2002 Press
Releases and Articles
After every competition,
the Chinese Martial Arts Center distributes Press Releases to media outlets in Central and South-Central Pennsylvania. Our 2002 press releases and newspaper clips
follow.
For immediate release Contact: Jose Johnson, 717-580-8206
June 4, 2002 dowushu.com
Local man wins gold at martial arts
competition in New
York City
Harrisburg, PA—A Harrisburg man won
one gold and three silver medals at the 2002 Summer Bash, an annual martial
arts competition, held in New York City on Sunday.
Andrew
Smeltz, of Harrisburg, won the gold
medal in the 24-form taijiquan division, a standardized martial arts form with
24 movements. Twenty-four taijiquan is the most practiced Chinese martial arts
form in the world. Smeltz also won the silver medals in divisions where he
performed broadsword, straight sword and another standardized martial arts form
that is more difficult than 24 form.
“This
is the third time my students have competed at the Summer Bash,” said Jose
Johnson, chief instructor of the Chinese
Martial Arts Center
in Harrisburg. “Andy’s performance
on Sunday is the best overall showing from any of my students. What’s amazing
is that this was Andy’s first competition ever. I’m looking forward to seeing
him develop as an athlete and competitor.” Smeltz is an optician at Allegany
Optical in Carlisle and has studied Chinese martial arts
for three-and-a-half years.
The
Chinese Martial
Arts Center
has a history of training athletes who achieve national recognition. Johnson
was the all-around champion at two major national Chinese martial arts
competitions in 1995, the first person to win both in a single year. In 1999,
his student Galen Shaner, from Mechanicsburg, won one of these events. In 2000,
another student, Sara Gellhorn, of Exton, was the second person to win both in
one year.
Another
student, Juli McGreevy, of Carlisle, won one silver and
two bronze medals on Sunday. With these performances, both Smeltz and McGreevy
qualified for US Nationals, to be held in Orlando,
Florida over the Labor Day weekend.
For immediate release Contact: Jose Johnson, 717-580-8206
August 1, 2002 WushuPA@aol.com
Local athletes win at International Chinese
Martial Arts Competition
Harrisburg,
PA—Three local Chinese martial arts
athletes were among the top competitors at the 2002 US International Kuoshu
Championship Tournament in Hunt Valley, Maryland
on July 27 and 28.
Andrew
Smeltz, of Harrisburg, won a silver
medal in Men’s Other Style Tai Chi and bronze medals in Men’s Tai Chi Weapons
and Men’s Pushing Hands, Super Light Weight Division. Ben Ninmann, of Lancaster,
won bronze medals in Men’s Tai Chi Weapons and Tai Chi 50 years and over. Juli
McGreevy, of Carlisle, won a bronze medal in Women’s Tai
Chi Weapons.
While
it is also a martial art, tai chi, or taiji, is most commonly practiced as a
healthful exercise in the US
and throughout the world. Kuoshu, more commonly known as kung fu, is a Chinese
term for martial arts.
Smeltz,
Ninmann and McGreevy are students at the Chinese
Martial Arts Center
in Harrisburg. “These athletes
devote years to training for events that last three minutes,” said Jose
Johnson, chief instructor of the Chinese
Martial Arts Center
in Harrisburg. “And then, win or
lose, they start training all over again for the next event.”
At
a competition in June in New York City,
Smeltz and McGreevy qualified for US Nationals in Orlando,
Florida over the Labor Day Weekend.
Smeltz’s
participation in this and other competitions is sponsored by Allegany Optical
of Greencastle and Pierre B. Turchi, MD, of Chambersburg.
www.DoWushu.com
For immediate release Contact: Jose Johnson, 717-580-8206
September 5, 2002 wushupa@aol.com
Local man wins at national martial arts
competition in Orlando
Harrisburg,
PA—A Harrisburg
man won the men’s internal division at the US National Chinese Martial Arts
Championships held in Orlando on
the Labor Day Weekend. Andrew Smeltz, of Harrisburg,
won the Men’s Adult Internal Division, making him the number one ranked male
taiji athlete in the United States.
He earned five gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
“Andy’s
performance this weekend is amazing because this is his first year as a
competitor,” said Jose Johnson, chief instructor of the Chinese
Martial Arts Center
in Harrisburg. “I’m looking forward
to his development as a major player in the world of competitive Chinese
martial arts.”
The
Chinese Martial
Arts Center
has a history of training athletes who achieve national recognition. Johnson
was the all-around champion at two major national Chinese martial arts
competitions in 1995, the first person to win both in a single year. In 1999,
his student Galen Shaner, from Mechanicsburg, won one of these events. In 2000,
another student, Sara Gellhorn, of Exton, was the second person to win both in
one year.
Taiji,
or tai chi, is the most commonly practiced martial art in the world. In the United
States, most practitioners participate in it
as a mild and healthful form of exercise, but in Asia it
is well known as a defense system as a well as a competitive sport. In 2008, it
will be an Olympic event in Beijing.
Smeltz
is an optician at Allegany Optical in Carlisle and has
studied Chinese martial arts for almost four years. Smeltz’s participation in
this and other competitions is sponsored by Allegany Optical of Greencastle and
Pierre B. Turchi, MD, of Chambersburg.
Another
student, Juli McGreevy, of Carlisle, won one silver and
three bronze medals in Orlando. For
more information about the competition in Orlando,
visit www.USWushuUnion.com.
www.DoWushu.com
Coming
soon: 2002 newspaper articles
