Submitted PhotoPerformance Martial Arts chief instructor Mitchell Church and his students: John Michael Castleberry, Marcayla Barnes, Mark Webb, Mason Woods, Bre Hale and Lukas Smidtas.

Nine students of Performance Martial Arts Academy recently competed in the Southeastern District Championships north of Atlanta.

The American Taekwondo Association-sponsored event was invitation only, and it pitted competitors who had been recognized as being one of the top ten in their state against each other. Martial artists from Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia competed in the district championships.

“I am very proud of my students,” said Mitchell Church, a sixth-degree black belt and chief instructor of Performance Martial Arts. “The competition was very tough this year and these students brought home thirteen District Championship titles.”

Among the 13 district championships, 11 were earned by in the fourth and fifth degree black belt division by Performance Martial Arts students Mark Webb and Jennifer Powell.

Webb won district championships in traditional forms, traditional weapons, sparring, combat weapons, creative weapons and extreme weapons, as well as place second in creative forms and extreme forms.

Powell placed second in traditional forms and third in sparring and combat weapons in addition to district championships in traditional weapons, creative forms, creative weapons, extreme forms and extreme weapons.

Mason Woods’ first place finish in combat weapons among the first degree black division, and Wyatt Burke’s first place in traditional forms, sparring and combat weapons in the color belt division. Woods also placed second in traditional forms and third in sparring.

Lukas Smidtas also competed, placing fourth in the second and third degree black belt division in traditional weapons.

Competing in the first degree black belt division, Dr. Renaldas Smites placed second in traditional forms and traditional weapons, Joshua Jackson placed fourth in traditional weapons, Bre Hale placed fourth in traditional forms, and Marcayla Barnes finished second in traditional weapons.

In addition to the district championships, Performance Martial Arts Academy also recently announced that 11 of its students have achieved the distinction of being crowned a Georgia state champion.

The 11 students include: Lukas Smidtas; second-degree black belt (traditional weapons, combat weapons), Renaldas Smidtas; first degree (traditional forms, traditional weapons, sparring, combat weapons), Barnes; first degree (traditional weapons, combat weapons), Ben Melvin; second degree (traditional weapons), Alissa Donaldson; first degree (traditional weapons, sparring, combat weapons), John Michael Castleberry; first degree (traditional forms, traditional weapons), Jackson; first degree (traditional weapons) and Rebecca Lambert; second degree (extreme weapons).

Three competitors, Webb, Powell and Woods (fifth-degree, fifth-degree and first-degree black belts respectively) went as far as to sweep the eight competition events.

Altogether, the 11 Performance Martial Arts students won a total of 40 different titles — bringing the studio’s total to 332 Georgia state championship titles under Church’s instruction.