Jonathan Caruso

Two years ago I set my sights on the 6th World Junior & Cadet Karate Championships.  In order to achieve my goal in being selected as a member of the Australian team, I needed to step up a level in my training and commit every spare second of my time to my development to give myself the best preparation for selection and participation at this event.

As I sat on the tatami at the 2009 Australian National Championships with all other competitors from Australia and two gold medals around my neck, my name was called out for the Cadet Male under 52kgs kumite division to be a member of the 2009 Australian Team. This was a moment I’d dreamed about and I stood up proudly to stand next to my team members with a wave of excitement and anticipation washing through me.

Knowing that I’d had the best preparation, I walked into the arena in Morocco wearing my green and gold proudly with so many nerves but knew that this was my chance to show the world and myself that Australia was not to be taken lightly. I was staring down 43 competitors and 6 rounds in my division with the luck of having a bye in my first round. I walked up-to the line on my tatami to bow to my Korean opponent in the second round, a kick of adrenaline shot through me and I scored my first point for the tournament within 3 seconds. Words could not describe how I felt to win this round 3 – 1 and I turned to the stands and jumped in the air whilst the Aussie team was cheering for me. I went into my 3rd round with confidence and won this against Bulgaria 1 – 0. My forth round was against Italy, the match was very close only 1 point the difference until the dying seconds when my opponent scored a sanbon and loosing that round 4 – 0.

I was fortunate to get into the repechage.  In the second round of repechage I won against Tunisia 2 – 1.  This allowed me to fight for a bronze medal against France. I went into the final round knowing that this was my chance to bring home a medal for Australia. The fight went back and forth until time ran out and the score was even. As I waited for Sai Shiai to start, I knew that I had to give it my all, was ahead by a point until the last 20 seconds when the French scored a sanbon, unfortunately I couldn’t come back and lost the fight 4-1. I walked off the tatami knowing that I did my best and came so close to a bronze medal for Australia.
 
I’m proud to have represented my country; this has been a great experience one that I will never forget.

I would like to thank everyone who has been part of my amazing journey.

Jonathan Caruso

Victorian Golden Girls Excel at Oceania

Katelyn Broyd has been training in Karate since September 2001, Kayla Giampino has been training since March 2002 and Georgia Goodchild has been training since July 2004. 

During this time all three ladies have individually become heavily involved in the competition circuit and have all been members of the Victorian State Team at varying times achieving a great deal in their Karate careers’.

To achieve such success these three young ladies have had to work to a disciplined schedule and have had to juggle the pressures of high school whilst training 5 – 6 days per week under the guidance of Sensei Dominic Scull. (Shito-Ryu Karate-Do International).

Our “Golden Girls” competed against New Zealand in the finals and won 5 – 0 flags performing Jion with Bunkai.
 
It hasn’t always been an easy path to travel and there have been a few hurdles along the way.  Kayla’s training schedule has, on occasion, been interrupted as she suffers Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes which has resulted in a general lack of energy, her blood sugars being out of kilter and lethargy but she has pushed through this barrier to prove that this illness will not deter her from what she really wants.

Georgia has also faced many challenges along the way.  She has a cholestiatoma which means that she is deaf in her right ear.  Georgia has had a radical mastoidectomy and has no balance bones in her right ear.  She has undergone four major operations and now wears a hearing aide.  With her equilibrium out maintaining balance during kata has been a major hurdle for Georgia but she worked on this area to ensure that it did not impede her performance.

Both Kayla and Katelyn are aiming for team selection for the 2009 Junior Karate World Championships in Morocco and we wish them every success.

The commitment and dedication to fitness and competition required to participate at such a level and to represent their Country is testament to all three of these young ladies.

How do I find the right karate school?

Many people are confused when it comes to selecting a karate school and with good reason.

Unless you have previous martial arts experience you are likely to run up against strange new names and jargon, a variety of fantastic claims and often some intimidating people.

So let’s demystify the process.

Selecting a karate school should not be a difficult process and the good thing to bear in mind is that there is a karate school out there that is right for you. After all, Karate is one of Australia ’s largest participation activities.

Let’s start by asking a few simple questions. Click here for more info »

Athlete Tournament Requirements Uniform

• Plain white karate gi without stripes or piping.
• The club emblem /badge may be worn on the left breast of the jacket and may not exceed an overall size of 12cm by 8cm
• Only the original manufacturer’s labels may be displayed on the gi.
• Identification issued & approved by Karate Victoria may be worn on the back.
• One contestant must wear a red belt and the other a blue belt. The red and blue belts must be around five centimetres wide and of a length sufficient to allow fifteen centimetres free on each side of the knot.

Please refer to the WKF rules for a more detailed explanation.

The only variation is that our Open tournament allow white protective equipments
(but athletes still must wear red and blue belts)

Athletes must provide their own red and blue belts.

All athletes are required to enter the mat ready to compete with fingernails and toenails in satisfactory condition.

Some competitors present with fingernails or toenails unacceptably long or sharp. In the past, they have pestered the medical team requesting use of their medical instruments to make up for their own poor preparation.

The medical team should not be subject to these non-medical requests. Their instruments are for medical treatment not personal hygiene.

If the referees direct athletes to trim or fix their nails they are not permitted to approach the medical team for use of their medical instruments.

All bandaging, strapping or supports due to injury must be approved by the Court Commissioner on then advice of the medical team BEFORE the athletes line up to bow in.