MOULTRIE — In an exciting climax to a multi-year effort, Kevin Bautista took top honors in the Combat Sparring division competition at the American Taekwondo Association’s 2019 World Championships held in Little Rock, Ark.

 Bautista competed against forty other competitors in the division, to win.

Bautista has been training for years. Last year he was eliminated in his first trial. This year, he remained undefeated to win World Champion status.

He is owner and chief instructor at Bautista’s Martial Arts in Moultrie, Georgia.

He began his journey into martial arts as an angry teenager.

“I was un-disciplined, angry, insecure and felt useless,” he said. “But, martial arts made me feel alive, confident and empowered. As I learned the structure, discipline and respect of martial arts, I was transformed. Now, my passion is to give that away to kids and adults.”

“I knew all along he was a champion,” his wife Palisa says.

Bautista was accompanied by a group of students and friends from Moultrie who witnessed his feat.

Also competing at the ATA event were Bautista ’students, Wesley Montgomery who placed first in sparring, Conner Adderton who placed 3rd in sparring, and Ben Nieman, Ryan Smith and Savannah Yates.

Bautista opened his martial arts gym and began accepting students in 2017. Since then, hundreds of youngsters have experienced his passion.

Many people are inactive, out of shape and lack discipline. This makes them feel intimidated, unmotivated, and powerless. BMA offers martial arts classes they enjoy. When they engage in BMAclasses, they begin to feel alive, confident and powerful.