Sport Karate Magazine
Issue 69 June - August 2000

 The Chinook Winds Casino, located on Oregon's scenic northern shore, has generously donated its spacious facilities, time and again, for some of the Northwest's finest martial arts tournaments.

 With over $10,000 in prize money on the line, no one was surprised at the stream of world champions, past and present, who began popping up in various rings, often to the groans of less seasoned competitors, who may not have realized that world champions appear at world class events.

 If northwest competitors didn't know whom Kyle Gray of Buffalo, New York was when he stepped into the weapons ring, they sure did by tournamnets end. Gray, holder of this year's Korean world title and runner-up in hard creative and Japanese-Okinawan forms, marched through the weapons divisions capturing them all without even working up a sweat.

 I guess if you're going to fly across the country to attend a national karate tournament, it only makes sense that you have the ability to dominate the competition. Kyle Gray finished his sweep of divisions with wins in Creative, Musical, Korean and Japanese Forms.

 The evening finals were as mentioned, the finale for a year long master plan to produce the best national tournament possible. The light show over and done with, it was time for a truly gifted array of finalists to demonstrate the characteristics of champions.

Kyle Gray stood along side Chris Sublett, Jerico Catura and Sierra Webb for the junior musical grand championship and proved it isn't always the older, more experienced athlete who wins the top prize. Gray not only took grand in that division, he came back later to win the junior Korean grandchampionship title.