Kicking Out Bullies

This week I’m kicking it with another friend of mine Sensei Joseph “Big Joe” DeFilippi.  Big Joe was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan.  He is married and a proud parent of 3 boys. In his free time you can find Joe breaking bricks, lifting weights, and hunting. Big Joe is massive at six foot two inches tall and three hundred pounds. He has appeared on many television shows including FOX 2 News in Detroit, America's Got Talent, and an Italian TV show called "Guinness Book of Records", and the German show called "The Autumn Festival of Folk Music". He has a full-length movie coming out this spring/summer called “Brotherhood.” Big Joe has also participated in Speed Brick Breaking demonstrations for fundraisers, charities, various venues, as well as opening shows for concerts. His true passion is the protection of our children. Big Joe achieves this by teaching children martial arts at NAAMA Karate and currently he is in the process of creating a non-profit organization called Stop The Bullying. He has a great partner on this non-profit, his name is John D. Green.

The non-profit organization called Stop The Bullying is something Big Joe and his partner John wanted to do for years. The purpose behind the campaign is to of course stop bulling. What Joe plans to do with the organization is bring awareness to bullying by going to schools and talking to the kids about all aspects of bullying. These aspects could include teasing, name-calling, hitting, cyber-bullying, and so on. To get his idea across Big Joe may use martial arts demonstrations, he may talk about who the kids can talk to if these situations are occurring, he may teach some basic self-defense, as well as get the parents involved so they can watch for signs that their son/daughter may be bullied.  

If you would like to learn more about Sensei Joseph “Big Joe” DeFilippi or his Stop the Bullying campaign please go to one of the links below to contact him.   

Links:

Website:

Big Joe DeFilippi - NAAMA Karate - Brotherhood Movie

Facebook:

Big Joe DeFilippi -  NAAMA Karate - BROTHERHOOD Movie

Twitter:

@DeFilippiJ -

Videos:

Autumn Festival in Germany - Big Joe Guinness World Record Tv Show - Brotherhood Movie Trailer

Kicking A$$ for Cash

This week I’m kicking it with another friend of mine Korey Kuppe. Korey was born and raised in Clinton twp. Mi. He is currently 25 years old; he stands six foot five inches tall and weighs 185lbs. Korey started training in martial arts at age 6. He currently holds the rank of 3rd degree black belt in Tang Soo Do. He also has a 1st degree black belt in NAAMA Karate. Korey has been competing in karate his entire life winning multiple state and national championships in sport karate. In 2004 Korey was The World Sport Karate Federation World Champion. He was also a four-time Junior Olympic medalist in Taekwondo. After all of those accomplishments you would think its time to sit back and relax, NOPE not Korey. He is now not only head coach and owner of Jacked n Tan fight team; he is also their top fighter.

On November 16^th of 2013 Korey had his first professional MMA (mixed martial arts) fight.  In this fight Korey faced off against Tyler Edington. The fight was promoted by TWC (Total Warrior Combat). TWC is a professional MMA promotion based out of Lansing, Michigan. The fight card was named TWC Pro Series: Final Cut. Korey was cut early in the fight but finished off Tyler very quickly (one minute thirty-six seconds) via triangle choke.

This week Korey embarks on his second professional fight. He will be facing a guy named Tony Smith. This fight is promoted by TXC (Triple X Cagefighting). The fight card is called “Legends III.” This event will be held on Saturday, February 22nd at 5:30pm at the Macomb Music Theatre. The Macomb Music Theatre is located at 31 N. Walnut Street Mt. Clemens, MI 48043. On fight night, doors will open at 5:00 pm and Pro fights will start at 8:00. Tickets are still available if your interested contact Korey on Facebook or Twitter.

Korey’s fighting style is a unique blend of karate and Jiu jitsu. This mix has helped him never go to a decision by beating his opponents with an even mix of Knockouts and Tap-outs. The last thing Korey wanted me to mention was His brother Konnor Kuppe. Konnor will have his first professional MMA fight on April 26^th in Lansing, Mi. Follow the Kuppe brothers on social media to hear about all of their upcoming fights.

Links:

Websites:

TXC - Macomb Music Theatre - NAAMA Karate

Facebook:

Macomb Music Theatre -   NAAMA Karate  – Korey Kuppe  –Konnor Kuppe

Twitter:

Macomb Music Theatre - @KoreyKuppe - @KonnorKuppe