd in Forms, Weapons, and Sparring

2nd and 3rd Degree Black Belt Division:
Jennifer Powell – placed 2nd in Forms, and 1st place in Weapons and Sparring
Jennifer Hardy – placed 3rd in Forms ,Weapons, and Sparring
Brittany Johnson – placed 1st in Weapons and Sparring

Color Belt Division:
Glen Sibley – placed 2nd in Forms, 1st in Weapons, and 3rd in Sparring
Tori Sibley – placed 3rd in Forms and Sparring, 2nd place in Weapons

The results are as follows:
2nd and 3rd Degree Black Belt Division
Jennifer Powell – 4th place in the Forms competition
Jennifer Hardy – 3rd place in Weapons and Sparring

Color Belt Division
Tori Sibley – 4th place in Weapons
Glen Sibley – 1st place in XMA Forms, XMA Weapons, Traditional Weapons competition; 2nd place in Creative Forms, Creative Weapons, and Traditional Forms competition

Pictured left to right:  Jennifer Hardy, Glen Sibley, Tori Sibley, and Jennifer Powell

Here are the results:
4th and 5th Degree Black Belt Division
Mark Webb – Triple Crown Victory,  1st place in Forms, Weapons,and Sparring

2nd and 3rd Degree Black Belt Division
Jennifer Powell – Triple Crown Victory,  1st place in Forms, Weapons,and Sparring
Jennifer Hardy – 2nd place in Forms, 1st place in Weapons, and 3rd place in Sparring
Brittany Johnson – Triple Crown Victory,  1st place in Forms, Weapons,and Sparring

1st Degree Black Belt Division
Ali Vialdores – 3rd place in Forms, 1st place in Sparring

Color Belt Division
Glen Sibley – Triple Crown Victory,  1st place in Forms, Weapons,and Sparring
Kameron Anderson – 1st place in Forms and Sparring, 2nd place in Weapons
Tori Sibley – 2nd place in Forms, Weapons, and Sparring
Paige Giddens – 1st place in Sparring

The results are as follows:
Jennifer Hardy – 2nd place in Forms, 1st place in Weapons for the Women’s 2nd and 3rd Degree Black Belt Division.

Tori Sibley – 2nd place in Forms, 1st place in Weapons, 2nd place in Sparring for the Girl’s Color Belt Division.

Glen Sibley – 2nd place in Forms, 1st place in Weapons for the Men’s Color Belt Division.

Then All enjoyed the Family Mardi Gras Parade in Lafayette, followed by the Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans on Sunday afternoon.

Pictured left to right:  Jennifer Hardy, Tori Sibley, Chief Instructor Mitchell Church, and Glen Sibley.

Chief Instructor, Mitchell Church, of Performance Martial Arts Academy announces that eleven of his students recently competed in the Atlanta Warrior Classic.? This is an American Taekwondo Association sanctioned event that draws martial artists from across the country.

Pictured left to right: Mr. Webb, Mr. Mitchell Church, Ms. Sibley, and Mr. Sibley

5th Degree Black Belt, Mitchell Church, of Performance Martial Arts Academy announced the results from a recent American Taekwondo Association tournament held at the Southern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA.?? Three students from his Valdosta school competed in this Regional Tournament.

Mark Webb, 4th Degree Black Belt, won 1st place in the Forms and Sparring competition. He placed 3rd in the Weapons division.

Glen Sibley, Color Belt, placed 2nd in Creative Forms, 2nd in Songahm Weapons, and 3rd in the Sparring competition.

Tori Sibley, Color Belt, won 1st place in Creative Weapons, 3rd in Songahm Forms, and she took 2nd place in Sparring.

Pictured left to right: Darrien Rackley, Tyler Giddens, Chief Instructor, Mitchell Church, Ryan Spaulding, Asher Brooks, Dr. John Gee, Tori Sibley, and Charlotte Sprott

Mitchell Church of Performance Martial Arts Academy announces the results of a recent Amercian Taekwondo Association tournament.? The Atlanta Super Regionals brought competitors from across the country and Valdosta sent 22 students.? “Our students are very disciplined and represented our community well.”? We have several students who will be State Champions as well as future World Champions in the 2009- 2010 season.” says 5th Degree Black Belt, Mitchell Church.

Jennifer Powell is a three-time World Champion in Taekwondo.

VALDOSTA ? Some of Valdosta?s best athletes recently competed at the biggest championship their sport has to offer.

Those athletes are martial artists, and they traveled to Little Rock, Ark., for the Top 10 World Championships of taekwondo in late June where over 7,000 competitors from all around the world were on hand.

The Performance Martial Arts Academy in Valdosta sent seven students to the Top 10 World Championship, a number Performance Martial Arts Academy owner and chief instructor Mitchell Church said is astounding.

?For a school our size it?s rare,? Mitchell said. ?This school has any where from 175 to 200 students, so that?s a good percentage.?

Four students from Valdosta competed in the First Degree Black Belt division. Mizanni Matthews, ranked fifth in sparring, came in fifth. Ali Vialdores, ranked first in sparring, came in third. Brittany Johnson, ranked sixth in sparring and weapons, finished third in sparring. Gary Matthews, ranked eighth in forms and seventh in sparring, finished fourth in forms and eighth in sparring.

Two students ? Jennifer Hardy and Jennifer Powell ? competed in the Second and Third Degree Black Belt division. Hardy, ranked fifth in forms and sixth in sparring, came in fifth in forms. Powell, ranked second in forms, ninth in sparring and third in weapons, finished sixth in forms.

The final student from Valdosta who competed in the Top 10 of the World Championships was Mark Webb.

He competed in the Fourth and Fifth Degree Black Belt division and finished fifth in forms and weapons.

?These seven displayed a tremendous amount of loyalty and dedication to me and taekwondo,? Church said.

To qualify for the Top 10 World Championships, competitors take their best results from five different events throughout the year. The competition year begins at the World Championships and ends at the next years? World Championships.

Mark Webb competes with Fourth Degree Black Belt Form.

Church said that several more Valdosta students just missed out on qualifying for the Top 10.

?This is the entire world, now,? Church said. ?They have tournaments in Korea and South America just to see who?s going to come and compete. So when people from other countries come over here, they?re the best. And they compete against our kids, and our kids are beating them and winning. That?s phenomenal to have that right here in Valdosta. That?s pretty cool.?

It was a satisfying trip for Church, a fifth degree black belt, whose life has revolved around martial arts for the last 25 years. Several days a week he trains students from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Like most good coaches, he gives all the credit to his students for the success of the Performance Martial Arts Academy, but his contributions aren?t overlooked.

?He?s a great coach,? Webb said. ?He knows how to train you and motivate you. He?s really good about knowing how to bring your best out of you. He has a great eye for this stuff. He bends you to where you become his vision of what he sees your capable of.?

With the success and excitement from the trip to the World Championships fresh on everyone?s mind, Church thinks next year the Performance Martial Arts Academy could send the most students it ever has to the World Championships.

For proof, 23 students traveled to Atlanta over the weekend for a super regional, the first big tournament of the competition year since the World Championships in June.

?Next year will probably be our biggest year,? Church said. ?They?ve been on fire. They?ve been training like mad men. Next year is going to be awesome.?

This story was originally published in the Valdosta Daily Times (July 20, 2009), on on their website at http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/sports/local_story_200225520.html?start:int=15