AMMO, originally called Amherst Isshinryu Karate, has grown significantly since it was first founded in 2001 with four or five uncommitted members and their instructors, Seth Wilkinson, a fourth degree black belt, and Patrick Turgeon, a second degree black belt. There was a huge increase in the number of members last year, and, additionally, Marco Alvan, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, began to teach classes. Many of the group members train in two styles of martial arts, which gives them a chance to train in a style that emphasizes stand-up fighting (Isshinryu) and one that emphasizes ground fighting (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). To reflect this change its structure, the organization was renamed the Amherst Mixed Martial Arts Organization this semester.
AMMO's first tournament was the fruit of months of hard work. The idea had come up a few years ago, but had not been feasible at the time due to the modest size of the club, among other factors. As the club began to grow, however, the possibility of organizing a tournament arose once again. The group saw it as a good opportunity to expose themselves to other styles of martial arts, to learn to fight with people outside of the group and adapt to new fighting styles, and to appreciate the benefits of their own style in light of other styles (and vice versa) through watching their various kata. In this way, the tournament would be less of a competition than an exchange of information and ideas about martial arts.
An unprecedented event in the Five College Area, the tournament was extremely complicated and time-consuming to organize. The main problem was the lack of communication between the martial arts clubs in the Five Colleges, making advertising difficult. Coach Faulstick from the Athletics Department and Dean Haynes lent their support to the group, advocating for the tournament even though it had never been done before.
Despite all the challenges AMMO president Tara Kulkarni '07 faced putting together such a large-scale event, it was very successful. "It was a lot of fun to watch our members represent our style and our club as well as they did and with the sportsmanship they exhibited," she said. "For most of them, this was their first tournament, and I'm happy they got the chance to compete. I hope this becomes a tradition, and that subsequent tournaments will have a greater representation of different styles of martial arts and of the Five College area in general. I would also like to see grappling be incorporated into future tournaments because it has become an integral part of this club."
Other members of AMMO expressed a similar wish. Sawa Matsueda '07 commented, "I think next time it would be nice to have more different styles, and more black belts from other styles to judge and also to show us some different kata. We got the opportunity to watch one black belt in Tae Kwon Do perform kata, and it was pretty sweet. The Tae Kwon Do katas in general were very interesting to watch. They seemed to use the space more than our Isshinryu katas, and were somehow more visually impressive because of the many kicks."
Padraic Gerety '07 added, "I hope this will be a first step towards a more cohesive martial arts community in the Valley."
"I think our first endeavor of running a tournament went well," said Wilkinson. "[It] hadn't been done before ... It was nice to be able to reach out to other organizations for a friendly competition. We thoroughly enjoyed having the other schools there. They were helpful and professional, and they were great martial artists. I think everyone walked away having a good time."
Speaking as an instructor, Wilkinson saw the tournament as more than a competition. "As an instructor, I'm always looking for my students to grow and learn," he said. "A tournament helps to put the spotlight on what they've learned over the months and years," he continued.
Not only AMMO members, but also spectators enjoyed the tournament. Daniel Kim '09 remarked, "It was really fun to watch sparring at such an advanced level." Reiko Sono '07, both a spectator and a scorekeeper for the Intermediate Level and Advanced Level competitions, added, "Being a scorekeeper, it was really exciting to see these martial artists perform kata and spar close by. I was also very touched to watch them fighting so seriously while supporters cheered them on loudly."
This tournament was a great accomplishment for the small, but close-knit community of martial artists at the College. Hopefully this will be the first of many yet to come.
For more information about AMMO, e-mail tkulkarni@amherst.edu.