Ainsley Walters, Staff Reporter
( L - R ) CHIN, MCKAY and WANLISS
JAMAICA HAS summoned a 10-man squad for the historic Asian tri-nation martial arts series to face hosts the Philippines and Japan on August 6 and 20 respectively.
The Claude Chin-coached Combined Martial Arts squad will include two juniors, Nicholas Dussard and Alrick Wanliss, with Jason McKay as captain. Veteran Arthur Barrows will be vice-captain for the tour with Kenneth Edwards, Dwayne Brown, Bruce McFarlane, Omar Rose, Sean Cummings and Jermaine Lue the other team members.
Wanliss, the youngest-ever local Tae Kwon Do black belt holder at 15, was included after winning bronze in the lightweight adult division at the national championships in March as a 17-year-old.
Notable omissions from the squad, which will report to camp on June 1, include Frank Otto and Joel Ellis.
Otto, however, will travel as a representative of Shai Tai Kickboxing to participate in an individual kickboxing event, taking on the Japanese national heavyweight champion.
He recently won a major kickboxing title in Mexico and has been focusing on that discipline instead of the free-fighting style of the Combined Martial Arts Team.
With squad selection based on performances at the national championships and overseas tournaments, the likes of Edwards and the undefeated duo of Dussard and McFarlane were shoo-ins.
Dussard has won every match fought for the Combined Team and remains undefeated along with World Seido champion McFarlane and Rose, a two-time Combined Team representative.
Brown has also been undefeated since winning in England last July whereas injured Barrows was inactive for most of 2005 but made a successful return in February against the United States.
Cummings is one of the newest members of the squad, winning twice and drawing one match.
Captain McKay hasn't lost a match since March of last year in Spain and has secured valuable winning points against the USA, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago and England.
Lue, however, could be hard-pressed to maintain his place in the squad after his loss in the final of the Busta Cup Challenge Trophy had forced a fight-off with the Dominican Republic.
He returned to redeem himself in the fight-off but will have to impress during camp to hold on to his spot.
