Nerves controlled as former instructor looks on

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Mike Martelle has won national martial arts championships in the past, but his most recent title has added significance. That's because the Mohawk Native was able to capture a Canadian title with his very first martial arts instructor, Kwok Chang, in attendance.

Martelle participated in this year's Canadian tai chi and kung fu championships held in Markham, Ont. in October. He won the super heavyweight (over 205 pounds) category in the Tui Shou discipline. Tui Shou is a style of Chinese wrestling.

There were eight entrants in the super heavyweight division at the nationals. Martelle won all three of his matches en route to his gold medal.

"The latest one means the most to me," said Martelle, a 31-year-old who is living in Montreal. "It was a really special occasion to me."

Martelle said it was a nerve-wracking experience simply calling up Chang, a Toronto resident, and inviting him to come watch this year's nationals.

Chang had helped launch Martelle's martial arts career almost two decades ago, while both were living in Kingston, Ont.

"I was often bullied," said Martelle, explaining how he got interested in martial arts at the age of 13.

Martelle trained with Chang for seven years, studying a style of kung fu as well as tai chi.

As might be expected, Martelle said he was no longer the target of any bullying, soon after his introduction to martial arts.

"Not that long," Martelle said when asked when the bullying stopped.

Besides wanting to impress his former instructor at this year's nationals with his own abilities, Martelle was also nervous contacting Chang because he was bringing along a pair of his students and he knew their performances would be a reflection on his coaching.

Martelle teaches martial arts at the Kingston YMCA, as well as at a community centre in Montreal.

The two Kingston athletes Martelle brought to the nationals both won medals in their Tui Shou categories. Travis Smith took home the silver medal in his middleweight (155 pounds and below) class while Mike Ketchum captured the bronze medal in his lightweight (125 pounds and below) division.

Martelle's triumph at the nationals was a bit of a surprise. This marked the first time in about a decade that he had entered the Tui Shou competition at the nationals.

His previous best Tui Shou result at a Canadian competition was a fourth-place finish in 1994.

Martelle also won three other medals-a silver and two bronze- at this year's nationals in other disciplines.

Martelle had won his first national title in 2000 in Pankration, a full contact martial art with Greek origins. He also won two national Pankration championships in 2001.

Another highlight in his career occurred last year when he captured a silver medal at the world championship in Tokyo.

During his career, Martelle has participated in about 90 competitions. Besides last year's event in Japan and numerous meets across Canada and the United States, he has also competed at events in Mexico and Greece.

But he's not certain when he will next enter an event, in part because he seems content simply passing on his martial arts knowledge and watching the progress of his students.

"It's hard to say (when I'll compete next)," he said. "I'm really enjoying the success of my students right now."