November 2022 | Volume 16 | Issue 3
THEHOMEWOODSTAR.COM
Destination Ireland
Homewood High School Patriot Band plans first overseas trip in 25 years.
See page A19
Parker Sansing
A change to defense has allowed Homewood High’s Parker Sansing to thrive for the Patriots.
See page B1
INSIDE Sponsors .......... A4 News ..................A6 Business .......... A10 Community ..... A16
Schoolhouse ... A18 Sports.................B4 Events.................B9 Calendar........... B14
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HOMEWOOD’S COMMUNITY NEWS SOURCE
Growth through adversity Longtime martial artist planning 2nd location for Spartan Fitness By ERIC TAUNTON After he watched “The Karate Kid” when he was in elementary school, Chris Connelly was hooked. He started training in martial arts his junior year at Briarwood Christian School after he took a year off from sports due to an injury, starting with boxing and then venturing into muay thai and other martial arts disciplines. “I wanted to know how to fight so I could take care of myself, and I was always a fan of ‘Karate Kid.’ That was it,” Connelly said. “I was watching Saturday kung fu flicks and all that stuff.” As a senior, he pursued teaching martial arts as his senior project, wanting to open a martial arts school called the Birmingham Academy of Martial Arts (B.A.M.A.), he said. What started as a senior passion project turned into a successful mixed martial arts gym: Spartan Fitness in Homewood, which is approaching its 20th anniversary in 2023 and plans to open a second location in Moody. “It was a growth process,” Connelly said. “We went from a utility closet to a racquetball court to an office warehouse with a leaky roof, no air conditioning or heating, to a nice storefront place that was half the size of our current location, and then we bought our current location and doubled our size.” When Connelly started training in 1992, there were no martial arts gyms that taught people how to “actually fight,” with very few teaching boxing, muay thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts. “There were plenty of taekwondo spots and karate spots,” Connelly said. “Oyama was the closest thing there was to actual fighting. You had Round One, a boxing gym, with Dave
Chris Connolley, owner of Spartan Fitness, teaches a class at the gym in February, 2021. Photo courtesy of Spartan Fitness.
Gopper as the coach, but it was just boxing.” He met an instructor from New York who taught multiple martial arts disciplines, including boxing and muay thai, Connelly said. They trained wherever they could, including parks and abandoned schools, he said. “There weren’t a lot of people doing this,” McNair said. “The friends that I made doing this were probably the best part. I’m still
friends with those people today, and they’re some of the closest people in my life.” He did everything he could to take his education a step further, going to seminars once a month to learn something new and buying VHS tapes, he said.
See CONNELLY | page A21
2 longtime Homewood businesses close this year By ERIC TAUNTON
Patrons shop the closeout deals at Huffstutler’s Hardware on Oct. 5. The business opened in 1937, originally located at the current SoHo Square, and closed at the end of October. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Two Homewood businesses that have been in the city for more than 50 years are closing their doors this year. Huffstutler’s Hardware will be closing its doors after 85 years of business, and Nabeel’s Cafe and Market closed its doors after 50 years.
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“It’s sad,” said Gracie Salmen, an employee at Huffstutler’s Hardware. “All of the people we’ve met over the years, they tell us all the stories of when they came in here with their parents when they were kids and how now they’re coming
See CLOSINGS | page A22