Members of the Tsunami Shotokan Karate club travelled to Calgary to compete at the 2011 Canadian Shotokan Karate Association Invitational Tournament in early April.
The held their own against clubs from Revelstoke, Calgary, Fort McMurray and New York.
Dylan Williamson, 10, a new student to Shotokan karate, won silver in the individual kumite (fighting) category. Although a white belt, he beat all challengers in his division, except one who was two belts higher than him.
Not to be outdone, Tucker Christie, 10, in his first tournament, blew away the competition with his kata (a detailed choreographed pattern of movements) in the 10-year-old, yellow belt category. He handily took the gold medal, showing that he has what it takes to compete in front of a crowd, far from home.
Alexandria deBruyn, nine, competed in the blue belt division in kumite and won bronze.
Mikaela Goodwillie, 13, faced tough competition in her brown belt division, having to compete against older, more experienced competitors, including one from New York. She did well, earning a bronze medal in kumite and getting a lot of experience at the same time.
Shar Soldan, 15, competed as an advanced brown belt and won two bronze medals for her performances in both kata and kumite.
Danny Bunting, 10, competing as a brown belt for the first time, also did well in his category, facing some tough competition. He earned a bronze medal for his efforts in kumite.
Arlen Goodwillie, 17, had some tough choices to make. He had little competition in his category and chose to move up to the 18- to 35-year-old black belt category. He could have missed the kumite or fight with the big boys, so he chose the latter, and while not placing, earned the respect of his fellow competitors.
The club, which trains out of Horse Lake School, is now preparing for its next grading in June and the possibility of one more competition on the Lower Mainland this spring.
