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"A family friendly fitness facility that offers karate and fitness (cardio kickboxing) training by Karate World Champion Instructors."

Guelph Family Martial Arts Located at: 340 Woodlawn Road West, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 7K6 _ Tel: (519) 341-0550 _ Web: GuelphFamilyMartialArts.com

673 - 1/7/2020 6:03:22 AM  

Local Martial Artist Wins 5 World Titles

Nathan Skoufis, 25, lifetime resident of Guelph did not get to have a typical Holiday Season this year

He competed at the year-end Annual 30th Anniversary National Black Belt League Super Grands World Championships in New York State. The Super Grands is a historic week-long event, that began December 25th through January 1st with competitors travelling from all over the globe to compete at the event. Practitioners of Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Boxing, Kickboxing, Mixed Martial Arts, Kung Fu and others all compete. 



The National Black Belt League is the most prestigious sanctioning bodies for martial arts, ranking many of the top events throughout the globe. Competitors compete throughout the year in order to obtain a ranking for the year-end Super Grands tournament which is comparable to the Super Bowl of martial arts competitions. Skoufis entered the event as a “wild card” meaning he purposely entered the tournament unranked, having to beat every single person in his division. The final two fighters in their respective divisions then compete in the grand finale for the world championship title. 

Adult Men’s Middle Weight Fighting World Title 
Where the scoring is based on techniques that land in the scoring area.

Adult Men’s Middle Weight Continuous Fighting World Title
Which is based on total strikes landed in two rounds. Hand techniques are worth one point, kicks to the body are one point and kicks to the head are two points, jump and spin kicks are worth 2-3 points. 

Adult Men’s Team Fighting World Title 
Adult Men’s Team Fighting consists of three 18 years and older males sparring against the other team one competitor versus another competitor from the other team, with a total of three matches. The team with the highest accumulated score being selected as the victor.

Adult Mixed Teams Fighting World Title
Mixed Teams consists of one 18 years and older male fighter, one 18 years and older female fighter and one 35 years and older male fighter. Where the total points from all three matches are combined to determine the winning team.

Overall All Weights Adult Men’s Super Grand Fighting Grand Champion 
for the second straight year and 3rd year as an adult and junior. 


Skoufis won the Adult Black Belt Middleweight World Title and the Adult Black Belt Team Sparring World Title. 
In Adult Men’s Fighting there are 8 divisions 1. Featherweight 2. Super Lightweight 3. Lightweight 4. Light Middleweight 5. Middleweight 6. Light Heavyweight 7. Heavyweight 8. Super Heavyweight 

All Weight World Champions then fight each other until one is left to be crowned Overall World Grand Champion in the grand finale on the evening of December 31st, a highly sought-after title that is internationally recognized and accredited. Skoufis won against the other champions to qualify for the final match. Skoufis was victorious and won the Overall World Grand Champion, a historic accomplishment. After this week’s tournament, Skoufis has now secured his 21st World Title. Skoufis has won the world championships three years in a row and is now a 15x NBL World Champion. His first ever Supergrands World Championships was 2008 in Sacramento, California. 


Skoufis began martial arts as a young boy in the spring of 2000, and now nearly two decades in the sport, he has represented Team Canada and is a 5th degree black belt. He won his first world title in 2007 in Atlantic City. 

Skoufis says “I want to thank everyone who has supported me throughout my martial arts career, thank you to the entire community for your constant overwhelming support, I appreciate it so much. It is a surreal accomplishment, that has become a reality for me. A surreal accomplishment that is a dream come true. 

This title is one that I always wanted to win as a child… I hope this award shows that regardless of the city that you live in, regardless of the population, any goal is achievable. May 2020 bring you all health and happiness, thank you again and all the best. Nothing makes me prouder than to represent this amazing community on the international stage. It is really special to have won at the 30th Anniversary of the Supergrands World Championships that has been the proving ground for so many amazing world champions over the years. 

I can not believe it has been over a decade from my very first Supergrands tournament in 2008. I’ve really dedicated my life around this sport. The amount of sacrifices and commitment my family and especially my mom made to get me to this point being able to get to this point is very emotional for me.’’


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Guelph Family Martial Arts (GFMA) is a family friendly fitness facility that offers karate and fitness (cardio kickboxing) training by Karate World Champion Instructors. Our classes are for everyone and every level of physical fitness, so you and your family can be sure you will feel comfortable in our program. Kids programs start as young as age 3 and provide a fantastic base for your child's overall development.
       

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