Darien Martial Arts Students Shine At 2024 Kempo Classic Tournament

DARIEN, CT — Darien was well-represented at the 2024 Kempo Classic on June 2, a martial arts tournament tournament that featured 350 competitors from Connecticut and New York, ages 3 to 8, who competed across 18 unique divisions.

Events at the tournament, which was held at the Wilton Field House, included:

• Maneuvers – a series of moves requiring skill containing blocks, strikes, and throws used in self-defense
• Kata Forms – a longer, highly detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements
• Sparring – full contact ‘free-form’ fighting where combatants use protective gear and attempt to outscore their opponent

Owner and chief instructor of Kempo Karate in Darien, Sensei Michael Nahan, organized the tournament.

Significant Achievements by Kempo Darien Students

• DHS students William Raskopf (age 15) and Arjun Vaidya (age 16) won first and second place respectively in Sparring TEEN, a double elimination event. Darien students swept the division with Aleksander Trzaska finishing third and Aaron DeHaemer earning fourth place.
• 5-year-old Winston Nahan struck hard for Wilton as this year’s youngest to earn placement trophies across multiple events. He took second place in both Sparring Age 5 and Maneuvers age 4-6 (last name L-Q).
• Dylan O’Connor (age 6) fought with incredible heart in Sparring Age 6. After losing once early he worked his way through the lower bracket making it into the finals against another Darien student, Lede Kaspriske, who had an outstanding undefeated streak through the winner’s bracket. In an incredible back and forth final, the tie-breaker match point went to O'Connor earning him firstplace with Kaspriske taking a second place trophy in his first tournament ever
• In another incredibly close finish, the Sparring Age 9 event saw a similar story. Max Alvarez, with laser focus and a determined gaze, clinched first place scoring on the tie-breaker match point. Alvarez fought against the talented (and ever-present in trophy ceremonies) Bodhi O’Brien who earned two trophies that day - second place with a stellar performance in Sparring Age 9 and third place in Maneuvers Age 9.

More Tournament Results

Sparring Age 5

• First place for Jayce Rose
• Second place for Winston Nahan
• Third place for Reeve Smith
• Fourth place for Callen Malone

Sparring Age 6 (Group A)

• Second place for Grace Murphy
• Third place for Victor Mora
• Fourth place for Henry Lumpkin

Sparring Age 6 (Group B)

• First place for Dylan O’Connor
• Second place for Lede Kaspriske
• Third place for Darren Xu

Maneuvers Ages 4-6 (A-K)

• Second place for Andrea Dooley
• Fourth place for Colby Fulton

Maneuvers Ages 4-6 (L-Q)

• Second place for Winston Nahan
• Third place for Hao-Zhu Liu
• Fourth place for Noah Lee

Maneuvers Ages 4-6 (R-Z)

• First place for Darren Xu
• Fourth place for Saanvi Thakker

Darien Students Sweep Sparring Age 7 with:

• First place for Patrik Crowell
• Second place for Finn Graves
• Third place for Charlie Moore
• Fourth place for Charlie Grant

Maneuvers Age 7

• Third place for August Peloso

Sparring Age 8

• Second place for Jackson Wilcheck
• Third place for Maggie Grant
• Fourth place for Max Davis

Maneuvers Age 8

• Second place for Jackson Wilcheck
• Third place for Adriel Cooke
• Fourth place for Christina Filewych

Sparring Age 9

• First place for Max Alvarez
• Second place for Bodhi O’Brien
• Third place for Henry Moore

Maneuvers Age 9

• First place for William Kramer
• Second place for Kamyla Hernandez
• Third place for Bodhi O’Brien

Darien Students Sweep Sparring Age 10 with:

• First place for Daniel Courtney
• Second place for Aaryan Patel
• Third place for Marshall Davis
• Fourth place for Jack Johnman

Maneuvers Age 10

• Second place for Wylie Graves
• Third place for Chantal Kostrzewski

Sparring Ages 11 – 12

• First place for Tyler McMaster
• Second place for Stefan Belopavlovic
• Third place for Jacob Zaremba

Kata Forms Ages 12 & Under

• Third place for Stefan Belopavlovic

Darien Students Sweep Sparring TEEN with:

• First place for William Raskopf
• Second place for Arjun Vaidya
• Third place for Aleksander Trzaska
• Fourth place for Aaron DeHaemer

Darien Students Sweep Kata Forms TEEN with:

• First place for Aaron DeHaemer
• Second place for William Raskopf
• Third place for Tavisha Thakker
• Fourth place for Aly Matullo