Ainsley Walters, Freelance Reporter JAMAICA'S combined martial arts team, the Busta Fighters, are set to face a well-prepared and star-studded United States team, littered with 2007 World Championships medallists, in Connecticut today.
Marcello Cancelliere, the United States' International Tae kwon do Federation's secretary general and coach of the USA team to face Jamaica, said he has been following the progress of the Busta Fighters and has assembled a squad to halt their three-year win streak at the tournament.
"I was a competitor at the World Championships in 1994, 1997, 1999 and 2007 and also national coach in 2005. I have been watching Jamaica and for a small country they have good competitors in sparring and speciality techniques.
"I had the opportunity to observe, in Canada, one of their heavyweights, who did not win but gave his German opponent a good fight," Cancelliere added, referring to Kenneth Edwards, who was on the bad end of close decisions in Quebec.
"The Jamaican team is very strong and flexible with good lead legs," he pointed out. "They use their front leg very well and are very persistent. We saw them in Atlantic City last year and they did very well. We look forward to having good matches with them as they like to spar and are very feisty," he added.
This tournament will have approximately 300 competitors with national champions from the USA's east coast.
Jamaica, in a bid for a fourth straight win, are set to field Arthur Barrows, Bruce McFarlane, Kenneth Edwards, Nicholas Dussard, Omar Rose, Dwayne Brown, Alrick Wanliss and captain Jason McKay.
The combined team has, in the past, depended on a gruelling training regime and specialised selections to outgun the Americans. However, the hosts have spotted the Jamaican's game plan and have had three of their top international fighters training for more than two months.
Cancelliere, who oversaw the USA's terrific medal haul in 17 events at the 2007 ITF World Championship in Quebec, Canada, has three members from that squad lined up to face Jamaica.
captain Resende
Carlos Resende, a two-time national USA champion, will captain the homesters.
"He was a bronze medallist at the last world champs in Canada as a heavyweight in men's sparring and also competed in previous championships in Germany and Canada," Cancelliere pointed out.
Other American national team members, who medalled in Quebec and are down to face the McKay-captained Jamaicans, include John McLaughlin and Patrick Pires.
"McLaughlin is a junior national champion who brought home a gold and two bronze from Canada as an hyperweight," the US coach explained.
McLaughlin won gold in specialty breaking and a bronze in team sparring at last year's World Champs. Pires, a former junior national champ, also took a gold and two bronze from Canada last year.
The other American team members are Jamal Ali and Ilyas Mirzayev, upcoming Philadelphia fighters.
"Our preparation consists four to five days of training, including Sundays," said Cancelliere, adding that he has been observing Jamaica for quite a while and will not be taking the Busta Fighters lightly.
"We have been running, lifting and sparring for two to three hours for the past three months. We are using this as our first fight before travelling internationally to compete in the ITF World Cup in Italy in October," he pointed out.
