This year’s 2026 Mongoose Open was the creation of Mike Palomo as part of the Texas karate organizations league, better known as the TKO and TNT. The organization has existed for the last several decades, originated by its founder Wayne Nguyen. The event was held on Friday and Saturday, March 6th and 7th, at the Second Baptist Church gymnasium at 3310 E-Commerce St. in San Antonio. The venue was amazing and modern, with a bowling alley adjacent to the grand gymnasium. As with all the current qualifiers of this year’s TKO event, in conjunction with the LKL and several other organizations, they are all qualifiers for the WKL World Games to be held at the end of this year or the first of next year.
The event was one of the biggest and most well-attended TKO tournaments this year, drawing competitors from all over Texas and neighboring states. It featured grand championships including black belt forms, black belt men’s sparring, and black belt women’s sparring, with cash prizes and unique pagoda trophy awarded to the black belt winners. The junior divisions showcased junior black belt traditional forms and creative forms, as well as under black belt categories—advanced, intermediate, beginner, and adult under black belt grand championships. Specialized awards were presented to champions of those divisions, making the tournament both competitive and memorable for participants at every level.
The event featured a variety of disciplines such as grappling, sport MMA, kickboxing, full contact continuous sparring, stick fighting, weapons, traditional forms, contemporary forms, and contemporary weapons. This diversity contributed to making the 2026 Mongoose Open a unique event for martial artists of all backgrounds.
MMA grappling, kickboxing, and continuous sparring events were held on Friday, March 6th, marking the start of the tournament and allowing these divisions to be finalized before the following day. Saturday’s March 7th schedule that included all the sport karate divisions, ensuring a wide range of competition and excitement for participants and spectators alike.
The event was packed—there were many children’s divisions that ran first, featuring some of the best junior competitors in the state of Texas. It was obvious that these kids had spent countless hours training, as their level of perfection was truly remarkable. Having attended many events over the years, including WKL world championships, NBL world championships, NASKA events, and other international competitions, I can say without a doubt that this group of amazing young people could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with champions from any arena. Throughout the day, incredible talent was on display in the form of unique and innovative creative forms, as well as weapons demonstrations, and the sparring for these young athletes was absolutely thrilling. Many new champions were crowned, each receiving the beautiful Mongoose Open rings as a reward for their hard earned victories as well as points for seeding at the WKL world games and the chance to be this year’s Top Gun Competitor.
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As usual, the adult divisions were held later in the day, showcasing an outstanding group of martial artists vying for their chance to become champions in their respective categories. The competition was fierce, especially in the grand champion black belt division, where winners not only earned substantial cash prizes but also received a distinctive award that set the event apart.
Black belt sparring was fierce, with some of the toughest fighters in the Texas Karate Organization showing up determined to win the cash prizes. In the lightweight men’s division, Dagan Talbot emerged as the champion, while his brother, Kayne Talbot, claimed victory in the heavyweight men’s division. Their impressive performances highlighted the depth of talent and competitive spirit present at this year’s tournament.
Among the standout performances, Ronald Santana emerged as the executive men’s champion, demonstrating exceptional skill and determination throughout the tournament. Kianna Bonella also made a significant impact by taking the women’s grand championship home, solidifying her status as one of the top competitors of the event. In a final series of fights and an all-out effort, Kayne Talbert emerged as the men’s grand champion for sparring, showcasing exceptional skill and determination in securing his title.
In addition to the black belt winners, the other grand champions included Andrew Coronel, who claimed the beginner 17 and under grand champion title. Tommy Ramirez stood out as the intermediate 17 and under grand champion, while David Amtz earned honors as the advanced 17 and under grand champion. In the adult under black belt division, Johnny Campos was crowned grand champion, highlighting the breadth of talent across all levels of under black belts at the Mongoose Open.
The junior black belt division was filled with a group of the best from around the state. All the participants were giving their best effort to take home the grand championship, and when the smoke cleared, David Rodriguez charged ahead as the 2026 Mongoose Open junior black belt grand champion. His determination and skill stood out among a highly competitive field, cementing his status as a top young martial artist in Texas.
The adult black belt grand championship was equally filled with some amazing martial artists. It was a pleasure to watch such talent in action, and I felt privileged to sit as head judge and witness these great competitors perform with the level of an Olympic athlete. David Johnson of Houston, TX managed to pull out a win over an outstanding crowd of skilled individuals, taking home the grand championship prize money and the special design Mongoose pagoda trophy.
This capped off a great weekend of martial arts in what I believe is one of the biggest TKO/TNT events of the year so far this year and it was attended by the top competitors in the country. The atmosphere was electric as families, coaches, and fans cheered on their favorites, and the sense of camaraderie among participants made the event truly special. It’s clear that the 2026 Mongoose Open will be remembered as a milestone tournament, setting a new standard for excellence and sportsmanship in the Texas karate community.
