The Bitterroot Dragon Brigade finished its 14th year with an unbelievable success at the Cutting Edge Karate Championships in Spokane, Washington. This was a very large tournament, with14 schools from four different states in attendance. 285 competitors battled it out to win 32 championship swords. Dragon Brigade team members took home 16 of those swords, along with the overall award for team showmanship.
The Dragon Brigade attended six martial arts tournaments this season, starting with the Billings Martial Arts Open in March, where they competed against teams from Montana and Wyoming. Next they were off to the North Idaho Karate Classic in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. This is a large tournament with a great venue at the North Idaho Community College. After that, the team came home to Montana for two local tournaments: the Frenchtown Karate Invitational hosted by Viking Martial Arts, and the oldest tournament on the schedule, the Western Montana Karate Classic in Missoula. The Western Montana Karate Classic is hosted by Chris and Patti Crews of American Kenpo Karate, and the tournament is in its 26th year.
The Dragon Brigade finished the tournament season with two events in Spokane, Washington. The first was the Lilac City Karate Championship, where team member and coach Jessie Devine won the 6-foot-tall Grand Championship trophy for fighting. Finally, the team brought the season to a close at the Cutting Edge Event, where they took home half of the championship awards.
The Dragon Brigade is a non-profit youth martial arts tournament and demonstration team. There are 50 kids on the team from all over the Bitterroot Valley. They range in age from 6 to 17 years old. If you would like more information on the team, you can look them up on Facebook (www.facebook.com/hamiltontkd) or on their website (http://www.hamiltontkd.com/dragon-brigade.html). The Dragon Brigade trains at Hamilton Tae Kwon-Do, which is starting new beginners on July 1st.
