All Tang Soo Do Championship Fundraiser
Woburn, MA — March 27, 2010 — The Sports Legacy Institute participated in the 37th annual All Tang Soo Do Championship, hosted by the American Tang Soo Do Association and Grandmaster Richard Byrne. Grandmaster Byrne is a member of the CSTE Brain Research and Donation Registry and advisory board member of the Sports Legacy Institute. To raise awareness of brain trauma in martial arts, Grandmaster Byrne asked Chris Nowinski to provide a Concussion Clinic to over 300 participants from around the world, ages 6 to 60, during the event opening ceremonies (see photo). During the event, Grandmaster Byrne held a raffle for SLI, and with a selection of great donated items, they raised nearly $1500 for brain trauma education. Click here to view more photos of the event.
Grandmaster Richard Byrne, 9th Dan, is the president and founder of the American Tang Soo Do Association and the United Tang Soo Do Congress. He is recognized worldwide as an expert in board breaking, currently holding three world records. His career has lead him to become an award winning author of, “The Complete Art of Breaking”, an actor starring in several action movies including "When Death Comes Quickly", and in "Distant Justice", and was even a successful Pro Wrestler, which is how he met Chris Nowinski nearly ten years ago. Master Byrne's multi-faceted martial arts background has established him as one of the most respected men in martial arts today and one of the major leaders of Tang Soo Do in the country.
The raffle featured four donated prize packages. The fabulous Liberty Hotel in Boston, MA donated a weekend stay. Grandmaster Byrne put together a Tang Soo Do Package that included a gift certificate for the 2010 ATA Summer Camp program admission for one, two autographed books, “This is Tang Soo Do” and “The Art of Breaking”, written and donated by Grandmaster Byrne; and the autographed book, “Dynamic Stretching and Kicking”, written and donated by Grandmaster Bill “Superfoot” Wallace. A Pro Wrestling Package included two Rob Van Dam Autographed 8 X 10 photos donated by Rob Van Dam, an autographed copy of Jesse Ventura’s book “Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me,” and an autographed copy of, “Head Games: Football's Concussion Crisis from the NFL to Youth Leagues” courtesy of Mr. Nowinski. However, the item picked first was a football autographed and donated by SLI’s Ted Johnson, former New England Patriots star.
SLI would like to thank Grandmaster Byrne for his commitment to brain trauma research and education, the Tang Soo Do community for their donations, and SLI volunteers Heather DaSilva, Nicole Roderman, and Phuong Nguyen.
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