On January 17th the 2nd annual Banff Karate Tournament was held. The Banff tournament is the second tournament in the Calgary Tournament challenge (A challenge set out every year to participants of the Calgary Club to attend 5 specific tournaments within the IKOK-C Branch). This year nearly 100 participated in the tournament that offered non-contact, kata and knockdown divisions for all ages. Individuals from seven dojos across the IKOK-C attended the tournament, which was filled with exciting matches and fantastic silent auction items.
This year over 40 individuals from Calgary participated in the tournament as either a competitor, an official or as a coach. I am happy to say that everyone did an outstanding job and represented our club well. Special mention should be given to Jonathan who won the children’s spirit award and Artem who won the adult technical award. Please remember the true winner in any tournament is the person who has the courage to step on the mat and challenge themselves. There are no losers ever, as the knowledge you gain from your experience is the true prize in the end.
A tremendous thank you goes out to Sempais Daymon and the Banff crew for organizing the tournament which as always provided a safe atmosphere for newer students to test the competition waters outside there dojos or for more experienced students to have a challenging experience. We look forward to seeing you all at the next event, the 2015 Calgary Cup Karate Championships. Osu
