{"id":131495,"date":"2026-06-02T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-county-martial-artists-to-compete-on-world-stage-for-team-usa-in-france\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T11:00:00","slug":"montezuma-county-martial-artists-to-compete-on-world-stage-for-team-usa-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-county-martial-artists-to-compete-on-world-stage-for-team-usa-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Montezuma County martial artists to compete on world stage for Team USA in France"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Judah
Judah Marty, 17, works through pad drills with coach Derek Beckman during practice at Montezuma Martial Arts Academy. Judah qualified to represent Team USA at the International Combat Organization World Championships occurring Oct. 14 to 18 in Thonon-les-Bains, France. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cFootwork is like eating vegetables,\u201d coach Derek Beckman told a line of young martial artists warming up and stretching Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody wants to do it, but it makes us fast,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In five months, four students from Montezuma Martial Arts Academy will travel to France to compete at the International Combat Organization World Championships for Team USA.<\/p>\n

\"Students
Students warm up during a Saturday practice at Montezuma Martial Arts Academy, in the studio located at 500 Railroad Ave. in Dolores. \u201cThis is your safe space for mistakes. I don\u2019t care if you fall down. I don\u2019t care if you make a mistake and your kick looks a little off,\u201d said coach Derek Beckman. \u201cThis is our opportunity to fix those mistakes, right?\u201d (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Eleven-year-old Matthew Brown says the chance to compete oversees this year feels like \u201ca big birthday present vacation,\u201d with his birthday following days later.<\/p>\n

The trip also represents the highest level of competition Brown and teammates from Montezuma Martial Arts Academy have reached. The mid-October competition in Thonon-les-Bains, France, highlights growth for Montezuma Martial Arts Academy, a local program in Dolores founded in 2018 with a mission of developing both martial artists and community leaders.<\/p>\n

The academy offers regular classes to achieve rank but also sparring classes, a weapons-demonstration class for kids, as well as kickboxing and grappling classes.<\/p>\n

Qualifiers are Matthew, 11; Beatrice \u201cBeats\u201d Beckman, 10; Judah Marty, 17; and Clint Zwicker, 12.<\/p>\n

\"Geren
Geren Zwicker, 14, throws a kick during training. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Clint
Clint Zwicker, 12, lands a punch with coach Derek Beckman. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Beckman, who competes in world competitions, coaches and owns the academy, praised the students\u2019 commitment. He said not only did they qualify after placing first in an event at a tournament but the students dedicate hours multiple days a week in the studio, training while also volunteering to build character.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goals of the academy are not only to create outstanding martial artists but outstanding next generation leaders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Beckman led a practice made up of punching drills, sprints, kicks and kata performances, while emphasizing certain techniques, noting proper heel alignment and coaching students to strike their kicks high.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, remember when we\u2019re getting ready for competition, part of our training is to take this time to look sharp,\u201d he told nine students.<\/p>\n

Beyond physical mechanics, Beckman encourages them to treat the studio as a safe space for mistakes and highlights the importance of vocal intensity and confidence.<\/p>\n

He told the class as they rehearsed choreography in kata performances: \u201cRemember the two main things about karate: You get to be loud and you get to hurt things when you don\u2019t get to do that anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before beginning her kata routine, Beatrice \u201cBeats\u201d stood center at the mat to formally introduce herself and routine to the judges, bellowing loudly: \u201cJudges, my name is Beats Beckman from Montezuma Martial Arts Academy, I would like to perform the Cu San Cu. With permission, may I begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beats said later she was excited for the overseas tournament to meet competitors from around the world and experience another culture; she tried learning French but it was difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith tournaments in Denver, people from different countries would come, but I\u2019ve never competed with somebody from a different continent, so I think that\u2019d be cool,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Matthew joined Taekwondo years ago while he and his family lived in Denver. He was inspired by the Karate Kid movies, ninja movies, \u201cSpider-Man\u201d and \u201cCobra Kai.\u201d Back in preschool, however, he was picked on by the older kids in daycare, and martial arts became a cherished outlet.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew
Matthew Brown, center, and fellow students work through drills. Brown is one of four academy members competing for Team USA at the International Combat Organization World Championships in France. \u201cI watched a ton of movies and stuff and I was like, 'Oh, this is awesome. I really want to do it,\u2019\u201d Matthew said.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI started doing it, and I didn\u2019t watch other sports before that and I was not the best at them,\u201d Matthew said. \u201cBut when I got here, it just, like, clicked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckman said unlike athletes in more traditional sports, martial artists have limited spaces to display their abilities outside the dojo, making tournaments one of the few places they can put their athleticism on full display.<\/p>\n

Clint said he is eager to see varying styles of karate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited just being there and with people from around the world. (It) is going to be crazy,\u201d Clint said. \u201cI am kind of nervous, but it\u2019s a ways away. So, I have time to prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the end of drills, the students were sweating. Beckman emphasized the experience matters more than the result.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have any expectations for my students as far as they are going to train hard, do their best, have a good time with their teammates and foster some international relationships at the same time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Students
Students practice fighting stances and punches. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Clint
Clint Zwicker shouts during practice. \u201cI like that level of energy. It screams: look at me,\u201d said coach Derek Beckman on Saturday. \u201cAll right, that\u2019s what you want to be. Bring that level of intensity. Bring that level of energy, and you guys are going to see your scores just tick up.\u201d (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Beckman\u2019s discipline and encouragement went hand-in-hand: He offered plenty of corrections but mainly praised students for showing up on a Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are skills that transfer here, whether in school or in our relationships. Character skills, integrity and self-control \u2013 being able to show up on time, being able to demonstrate grace with pressure,\u201d he said. \u201cWin or lose, we make our opponents work.\u201d<\/p>\n

awatson@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Coach
Coach Derek Beckman, back and left, poses with students from Montezuma Martial Arts Academy in Dolores, including Team USA qualifiers Matthew Brown, Beats Beckman, Judah Marty and Clint Zwicker, who will compete at the International Combat Organization World Championships this fall. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

students earned spots at ICO world championships this fall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":131496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[44,28,60,29,346,6419],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-131495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-dolores","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter","tag-sports","tag-tj-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131495"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=131495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}