USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame

On August 10th, 2013, a number of our head instructors and our Grand Master were inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame - what an honor!

Sensei Doug Butcher (Santa Fe), Sensei Jim Butcher (Santa Fe), Sensei Creed Potter (Almeda), Hanshi André Price (Texas City), and Grand Master Eric Loveless are our wonderful instructors that were invited to such a prestigious event and all traveled together as an AFMA family to attend the celebratory banquet and induction in the DFW area.

Sensei D. Butcher, Grand Master Loveless, Pat Burleson (Grand Master's childhood instructor), Sensei J. Butcher, Sensei Potter, Hanshi Price, and Mr. Whitaker stand together to celebrate the induction of our Senseis

The USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame began in the 1970's as "a service to Karate practitioners with the USKA, under co-creators Grand Master Robert Trias and Jim Thomas." This was the first hall of fame other than that of Black Belt magazine's. This Hall of Fame recognizes instructors for their diverse responsibilities as role models, and sometimes even as brother/sister and parent figures in a child's life. They dedicate much of their spare time to the Martial Arts and they share their knowledge with students of all ages, even if their personal lives are in mishap. The sacrifices that an instructor makes are important to students everywhere, whether they realize it or not, and the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame is meant to recognize the hard work and dedication these instructors have. 

Alumni are invited to many of the events and new awards go out to inductees and alumni every year. Sensei Jim Butcher received one of these awards, 2013 Breaking Master of the Year! 

Everyone at AFMA wants to congratulate these great men in our family on this achievement in their Martial Arts careers. We hope that one day our students will follow in your footsteps and get to put the Hall of Fame Inductee's plaque, among many others, on the walls in their own dojos.

For more information about the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame, you can visit this website.

Fight of the Night

This past Friday, August 2nd, the Almeda school had two fighters participate in Superior Combative Championship 4 - Tribute to Dustin Creekmore in Galveston, Texas at the San Luis Convention Center.

Our two fighters, Casey Malik and Drew Miller, fought hard and strong through their matches - both consisting of 3 rounds, each 3 minutes long. Though we didn't leave with victories, we still took a large step forward in training and Drew's debut fight was awarded Fight of the Night.

Casey being coached by Grand Master Eric Loveless in between rounds.

This was Casey's second time to step into the cage to try to add another win to his record. His three rounds consisted of a lot of grappling and were extremely intense. It was uplifting to hear multiple people in the crowd shouting his name and our city. 

Drew and his opponent, David Kelly, both landing hits to the face.

David attempting a punch while Drew blocks. 

Drew landing a back fist on his opponent.

Drew made his debut this past Friday and his match was the most ruthless of the night. All three rounds had everyone on their toes and riled up rooting for both opponents. The fight's intensity and excitement gave it the title of Fight of the Night - a great accomplishment for Drew in his debut.

Win or lose, American Fitness is still proud of both Drew and Casey in this step in their training as Martial Artists and look forward to see their improvement in their next fights in the upcoming months.