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Tamar Zinkin 9, and Shoshana Levy 11, both of Highland Park, have something in common, which is not so common for young Jewish religious school girls. Both of them are full contact fighters in the New Jersey Continuous Contact Karate League (NJCCKL). The two young girls just fought in separate full contact matches on Sunday, May 17, 2009 in the gymnasium of Moshe Aaron Yeshiva High School (MAYHS).
The league was founded by local martial arts couple, Yvonne and Joel Levy, and includes competitors from numerous martial arts schools from around the state of New Jersey. Both Shoshana and Tamar are students at the Levy’s dojo, Family Martial Arts Academy (FMAA), in Highland Park, as well as competitors in their full contact fight league.
“This was my third fight, and I think I have gotten a lot better since my first fight,” said an exhuberant Tamar Zinkin. “My side kick was really working well for me; I think I knocked her down like three times or something. We worked on that a lot in training, so I’m glad it paid off,” she continued. In addition to her regular classes at FMAA, Tamar receives private instruction once a week from the Academy’s chief, Shihan Joel Levy.
“It’s really, really fun,” said Shoshana Levy. “My dad is also my trainer, and I love how hard he pushes me, because it makes me better. This was my second fight, and my opponent was really tough. I know I have a hard right hand, but I couldn’t believe it when I knocked her down in the second round. I like challenging myself, and I can’t wait until my next one.”
Tamar’s father Effy Zinkin was thrilled with his daughters’ performance. “This is so great for her as far as building confidence and self-esteem.” Effy commented. Mother, Devora said she couldn’t believe how calm and confident Tamar was in the ring. “Her opponent was ten pounds heavier than Tamar, which is twenty percent of her body weight,” she noted.
Shoshana shared that she had a loose tooth the morning of her fight, and was worried because her mouthpiece didn’t fit correctly. She bit into an apple repeatedly so the tooth would come out, and she could get her mouthpiece in. “It bled a little, but no big deal. We all thought it was pretty funny,” young Ms. Levy chuckled.
Out of the hundreds of students who train at FMAA, only a very small handful actually compete, let alone fight full contact. Tamar and Shoshana are among the very few.
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