This Conference is an Open Invitation Event

Men, women, boys, and girls, regardless of denominational affiliation, martial arts style, rank, age, race, or ability, are encouraged to participate in and benefit from the Christian martial arts training.

Conference Instructors and Topics

Instructor	Seminar Title
Marc England	Basic Self Defense
Mark Flaugher	Shang Ti Kempo Chi Na
Jim Hernandez	Aikido
Rick/David Merrell	Advanced Knife Work
Michael McClure	Kung Fu: The second most logical thing in the world
Orville Osbourne	Dynamic Kicking
Eddie Sellers	Bunkai and the Nerve Centers
David Shipley	Taiho Jutsu
Ron Tottingham	The Martial Arts in Light of the Chief End of Man
Keith Yates	Learning Principles of Combat From Step Sparring Drills

TRIPLE CROWN COMPETITION

Individual Medals awarded to 1st, 2nd,&3rd Place
HUGE 6 foot trophy awarded to overall point winning school
~Full Contact, Submission,&Kata Divisions~
Click here for participation requirements&details

Attention Black Belt Instructors

We understand the financial limitations of ministry-based martial arts programs. Our mission and goal is to provide professional training and wisdom from the minds of today's top martial arts masters—instruction that is engulfed with the love of Christ and carried out in the spirit of Christian fellowship. This conference is provided to you by the Gospel Martial Arts Union at an extremely low registration cost.

ATTENTION BLACK BELTS

RANK PROMOTIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND SCHOOL CHARTERS

Are you interested in receiving a rank promotion through the GMAU? The morning of October 23 we will be conducting Black Belt Examinations. If you are interested in participating you must contact Kyoshi Russell no later than August 25. Black Belts interested in receiving GMAU Instructor Certifications, School Charters, and International Ryu Recognition at the national conference awards ceremony should contact Kyoshi Russell no later than September 25 for complete details.

Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact GMAU Headquarters

 

REGISTRATION

The doors of GMAU Headquarters open at 4:00pm on Friday, October 23 and all regular conference sessions begin @ 5:00pm. Registration continues throughout Friday evening. Please plan on entering our facility through the main GMAU entrance located on Palmer Street (see photo). Parking is available in the lot located at the back of the building and on Palmer Street.

LOCATION

The national conference will be held at the 20,000 sq. ft. GMAU International Headquarters and Leadership Institute located at 1001 East Palmer Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46203. The facility is located on the near south side of downtown Indianapolis. From 465 south take I-65 north to the Raymond Street exit. Go west one block to Shelby Street and turn north. Continue north on Shelby to Palmer Street and turn west. Continue west for two blocks and look for the building on your left. Continue past the building to Ringgold Street and turn left to access the parking lot located behind the building. Enter the building through the front main entrance off of Palmer Street.

SPENDING THE NIGHT DURING A GMAU HEADQUARTERS EVENT?

The following nearby accommodations are all within 10 minutes of GMAU HQ:

 

Holiday Inn Express (recommended),

3514 South Keystone Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46227, 317-788-3100

Days Inn

3401 South Keystone Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46237, 317-788-0500

Comfort Inn

530 South Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46225, 317-631-9000

Days Inn

401 East Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204, 317-637-6464

 

Camp Out at HQ!!

Bunk Beds- For those on a shoe-string budget, a limited number of bunk beds are available for adult (21 and older) male conference participants. These are available absolutely FREE, however, a deposit of $25 must accompany your EARLY REGISTRATION form to hold your reservation. The $25 deposit will be refunded to you when you check-in BEFORE 6pm on Friday Night. Bunk bed accommodations / reservation will be distributed to early registrants on a FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED basis. You will be notified by email if you have successfully reserved a bunk bed. Deposit and bunk bed reservation is relinquished if check-in is after 6pm on Friday night, October 23. Adult male students who weren't fortunate enough to receive a bunk bed may sleep on the floor in the Men's Dorm Room absolutely free as well.

To commemorate Dr. Haralson's transition to Chairman Emeritus, this year's GMAU National Conference will depart from the customary "Meeting of the Masters" model, and will instead feature several black belt instructors who were a part of the GMAU in the first years of the organization's inception and/or who are a part of Dr. Haralson's Seigi Bushido Ryu style. A detailed teaching schedule will be available in the near future.

REGISTRATION

The doors of GMAU Headquarters open at 4:00pm on Friday, October 23 and all regular conference sessions begin @ 5:00pm. Registration continues throughout Friday evening. Please plan on entering our facility through the main GMAU entrance located on Palmer Street(it will be well marked). Parking is available in the lot located at the back of the building and on Palmer Street.

SCHEDULE

Friday, October 23

Morning Black Belt Examinations

• Exam Board: Doug Haralson, Orville Osbourne, Rick Merrell, David Merrell, Mike McClure, Ron Tottingham, Mark Flaugher, David Shipley and Doc Haralson (Larry and Christian Phillips will also join if available)
• Testing for Provisional Black Belt (Dan Brown, Kristine Weise, Valerie Hobbs)
• Testing for 1st Degree Black Belt (Steve Brown, Becky Ekstrand, Shane Jones)
• Testing for 2nd Degree Black Belt (Erin Askew)
• Testing for 4th Degree Black Belt (Jim Hernandez)

4:00 PM: Registration begins. Arrive early and fellowship with martial artists from across the country.
5 PM–8 PM: Conference Training Sessions

	Time	Instructor
		Black Belts	Kyu Students
	5pm	Mark Flaugher	Marc England
	6pm	Mike McClure	Merrell Brothers

8 PM-Midnight: Triple Crown Competition.

Saturday, October 24

8 AM–4 PM: Conference Training Sessions

	Time	Instructor
		Black Belts	Kyu Students
	8am	Merrell Brothers	Mark Flaugher
	9am	Eddie Sellers	Mike McClure
	10am	David Shipley	Keith Yates
	11am	Orville Osbourne	Jim Hernandez
	noon	Group Pictures
	12:15pm	Lunch break
	1pm	Ron Tottingham	David Shipley
	2pm	Jim Hernandez	Orville Osbourne
	3pm	Keith Yates	Eddie Sellers

6-9 PM:

Suit and Tie Event (this is included in the registration cost) The Saturday night conference awards ceremony, for this year, will be a "Suit abd Tie" (suits for men and dresses for ladies) event and will have a "Walk Down GMAU Memory Lane" theme as we honor Dr. Haralson and recognize his leadership contributions to the GMAU as a co-founder and his tenure as chairman the past seventeen years. Hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be served.

Participate in the Triple Crown Competition!

HUGE 6-FOOT TROPHY AWARDED TO OVERALL POINT-WINNING SCHOOL!

Individual medals awarded to 1st, 2nd & 3rd place

The Annual Triple Crown event consists of three divisions of competition:

KATA The Kata competition entries should represent a classic form from a style or system that the school represents. These may include the use of weapons. This event is open to both men and women.

GRAPPLING The Grappling competition will be governed by existing Pankration rules. This event is open to adult males.

KUMITE The Kumite competition will also be governed by existing Pankration rules. As this is a full contact competition, a mouth guard along with cloth hand and foot guards are required for this competition. This event is open to adult males.

A participating school must enter a competitor in each division. A competitor may enter more than one division. Competitors must represent a school, and be participants in the Meeting of the Masters conference. Dojo Instructors may either nominate students for this activity or they may consider holding interim competitions at their respective dojo to determine who would be able to enter the national competition. These nominations may be either kyu or dan rank students. For each event, points will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place. Awards will be given to the top three finishers in each category. Based on scoring across all three divisions, a dojo-based Triple Crown traveling trophy will be presented. This will reside at their home dojo until the next GMAU Nationals Triple Crown. If a dojo wins this award three years in a row they will receive a permanent trophy for their accomplishment. The GMAU Triple Crown organizers reserve the right to refuse competition rights to any submission by a dojo. Competitors are expected to demonstrate the highest character and behavior. Each participant is a representative of their dojo, their instructor, and their faith.