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.

91裸聊视频淲e started it from nothing,91裸聊视频� Draht said. 91裸聊视频淎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.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淢artial arts gives people a lot. People step onto the mat to learn something new and sometimes they don91裸聊视频檛 realize the journey that they91裸聊视频檙e starting on.91裸聊视频�

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While Draht specializes more on the jiu-jitsu training91裸聊视频攕he recently won gold at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Masters World Championships91裸聊视频攕he91裸聊视频檚 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.91裸聊视频檚 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.

91裸聊视频淭he B.C. Athletic Commission has been working toward the inclusion of professional kickboxing for quite some time,91裸聊视频� B.C.91裸聊视频檚 athletic commissioner Kelly Gilday said.

91裸聊视频淭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.91裸聊视频�

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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.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 good for the mind and the body,91裸聊视频� she said.

91裸聊视频淎ll these layers of training move into lifestyles. Through martial arts, I91裸聊视频檝e seen people leave poor relationships, overcome addiction and do complete 180s in their lives.91裸聊视频�

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, women91裸聊视频檚 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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