Homecoming!

Amanda, Kate, Ally, ME!

This Saturday, I went to my first high school dance! It was for Homecoming 2007. It was so much fun! I had no idea how much fun 6 girls can have(2 not pictured)! We danced from 7 to about 11 pm. I had 3 girlfriends come over before the dance to get ready and that was an experience in itself! :0) We had SO much fun! I love to be a normal teenage girl sometimes!!!!! hahahaha! Every one told me that I looked like Cinderella! It was so kewl! I cannot wait until the Snowball dance in the winter! I hope it will be just as fun if not more! Well, I hope you like seeing me look like a girl.........it won't happen again for at least 3 months!!! lol!

Well, back to training for the Regionals in November(tomorrow)!!!! I've got LOTS of work to do! Today I'm taking a day off.

I love my home town!

I love my hometown! Saturday was a special day for me. I need to back up a little bit. For the past 4 years, I have entered the talent show at the Fall Festival and each year I earned first place and prize money that the committee knew I needed to put toward my training. But last year, even though I won, I felt really bad because I heard other kids saying they weren't going to enter the talent show because they had to compete against me and didn't feel like they could win. So, I told the committee that I would love to perform every year but that I wasn't going to compete any more because I didn't want anyone to feel that way. This year, the Fall Harvest Festival Committee asked me to perform in between talent show acts. I love to perform, especially for my home town because so many people here have been there for me from the very start and have sent good luck cards, made donations, prayed for me and cheered me on and encouraged me to reach for my dreams and make them come true! Anyway, I can't believe what they did! After I was done performing, Bernie called me up on stage and presented me with a can full of money that they had passed around before I ever even got there! It had my picture on it and said, "Olympic Donations for Mariah Moore". I am so happy that my community supports me and believes in me. It really makes all the late nights of practice and training 6 days a week and all the blood, sweat, and bruises soooo worth it! I will do my best to make you all very proud of me! It's such a small town and nobody is rich here. I appreciate your gift so much and every penny will go straight to my training. I can't forget to tell you about my little friend! After I performed, a little girl that I don't even know ran up to me and gave me her teddy bear! These things are very special to me and I won't ever forget them!

oh my!

I am so very sorry that I have not written in so long. I have been very busy with getting ready for regionals, performing and training. I have my worlds form pretty much done, but it still needs a little tweaking! I have been really training in the fighting a lot too! Just this last Sunday,I went to a Sulong tournament in Chicago. I got 1st in pacific island traditional weapons form (I did my worlds form for practice), I got 1st in women's knife fighting, 3rd in men's....yeah I did say MENS knife fighting, and i got 5th out of about 25 again MEN smack stick fighting! It was a very successful day! Instead of trophies, I won some very very cool new tools! A sword(my new best friend), a knife(my partner), and a killer pair of sticks!I am so glad that I have the coaches I have. I would not be who I am and be as accomplished as I am at martial arts if it were not for Grand Master Bong Jornales, Mushtaq Ali, and Steve VanHarn. And not to mention all the wonderful people who i have also trained with here and there! It all adds up and I really want to thank all of you for believing in me! I love you guys!

Well, Back to training!

More info coming soon!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take a KICK at Parker's Cancer! a BIG Success!

Parker and his family and friends!

Next II None with Parker and Me!

Maranda with Parker, Ashley, and Patrick


Chuck with Parker, Ashley and Patrick

With the help of some very special, very talented people with great big hearts, on Monday August 20th,

WE TOOK A GREAT BIG KICK AT PARKER'S CANCER!

When I met him, I knew I had to do what I could to help save him. So I went to work on it and asked for help from some great people who came through for me and especially for Parker in a big way!

It all began with Maranda. I got in touch with her and told her that I wanted to do a variety show to benefit Parker. She said she'd help me out any way she could and boy did she! She offered to emcee and even set us up to perform at West Michigan's premier fun park, Craig's Cruisers! Chuck Pippin of Innovative Martial Arts who is a cancer survivor directed the event for me and coordinated all the acts. I called up some of my favorite acts that I performed with, competed against, or train with. I knew I could count on them! So many great people donated their time and talents all for Parker. Perfect strangers donated money and bought shirts and wrist bands. All of the proceeds go to Parker for medical expenses and special needs. That night we raised almost $1,000.00 but that's not all! We still have about 250 shirts to sell at 10.00 each and almost 500 bracelets at 5.00 each. We will sell them at the Alto Fall Festival and at Fieldstock in Parker's extended families' home town on Labor Day weekend. So, by the time were done "Taking a Kick at Parker's Cancer" I hope to reach 5,000.00 for him!

Thank you! Thank You! Thank You! To all my great friends and favorite performers for sharing your talents and helping me help Parker fight his cancer!

YOU ARE AWESOME!

YOU REALLY ARE THE BEST!

HERE THEY ARE!

WOTV 41 WOOD TV 8's Maranda!

- John Pippin Boards/Bricks Breaking

o Studying martial arts since early 90’s
o Holds 2nd Degree Black belt in Tae Kwon Do, as well as experience in San Yun Do and Hand To Hand Combatives.
o Currently teaches Self Defense classes at Davenport University

- Steve Flohr – Juggler

o Steve Flohr is 25 years old and owns his own business in Lowell and his passion is juggling, juggling for 15 years, started his juggling act innocently with balls and ended up with sharp knifes. Steve made it through all the same eliminations Ryder and I did and is also performing at the Lowell Showboat Nostalgia Night- 75th Anniversary on August 24th.

- Chuck Pippin and Don Young: San Yun Do Stick, Knife, and Cane Combatives Demo

o 17 years of experience in the Martial Arts
o Both hold Black belts in Multiple arts
o Co-Founders of Innovative Martial Arts
o Co-Founders of the art of San Yun Do
o Chuck is the director of Take a Kick at Parker’s cancer and is himself a cancer survivor.
-
- Steve Tobias and Caitlin Malarney: SYD Forms Demo

o Caitlin: performing Dan Gun: over 2 years studying Martial arts (San Yun Do),
o Steve Tobias: performing Hwa Rang: 1st Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do, Brown Sash in San Yun Do, has also studied Kempo Karate

- Next 2 None Local Sensation Hip hop band from Kentwood. My awesome new friends who I met while performing with them at this years WOTV park parties with Maranda.

- James Kohlenberg Sword Cutting Demo

- Ryder and Marina Jones singing/guitar
o Marina Jones is a 14 year old friend and Schoolmate of mine that will attend Lowell High School this year as a freshman. She has been singing for as long as she can remember, competing in various talent shows around Lowell Township. She also enjoys theatre and creative writing. She performs with her family in a band called Jonesy.

o Ryder Jones This season’s American Idol Contender from Lowell, Michigan. He is a sophomore at Grand Rapids Community College, with a focus on music. He won a spot at the Lowell Showboat Nostalgia Night 75th Anniversary and will perform on The Showboat August 25th right after me. He plays guitar and sings, also a member of the band Jonesy, The Great Lakes Band, and Blue Star Pilot.

- Steve and Cole Van Harn - Padded Stick Blade combat demo - (The padded sticks safely represent live blades in a competition format)
o Steve and Cole are Mariah’s U.S. National Team mates in Philippine Martial Arts.
o Steve - 21 yrs of martial arts experience, senior rankings in multiple arts. Multiple world titles in full contact stickfighting
o Cole - 2yrs training, 2006 double silver medalist in World comp., current national champion.


*Each act will ended with “I took a kick at Parker’s cancer…will you?” (or something close to that…)*

There were also so many more awesome people who worked, showed up to offer support or invested money to get the whole thing off the ground! I hope I don't forget anyone!

Mom, Dad, Uncle David, J.B. Harrison Insurance, Jeannie Bijkerk-Pippin, Dave Jones, Farrows Music, Carmen Thibodeaux, Sterling, Nate at Midwest Graphics, Craig's Cruisers, Brittany Baker, Mushtaq, Sensei and Jamie, Jamie's mom, NextIINone Mom and Dad #2, Kristen, Rose and Larry, Josie, Lawrence Heibel - Donating Professional Photos to Parker and his mom and dad.

Please keep praying for Parker. He is my angel baby and God is working miracles in him! On August 31st he will have surgery to take out the last tumor! He will still have to have chemo but we are hoping he will soon be cancer free!

Training in the rain.......Dedication, Determination, Drive! Me! (INSANE? I don't think so...)

A photographer at the Talent show said to someone I know, "You know she's insane don't you?" Do you know that they said back? "Nope. She's one tough broad!" Wonder what Master Guru Bobbe would have said back to them??????

1st Place!

Last night, I went to the annual Kent County Youth Fair. For the past three years I have been in the youth talent show. This year Mushtaq and Sensei Aaron Bailey came to watch and critique. They helped me a lot. Oh! Sunday night my mom and I went on to the 4-h web site and looked over the rules for the show..... the rules said that the performances HAD to be no more than 4 minnutes. The one I had prepared was 6 minutes. So in the pouring rain at 8 o'clock on Sunday night mom and I had to put together a brand new performance. I have wanted to do a performance to Eye of the tiger for a long time. It is exactly 3:48. It was stressful to cram it together in less than 24 hours but I did it. Sensei said I did great! I think Mushtaq was pleased too. He noticed that I kept my knees bent and had deeper stances. Guess what! I won 1st place and 100.00 dollars to put towards the 2008 World Championships in the Philippines!

A Great Big Thanks To Mushtaq and Sensei for coming and supporting me!!

Training, Training, And More Training!

This week was a very busy week. With Master Bong, we went over most if not all weapons forms and on Wednesday we drilled on single and double stick fighting. 8 one minute rounds of double and single stick combined and then One 2 minute round of padded stick fighting.

I have been doing a lot of polishing with Steve and Mushtaq on my Tali Bong Form which I will be doing in the WEKAF Regionals, Nationals, and Worlds. Although I have a lot more polishing to do, I think it is comming together very well! I am very happy to have the coaches I have! I wouldn't be the martial artist I am today and could never have accomplished everything I have without all my awesome instructors! Thanks Guys! Well, back to training! :)