Sport
12 June, 2023
‘Competitive’ karate style proves a winner
A group of local martial art students who spent the last two and a half years training and honing their art have returned to their dojo with pride after competing at the recent Queensland State Karate Championships in Brisbane.
A GROUP of local martial art students who spent the last two and a half years training and honing their art have returned to their dojo with pride after competing at the recent Queensland State Karate Championships in Brisbane late last month.
Asha Jaszczyszyn, Louie Murfin and Samuel Carleton who are 12, 10 and nine respectively, tested the karate they had been practicing under Sensei Brett Carleton at Seikukan Karate in Tolga, stacking up against roughly 300 other martial artists from across the state.
Sensei Carleton is a fifth-degree black belt and has nearly four decades of experience under his belt, he spent time training in Brisbane and has fought in countless competitions.
He opened his club in 2020 in Tolga with the goal of nurturing the region’s martial art talent under a constructed, competitive and inspiring doctrine.
This led to three of his students who have only been training for a few years, to compete in their first ever State Championship and perform above and beyond expectations.
“When I was competing in Brisbane, we had a lot of people come through in the Queensland and national squad and a lot of them were from smaller towns,” Sensei Carleton said.
“I always thought areas like Atherton, Mareeba, Tolga and other areas like them are the nucleus for Australian sportsmen and women.
“I thought this would be a good place to find that talent.”
When competing in a karate competition, martial artists score points using controlled techniques and the points differ depending on where they hit.
A punch to the head or body is one point, a kick to the head is three and if a fighter gets eight points ahead, the bout is called – if there is a tie, the more capable fighter is awarded the win.
Asha fought well and received third place in the 12 year old girls’ division, she narrowly missed out on a chance to fight for first place but was forced to compete for third after suffering her only hits in the competition.
Louie fought well and claimed second place in the 10 year old division while Samuel fought the current Queensland Champion in his division who delt him a high-scoring kick to the head, he subsequently received fourth place.
Sensei Carleton was extremely proud of how his students performed, especially since they have been training on the mats for considerably less time than some of the other martial artists.
“I was really proud and happy because the system I have implemented has steered them to be incredibly competitive,” he said.
“Asha started when she was nine and she was just a baby, now on the mat her defence is so good – she didn’t get scored on until the end.
“She is the belt before brown which is before black, so she is only just beginning but you get good at something slowly.”
Due to them placing second and third, Louie and Asha have been seeded to compete in the upcoming National Titles in Perth from 25 to 27 of August however they will be unable to go –instead, Sensei Carleton has set his students the goal of making Nationals next year in Sydney.
