Ten years of Okanagan martial arts training will be celebrated by Pacific Top Team this September.
The dojo started as a simple way to train for owners and passionate martial artists Sarah Draht and Jorden Reichenbach, and over a near decade Pacific Top Team has grown into a family-orientated dojo which the duo have been proud to operate in the Okanagan.
鈥淲e started it from nothing,鈥� Draht said. 鈥淎nd it just grew and grew and people started to love it. Our goal was to target the family people and create a home away from home for people.鈥�
鈥淢artial arts gives people a lot. People step onto the mat to learn something new and sometimes they don鈥檛 realize the journey that they鈥檙e starting on.鈥�
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While Draht specializes more on the jiu-jitsu training鈥攕he recently won gold at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Masters World Championships鈥攕he鈥檚 seen a rise in local interest in martial arts with the growing popularity of MMA, the UFC and recognizable people in the industry such as Joe Rogan and Canadian martial artist Georges St-Pierre.
In a release from the provincial government earlier this week, B.C.鈥檚 athletic commission authorized and sanctioned professional kickboxing as an option for martial artists.
Kickboxing was previously recognized as an amateur sport where athletes would need to transition into MMA or leave the province in order to kickbox professionally. The sports sanction will increase athlete safety by integrating existing training practices and standardizing regulations.
鈥淭he B.C. Athletic Commission has been working toward the inclusion of professional kickboxing for quite some time,鈥� B.C.鈥檚 athletic commissioner Kelly Gilday said.
鈥淭he decision to allow professional kickboxing in B.C. as a subset of MMA is a significant step toward reducing the risk to fighters by allowing them to transition from amateur to professional in the sport they have trained in for years.鈥�
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Draht said the approved sanction will lead to more interest in the Okanagan and more people embracing the sport other than just for self-defence, but as a way of life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good for the mind and the body,鈥� she said.
鈥淎ll these layers of training move into lifestyles. Through martial arts, I鈥檝e seen people leave poor relationships, overcome addiction and do complete 180s in their lives.鈥�
In celebration of the growing sport and the growing dojo, Draht and the Pacific Top Team are hosting free workshops as a way to thank and celebrate Okanagan martial artists.
Self-defence, kids classes, women鈥檚 only classes and classes with head instructor and former world champion Adolfo Lozano will be free to the community at the 10th anniversary party on Sept. 21.
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