Martial Arts Legend Helps Plainfield Teen Get To Rome Competition

PLAINFIELD, IL — A Plainfield teen's quest to raise money for his trip to a martial arts tournament in Rome is being aided by a legend of the sport. Master Daniel Pesina has partnered with the parents of Andrew Swanson to help the local teen make it to Rome.

Andrew, a 16-year-old Plainfield Central student, recently qualified to represent Team USA in the World Pankration Championships, to be held in Rome in mid-November. Pankration is an ancient form of martial arts invented in Greece that combines wrestling and boxing, and it's a relatively new discipline for Andrew. But Andrew has been training in combat sports since he was 12, and dove head first into the new sport, said his mom, Nicole Swanson.

After being initiated in the new sport by his trainers at SUDA International Training Center, 13731 S. Route 30 in Plainfield., Andrew has been training in pankration for about a year. He qualified for Team USA, but now needs to raise money for his four-day trip to Italy.

Andrew's parents decided to help their son afford the trip by setting up a GoFundMe campaign in late August. The campaign has raised $465 as of Friday. But it is likely to get a big boost, thanks to Pesina.

Pesina is a Chicago native and a martial arts champion. He has appeared as a martial arts expert in movies like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II" and helped video game production company Midway form the main characters in "Mortal Kombat." Pesina portrayed and coreographed the moves for characters like Johnny Cage, Sub Zero and Scorpion, according to his IMDB page.

Pesina found about Andrew's quest to get to Rome through social media, and he reached out to the Swanson's to see if he could help, Nicole said.

"We are blessed to have Master Pesina support [Andrew] in his journey to Rome to fight," the Swanson's said in an update on the GoFundMe.

Pesina will send an autographed photo to anyone who donates $20 or more to Andrew's cause, according to the GoFundMe. The campaign is seeking to raise $3,000.

Andrew has been working overtime as a landscaper to save money for the trip, on top of putting in extra hours in the gym, Nicole said.

"He's putting everything away," Nicole said of Andrew's extra income.
"We're watching him, and we're doing everything we can. So we said,
let's see if we can get some help for him."

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