The Busta Fighters with their trophies won in Orlando, Florida. From left, Kenneth Edwards, Dwain Brown, Claude Chin (coach), Keith Edwards (chief official), Sean Cummings, Nicolas Dussard, Ryan Rampair (manager and reserve) Bruce McFarlane and Jason McKay (captain). - CONTRIBUTED
JAMAICA'S COMBINED martial arts team, the Busta Fighters, took last weekend's US Open World Championship by storm, winning four medals - two gold, one silver and a bronze in Orlando, Florida.
In what could be described as their most dramatic comeback on tour, the Busta Fighters were forced to call on retired Keith Edwards, who had travelled as chief official, to help secure their first World Championship gold medal after facing shocking tournament changes.
Upon registering, the Jason McKay-led team had to split their normal five-man unit into two outfits.
In addition, the competition, now a two-team contest, was further amended to points sparring instead of continuous fighting.
The changes, which also included one heavyweight per team, took the predominantly big Busta Fighters by surprise, rendering 30 per cent of their now two teams severely depleted.
In the first event, a strong United States squad outpointed the three-man team of Bruce McFarlane, Kenneth Edwards and Nicholas Dussard.
Facing the prospect of losing their unbeaten record, McKay and Keith Edwards put on a vintage display in the two-man contest.
DOMINATED OPPONENT
Keith Edwards, a former grand champion of the 1990s and personal coach of Kenneth Edwards, opened the bout and demonstrated the talent which defeated Dwayne Brown at the 1995 national championships.
The former national star dominated his opponent to give Jamaica the lead, leaving captain McKay to seal victory.
McKay's opponent was left with the task of having to win the maximum seven points to force a draw.
However, he was unable to get past the Jamaican captain's side kicks and failed to score a single point.
Jamaica's other high point of the tournament was Sean Cummings, who surprisingly entered the middleweight division unseeded in continuous fighting despite winning at February's 'Battle at the Boardwalk' in Atlanta, Georgia.
However, Cummings and Kenneth Edwards took control of the division to meet each other in the final.
A friendly bout left Cummings as Jamaica's first-ever middleweight black belt individual gold medallist at Championships, which gained international fame following Chuck Norris' six victories at the event.
Kenneth Edwards was also impressive in points fighting, taking bronze in the middleweight division.
Cummings and Kenneth Edwards' medal-winning perform-ances ensured all members of the Combined Team, barring recent invitee Alrick Wanliss, each held World Championship medals.
It was also the first world medal for Keith Edwards, whereas McKay was winning his third.
VERSATILITY PAID OFF
Commenting on having to pull Keith Edwards out of retirement, McKay said the versatility of the combined team and its officials paid off.
"Our team manager is a fourth degree black belt and our officials, who are fifth degree and higher, all train with the national squad," he said. "It is expected, in the event of such happenings, that they could be called on and that's why the Busta Fighters is the number one team in the world."
