During his summer vacation, Nick Maenza, 12 years of age, found himself in a situation that called upon his martial arts training. While spending the day with his family at Stony Brook State Park, Nick and his family followed the trails to a natural pool at the bottom of one of the park's waterfalls. Damian Wright, Nick's five year old cousin, was pulled under the current of the waterfall. Damian's mother, Jennifer, screamed and Nick took action. Applying his learned martial arts skills of confidence and quick reaction, Nick jumped in, slipped on the rocks of the pool, and pulled Damian to safety from the bottom of the pool. Nick is a seventh grader at Churchville-Chili Junior High School where he excels academically. In the last four years, he has progressed in his training to Junior Black Belt and has become one of Caparco Martial Arts' top junior students. On August 17, Nick was presented with a certificate of Budo Bugei, in recognition of his courage and life-saving skills thereby upholding the teachings of his traditional martial arts training. Submitted material September 17, 2006 |
