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PV karate students continue to excel under local leadership

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Pak’s Karate Main School in Jacksonville hosted the 2015 UTF Junior Championship last month. This is a local Junior’s Competition for Federation Students younger than 16 years of age. Competitors came from as far away as Waycross and Palm Coast.


Participants competed in either Forms or Sparring, with belt rank divisions competing against each other.


Pak’s Ponte Vedra had three students participate each in their own division and the students brought home two, first place finishes and one, second place finish.
Reid Norteman took home First Place in Forms. Norteman is a student at Ocean Palms Elementary School.


First time competitor Paden Pinder took home First Place in Forms his division. Pinder is a student of Wards Creek Elementary School.


Kayla Shreve, also a first time competitor, took home Second Place in Sparring. Shreve did an excellent job keeping the boys in her division on their toes. Shreve is a student of Valley Ridge Academy.

“This is the last tournament for the year and we could not be happier for the students who participated,” said Pak’s Ponte Vedra owner and instructor Bill DeGrafft. “Their excellent showing is a reflection of their positive attitudes day in and day out in class. Miss Leila and I are very proud of their efforts.”


Pak’s finishes up the 2015 season with nine First Place Finishes and six Second Place Finishes.


“It takes a lot of courage to go out of your comfort zone and compete against students you have never trained with before,” DeGrafft said. “We are looking forward to even more competitors from Paks Ponte Vedra as we begin the process for team tryouts for 2016. We appreciate our students’ hard work and commitment to these tournaments.“


Recently recognized as the Best Martial Arts School in St. Augustine for 2015, Pak’s Ponte Vedra is located in Panther Plaza Shopping Center across from Nease High School on US Highway 1 North.

Visit their website www.pakspontevedra.com or call (904) 829-8087 for more information about the school and the programs they offer.