Craig Says! For more info on the Arnold
Craig Smith has been asked to promote
Kickboxing in this years 2008 Arnold
Schwarzenegger Classic held every
year in Columbus Ohio.
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related Virginian Pilot Story > (PDF)
Arnold is one of, if not the most
recognized Body Builders in the history
of Body Building, and also the Governor
of California. This event is the largest
athletic event in the country, with
Amateur and Professional sports. They
have over 5,000 competitors and over
150,000 spectators visit each year.
Toki Hill (a well known Martial Artist
from the 80's and 90's) hired Craig to
promote the Kickboxing part of the
event. This will be the first year for
Kickboxing to be a part of the event.
With over 2,000 competitors for the
Martial Arts alone, Craig is hoping many
of them try their skills in the
Kickboxing portion of the event. "I
think many of the point fighters will
try and compete in Kickboxing this year,
it is the next step up from the point
fighting" Craig Says. This is a big
addition to Craig's Resume whi ch
includes Kickboxing and Karate
Championships dating back to the early
80's. Along with all of his promotions
with the IKF/WAKO and WKKO over the
years, he is considered one of the top
promoters in the Country. He was the
Top promoter for the IKF for two years
bringing home the award for most
Kickboxers to compete at his and Clark
Walters Mid-Atlantic Championships in
2004/2005. He and Clark Walters also
put on the 2nd largest Kickboxing event
in the history of this Country in 2006
with over 220 fighters fighting in Va.
Beach Va. He is currently a promoter for
the WKKO where he and Clark put on two
events a year with the EastCoast Classic
(in its 8th Year) and the U.S.Classic
(in its 3rd year). Being hired on to do
the Arnold Classic should open doors for
him in the near future with his exposure
to all of the fighters through out the
U.S., and all the camps that have
participated through out the years at
his events. Craig wants to bring
Honesty and Prestige back to
Kickboxing. Over the years many
sanctioning bodies have came about and
very few work together. His goal is to
have all of them put aside their
differences and have National
Championships together as the WKKO has
in the past. Honesty is big, with so
many camps getting burned when traveling
to other home towns and getting hometown
or bias calls against them. ' I don't
think there should be ONE supreme
sanctioning body as long as they all
work together and promote Honest events,
where the Fighters are the ones being
taken care of. Not the Pockets of the
Sanctioning body or Promoters." Craig
Says!
For more info on the Arnold Classic go
to
www.arnoldclassic.com
or go straight to the Martial Arts of
the event by going to
www.arnoldmartialarts.com
