Tournament update and invitation to Ireland

The US Open and the Irish Open would like to formally invite you to the largest martial arts tournament in Europe, the Irish Open International. The event has evolved into the NO 1 Tournament in Europe, nothing compares to the energy and excitement and enthusiasm which the fighters and spectators get from this truly amazing event, it is a spectacle to behold and unique in its energy and vitality and definitely not to be missed or experienced in your martial arts career.

Hot News!!!

The US Open and The Irish Open have formed collaboration. The two events will be closely linked in 2009 with all winners from the 2009 Irish Open receiving automatic seeding at the 2009 US Open event. All competitors from the 2008 US Open event will receive automatic seeding at the 2009 Irish Open. Both of these world-class events are, without question, the largest events on each continent and it is a natural progression for our sport that they are now associated with each other and cooperate in the development of Martial Arts on a global scale.

Last Year was incredible!

The 2008 Irish Open saw 27 countries attend with more than 2000 + fighters from all over the world on the mat. They had TV coverage from Setanta Sport and RTE, and it was covered in several international magazines.

Whether you come to compete, to train in a seminar, to judge and receive the commemorative shirt and or to attend the Clash of Titans, or just to watch. Go to www.irishopenonline.com and take the action that will light your personal fire and rekindle you passion for our sport…. to learn, to grow, to contribute back, to be inspired….. We continue to be amazed at the continued growth of The Irish Open and the level of competition, not just in the elite black belt sections, but also in the white and green belt sections, where many competitors are given the rare opportunity to compete against fighters from other countries at their own level. This is what makes the Irish Open a unique WORLD CLASS EVENT.

One Heck of a fun city!

Dublin is a vibrant city, with lost to do – incredible history, great pubs and restaurants to visit, first class shopping, and seriously friendly people. What is also exciting about this year is that the event is on two days before St. Patrick’s Day which is the big day for all of Ireland to celebrate all that is Irish, so it would be a wonderful opportunity for you to experience a unique European tournament at a uniquely Irish time.

Amazing flight prices are currently available at http://www.aerlingus.com/, Book your flight now!

Hello KICKgen Friends and happy inaugeration day!

So here we are - 3 days until our new site is LIVE. "GO LIVE" is Friday 1/23 at midnight and for some members it may take up to 48 hours depending on your internet provider. There is nothing that you have to do - because the new site will be located at www.kickgen.com by midnight.



If you have not logged in within 90 days, please do so before tomorrow in order to have all of your content migrated over. And by the way....where have you been?

Any member who hasn't logged in within 90 days and doesn't do so before 1/21 will not lose their content, but will have to request to have it moved over by a member of the KICKgen team. The alternative will be starting over in the new site.

During this transitioning time, we welcome any questions may have. Please email tracy@kickgen.com.

Thanks!

The KICKgen Team

Go live update

Our new "go live" date for the next version of KICKgen will be 1/23. The content of all members that have logged in within 90 days will automatically be migrated over to the new platform. If you haven't logged in, please do so before 1/21 or request that your content be migrated by emailing: admin@kickgen.com

Baby oh Baby

Congratulations to Chip and Glyn Ann Townsend on the birth of their baby boy!

Slade Donovan Townsend (future KICKgen member) was born on December 28, 2008 and weighed in at 7lbs. 7oz. Glyn Ann is doing great and is recovering well from the birth of little Slade.


Both parents have declined commenting on whether little Slade is also destined to become a world class breaker like themselves. We will need to watch and see.


Chip Townsend with new baby, Slade.

KICKgen 2009 Rising Stars Calendar - running out.

The first ever 2009 KICKgen Rising Stars Calendar is complete and looks amazing! You can ORDER your copy online now but we are running out! The calendar features KICKgen members and includes over 50 martial arts tournaments across the world. Calendars are $12.95 (plus $2.00 shipping). All orders will be shipped 24 hours after the order is paid for.

For volume and shipping DISCOUNTS on orders of more than 15 calendars, please contact Lauren Kearney at Lauren@kickgen.com or 954-673-1032.

I know you will all love what we have put together. If you haven't joined our community yet, it is Free to join. Visit KICKgen. Be sure to sign up and get your calendar. We thank all of you for being supporters of this amazing community, we look forward to a great 2009 and the many projects we have in store as our community becomes bigger.

Buy the calendar

Sincerely,
Lauren Kearney
KICKgen Marketing and Business Development Lead

Kick to the head at NBL Grands

Check this out!

This KICKgen member, Jessica Robeson, recently fought at the NBL Grands. Her video demonstrates the importance of everyone’s role when a competitor gets hit. In this case, Jessica had her head turned, and her hand on the ground. In addition to that, the center ref called time out. (Three clear indicators that there is a break in the fight) Her opponent probably didn’t notice that timeout had been called, and unfortunately for everyone involved, delivered a powerful kick to Jessica’s head causing a concussion. Thankfully Jessica is fine but she wasn’t that day and did receive a trauma to the frontal lobe of her brain.

The scary part of this incident is that Jessica continued fighting. She didn’t know how injured she was – her brain wasn’t working properly. No one stopped and called a medic. Doctor’s in the emergency room, later that night told her she could have died. The first line of responsibility is obviously the center ref, but it is also the moral responsibility of all people who watched the fight. The lesson here is we should all look out for each other and step in especially when a fighter has been kicked in the head. Don’t allow a fighter to continue fighting!

Check out her video – it is a great lesson for anyone involved in martial arts. Go to KICKgen.com, log in and search Jessica Robeson. In her list of videos click on the one titled, My concussion at 08 NBL Super Grands.