Published 2004-11-17T00:00:00Z”/>

Jeff Larson<br>Staff Writer

Everybody was kung-fu fighting Saturday afternoon in Shurmer Gym, as the Mu Alpha Xi fraternity put on a martial arts tournament.

Fraternity President Matt Hayes organized the tournament that featured a wide range of karate from around Northern California.

Every major karate dojo in Chico was represented at the tournament. Competitors in the tournament ranged from girls under 10 to men in their 50s.

“This was our first event ever,” Hayes said. “We had fifty competitors at this tournament, which is a huge success for Chico.”

The tournament consisted of three events that were judged by a panel of black-belt judges. The first two competitions featured two different forms of kata. One was with weapons such as swords, nun chucks and bows, and the other was open hand.

Kata is similar to figure skating in that the competitor puts together a routine to follow. The competitor is judged on the quality of the performance.

The third event was a form of fighting called kumite. This is where two competitors spar for points.

Hayes said the tournament’s purpose was to get as many karate dojos competing together in Chico as possible.

He also said he hopes the event will spark more interest in martial arts among Chico State students.

Chico State junior David Bertino is new to the school but says he already fits in at the Mu Alpha Xi fraternity. He loves the physical and intellectual result of the training.

“I was big into martial arts as a kid but then took some time off,” Bertino said. “Now I’m just getting back into it as a way to keep my body in good shape, as well as a way to teach me good discipline.”

Bertino said his karate training would impact him for the rest of his life. He will need to keep training hard, though, as he lost both of his matches Saturday in the kumite event.

“Even though I lost on Saturday, I felt good with my performance because I did score some points and hung with my competitor for as long as I could,” Bertino said.

Helping Mu Alpha Xi put the tournament on was Round Mountain Martial Arts owner Joe Covington and the Associated Students Activity Fee Council.

“These two sponsors were very important to us financially,” Hayes said. “With out their funding, this tournament wouldn’t have been as successful as it was.”

Additional assistance came from Chico State Recreational Sports in the form of use of Shurmer Gym. Hayes said he hopes the success of the tournament will encourage Chico State to host more events similar to it.

“Short-term-wise, I want to make this an annual event,” Hayes said. “If that happens, a long-term goal of mine would be to have a tournament every semester.”

Jeff Larson can be reached at

<a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a>