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By TANYA GARCIA
MERCEDES, Texas — Grandmaster Armando Saldana has been training his students to be prepared for the South Texas Karate League tournament set to take place on March 29, in Laredo, Texas.
The students heading to the competition marks their second tournament of the year, and many of them are coming off championship victories and aim to defend their rank while others have their sights on wining the point sparring competition.
“If we don’t fight, we are not going to learn how to defend ourselves,” Grandmaster Saldana said.
Saldana is a 9th degree black belt in the Kajukenbo Gaylord Method system that is the foundation of the Kajukenbo Association of America. Saldana has more the 40 years of training and experience in the martial art system that is called the perfected art of street fighting and the United States of America’s very own brand of martial arts originating in States.
Saldana said he began learning the Gaylord Method in the early 90s under the Grandmaster Jose Quiroz and by 1994 he was promoted by Great Grandmaster Gaylord and again in 2007. In 2018, he was promoted to Grandmaster by the Kajukenbo Association of America.
Great Grandmaster Charles Gaylord earned his black belt in Kajukenbo in Hawaii in the 1950s where the martial arts system was created. Kajukenbo is a mix marital art composed of Karate, Jujit-su, Kung Fu and American Boxing. He would later begin training students in California throughout the 1970s until he passed away in 2009.
Saldana has led the Texas Kajukenbo Karate School since 2008 after his teacher Grandmaster John Valdivia passed away of cancer. And every April he hosts The Texas Kajukenbo Karate Open Tournament in his honor and to raise funds to help fight cancer and assist people and families affected by cancer.
“My students are learning to defend themselves, gain confidence and discipline,” Saldana said. “Karate is an excellent way for children to stay in shape and be proud of themselves for wining at the karate tournaments because they worked hard at practice. I tell my students don’t expect to win at the tournaments if you don’t come to class and work hard.”
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