Old Sport undergoes extreme change,
Martial arts evolve to capture the interest of America.

D. Lima & A. Castellanos
Historically renowned for its emphasis on self-discipline and respect, martial art is now a growing medium of self expression. Extreme martial arts mixes the traditional styles like Tae Kwon Do and Kung Fu by adding aerial jumps, flips and other gymnastic attributes. It is also often performed to music and with various weapons. With all of these augmentations to a characteristically traditional sport, extreme martial arts places more emphasis on performance and showmanship. Traditional martial arts enthusiasts, however, criticize the sport for its flash. "If it's different than what you do, you don't want to change," district business manager of Internal Power Martial Arts Steve McChesney said. "You have to change with the times, and the future is extreme martial arts." Jordan La Favor is a Tae Kwon Do instructor from Internal Power in East Orlando. He is also an extreme martial artist. "It's similar to the X-Games. You add more talent and tricks so that the adrenaline is even greater, "La Favor said. The more creative and lively nature of extreme martial arts is making a huge impact on the martial arts world. "It's the most exciting sport I've ever done. You're using your entire body and there are a lot of rewards, "La Favor said. The rewards La Favor speaks of are increased flexibility, stress reduction and weigh loss. Aside from the physical merits of the sport extreme martial arts also brings a wealth of opportunity in the professional world through performance and teaching. Originating in California, it is prominent in states such as Florida and New York as well. Extreme martial arts has a strong following. A lot of people go to California to look for movie deals, "Tae Kwon Do instructor David Rodriquez said. Actors and martial artists like Jet Li and Jackie Chan are representatives of the kind of energy and acrobatics associated with extreme martial arts and their success is a contributing factor in the reality of extreme martial arts as a career. Ryan Pinkston, of MTV's Punked and Spy Kids movies, is a second degree black belt in Wushu Kung Fu and First in Tae Kwon Do Karate. In 1999 he won his first Grand Championship in NASKA (North American Sport Karate Association) and now is a three time world champion. Aside from the flashy nature of the sport, extreme martial arts and those who practice it have not forgotten its ancient roots. Martial arts are made up of two words, "martial" meaning military, and "art" meaning it is an artistic form of expression. Traditionally, it was used for warriors to maintain their skills while not at war," La Favor said, "The art side is designed to shape the mind and body of the martial artist. Now we just use more of the art side.

HIGH FLYING: Tae Kwon Do instructor and extreme martial artist Jordan LaFavor performs a split kick. "Extreme martial arts takes more training and practice because the moves are much more difficult LaFavor said. Jordan has been involved with Tae Kwon Do for six years.