STARCADE
BY ANITA TODD, Special Reports
HAINES CITY- Starcade, the International Martial Arts Championships, is coming March 7 – 8 to the Lake Eva Event Center. This is the first event of its type to be held here and is hosted by Murphy Gonzalez, Murphy’s Karate Academy.
Murphy Gonzalez, originally from Miami, moved here in 2019 after a visit to the area.
“I came to do a seminar at a local karate school, and I fell in love with the place,” Gonzalez said. “I saw some cows and orange trees and moved here a month later.”
He opened Murphy’s Karate Academy in Haines City about a year later, moving it from Miami where it had been in existence for nearly 30 years. The Academy offers numerous programs and ability levels for everyone.
Gonzalez has had a successful career. “I have been doing martial arts for 44 years and am an 8th degree black belt,” he said. “I’ve had many famous karate teams including one of the top Karate teams in the world with athletes from all over the world.”
He said he started the International Martial Arts Championships 27 years ago in Miami but decided to move here this year.
“Now that I live here, I wanted to bring it to the city … to increase tourism and let people know where Haines City is,” Gonzalez said.
On March 7, Starcade will tout numerous divisions that day. They are the Creative Forms; Extreme Forms; Creative Weapons; Extreme Weapons; Superfights; and Tag-Team Fighting.
The next day, the divisions will include Traditional Weapons; Traditional Forms; Double Elimination Point Fighting; Continuous Fighting; and First Timers Division.
On Saturday Night, the Super Show will begin at 6 p.m. The Grand Championships, demonstrations, presentations, and an 8-person Super Fight Championship League Challenge will be held during this event.
Gonzalez said athletes will attend from all over Florida, Maryland, New York, and the southeast states, Mexico, Guatemala and Puerto Rico.
Tickets will be available at the door and start at $25 for the entire event.
Food vendors will also be on hand.
