January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Sanshou fighters to knock them down in Texas
The fighters have gone through a rigorous eight-week training programme in the build-up to the competition.
The brutal full-contact sport combines the elements of various martial arts in an explosive fighting style and requires intense physical and mental preparation just to make it to the first bell.
Garon Wilkinson, who won bronze at the same event in 2007, said the group - himself, Talia Iris, Khalid Pitcher and Sentwali Woolridge - was building towards the ultimate challenge of the World Wushu Championships in Toronto in October.
He said the competition in Texas would provide excellent preparation for the Worlds.
"As always we have trained extremely hard for this competition.
"Whether or not we have done sufficient training or not is never a concern of ours. That goes without saying. It's just a standard that our association has set.
"I think we have improved our technical game quite a bit. We have eliminated many of the loopholes we had, mainly with the wrestling and takedowns."
Wilkinson, who trained in Boston with Marvin Perry, one of the top sanshou fighters in the U.S. in the 90s, said working with such an experienced practitioner had helped him raise his game.
"His coaching has definitely helped the Bermuda team to tighten up our game.
"I learned a lot in a short period of time, especially when it comes to the structure of the training sessions.
"Everyone seems to enjoy the training so much more and as a result all of our athletes' game has improved tremendously."
The Bermuda team will weigh-in on Saturday with the fights taking place all day Sunday starting at 10am.
This tournament has been renamed from the "Taiji Legacy Championships" in which Bermuda last competed in two years ago.
Jermal "Goofy" Woolridge, who will not be competing in this year's event, claimed a gold medal in the heavyweight division while Wilkinson took bronze medal in his weight class.
Three of the five fighters have been in competition since the last Fight Fest event held in Bermuda in November. Khalid Pitcher and Wilkinson competed in the 27th Annual Bermuda Open Karate Championships in the kickboxing division with Wilkinson winning both of his weight class bouts.
Shannon Ford, who will not be competing in the Texas tournament, but will join the World Championships team along with Jermal Woolridge, won his weight class during that tournament and was crowned overall champion on points. Bowen competed against Ford in an exhibition bout last month at the Ninth Lepercq Memorial with both fighters indicating that their preparation for this year's Worlds is coming along nicely.
Wilkinson added: "We are also pleased to have our lone female competitor, Talia Iris, return to competition after a three year layoff with school commitments and some injuries.
"The last time she competed was at the 6th Pan American Wushu Championships held in Toronto where she fought against Brazil."
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