Brandon
Russell
Brandon
Russell was born on April 23, 1995 in
Memphis, Tennessee. Even
at a small age, Brandon impressed many with his ability to memorize
information and moves. At 5 years old, Brandon was playing video games with his Dad
when he began acting out the moves on his favorite game, which happened
to be the martial arts game titled “Tekken”. Brandon’s father
recognized his interest and determined that “if he wanted to learn, he
needed to learn right. The
search began not only to find a martial arts school, but to find a
martial arts instructor who had proven success developing children in
the arts. After a month of
interviews, Brandon began training under Robby Beard at USA Karate in
Bartlett, TN.
Immediately, Brandon
developed a love for Karate that was only second to his ability to
memorize patterns and moves surprisingly quickly.
Then it happened. A
local Tae Kwon Do school was conducting an open tournament and
Brandon wanted to go and watch.
After arriving and seeing all of the excitement, Brandon tugged
on his father’s shirt and said he wished he participated.
After obtaining his gi from the vehicle, 5 year old Brandon
marched out on the floor as if he’d been there before and took his
first, first place trophy. Brandon then began competing on the RSKC
circuit, ultimately placing 1st in 6 of 8 Regional Championships in
Forms and finished 2001 ranked #1.
Brandon also place
3rd overall in the 13 and under weapons division. In the 7 months that
he competed, Brandon also took top honors in many local Martial Arts
Tournaments in the Mid-South Region including Grand Champion honors at
some events. To broaden his
weapon base, Brandon began training under Sifu Joe Wilson from Memphis
Martial Arts in Filipino Stick Fighting. Then in 2004, Brandon began training with longtime instructor
Catharine Cummings. Catharine
later opened her own school (Martial Arts Training Academy in
Collierville, TN) and Brandon became a dominant foe with the bo.
As Brandon’s
technique increased, so did the titles, awards and accolades.
Brandon became a well known and a dominant force on both the
NASKA and RSKC circuits. Two
broken arms (one right, one left) slowed his progress down but didn’t
remove the desire to continue his Black Belt quest. In 2003, Brandon
topped his National Champion status by becoming the overall Weapons
champion in his division as well as Forms. In other words, 2 x National
Champion! & 3 x Regional Champion! For his hard work, Brandon was
selected to be the Tee Retriever for the Nationally Ranked University of
Memphis Tigers Football Team and Official Ball Boy of the Nationally
Ranked University of Memphis Tigers basketball team. Brandon was also
hi-lighted on Fox News while preparing for Tony Young's 2003 Year End
Nationals held in Atlanta, GA and has worked with the NBA Memphis
Grizzlies with promotions with their mascot GRIZZ as well as performing
in the FEDEX forum in front of 25,000! In 2005, Brandon has continued
his championship ways with continued intense training and has battled
successful for the NASKA top spots in his age divisions.
Brandon has developed
not only into a solid performer, but also more importantly into a solid
Martial Artist. The training values and determination
Brandon receives from his past and current instructors as well as
the opportunity to be trained by Catharine Cummings, Joe Wilson, Jerry
Prince & Robby Beard - cannot be measured in trophies, medals and
national rankings, but in the motivation, dedication, self-discipline
and spirit derived from the life lessons of Martial Arts Training.
You can learn more about
Brandon by visiting www.BrandonRussell.com
or by contacting him at Brandon@brandonrussell.com
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