Coquille Martial Arts hosted its fifth-annual open tournament last weekend at the Coquille Community Center.

The tournament drew competitors from schools in Medford, Eugene and Salem, who had never been to Coquille to compete, and also drew a representative from Sparks, Nev.

Tournaments are important in allowing martial artists to see which techniques are of value and which aren’t, according to a recent article in Black Belt magazine.

But Coquille Martial Arts instructor Karen Saxton said the events also are a time when competitors learn to “get their edge.” Some are shy in practice, while others are overly confident.

“Then there are those who in practice never quite turn on the power, but confronted with an audience and opponents unknown, suddenly show their mettle,” she said.

An example of that is 11-year-old Myrtle Point resident Kayla Houston, who placed first in three of her four divisions, including sparring.

Houston was one of six athletes from the local club in the running for best all-around martial artist, along with Franklin Smith, Tianna Huffman and Jason Brant of Coquille and Max Underdown and JJ England of Bandon. The award is based on the number of events entered and total scores.

EAGAN, Minn. - When Brett Rogers steps into the cage on Saturday night against Fedor Emelianenko, he will be face to face with the most feared fighter in the world.

Emelianenko is the mixed martial arts version of Mike Tyson in his prime — mysterious, ferocious and seemingly unbeatable.

A victory by Rogers in front of a national television audience on CBS would be akin to Buster Douglas's stunning knockout of Tyson back in 1990, and the man who hails from one of the toughest housing projects in the country knows he's viewed as that type of underdog.

But it beats changing tires for a living.

As late as April, Rogers worked at a Sam's Club in the St. Paul suburb of Woodbury, changing tires to put food on the table for his wife and three young children. He also happened to be one of the fastest-rising challengers in MMA, going 10-0 with nine knockouts to earn a shot against the man simply known as Fedor — which rhymes with Vader — in his highly anticipated debut for Strikeforce this weekend.

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