2015 Reports | US Weight Category Championships
US WEIGHT CATEGORY CHAMPIONSHIPS
25 January, 2015
I had a great time in Los Angeles last weekend at the 2015 US Weight Category Championship, where I competed in the kata open division.
I traveled with Cara and Rowan Gibson, and met up with Doug Shermack, Michelle Gillespie and Sensei Brad. We decided to make it a long week-end so that we could do a little bit of tourism. I had never been to L.A. before (except for the airport!) and was excited to spend a few days sightseeing. It was a busy schedule: Universal City Walk, Hollywood Blvd, lunch on Robertson's Blvd, guided tour of the celebrity houses, dinner in West Hollywood, the tournament and the beach!
I really enjoy visiting the cities where the tournaments are held. I also enjoy meeting up with the other teams that are participating. Kyokushin really feels like an extended family. Canada was well represented with both the West and East Canadian teams, which I had previously met at the NY tournament last June.
I had a good kata competition, and finished 4th in my division. The open kata was won by Showta Moriyama, from the LA dojo. His katas were phenomenon. And to top it all off, he won his fight division also! It was exciting to see the fights and how well the Canadians did. Congratulations! And congratulations to Rowan and Doug for winning in their respective divisions!
The weekend went by quickly, and on Monday it was time to go home. Steve, Doug, Cara, Rowan and I left the hotel early so we would have time to dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean before taking the plane. We went to Santa Monica, walked on the beach, did Tensho on the Pier (thank you! I love you guys! ❤️) and had a late breakfast before going to the airport. All and all it was a great time and a great tournament.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all the participants and tournament organizers of the USWC 2015, and the IKOK-C for making it possible for me to participate in the tournament.
OSU,
Isabelle Godin
On the weekend of January 24th 2015, members of the Calgary dojo and all around Canada travelled to Los Angeles to compete in the U.S. Weight Category Karate Championships. Isabelle G., Doug S. and myself were the Calgary competitors. However, we had a big pit crew including Sempai Michelle and my mom (Cara). The day before the tournament we took advantage of being in LA to do some shopping, eat some good food, visit some celebrity hot spots and hang out with friends. Speaking of celebrity hotspots, we had a good time eating at the Ivy restaurant Saturday afternoon although we were a day early to see Harry Styles (from One Direction) at lunch. We also went on a Hollywood tour and finished off the night with a dinner at Nobu. Nobu is a famous Japanese restaurant.
Sunday was tournament day. We ate breakfast at the Calgary group’s frequented restaurant called Jist and then headed over to the event for 8am. It was held in a theatre in Little Tokyo and the ring was up on the stage. Isabelle and I both competed in the kata divisions . I did the mandatory Pinan Ni and then Geksai Sho placing 1st in my division. Later in the morning I had my first round in my kumite division. There were some challenges in that fight I hadn’t experienced before. After lunch I had my final round of kumite against an experienced fighter from LA. It was a tough fight as she fought different then what I’m used too, but I continue to learn from experiences like this one. I came out of the division with second place.
I want to thank the IKOK-C and the USWC organizers for the experience of competing in Los Angeles. Thank you to everyone at the Calgary dojo for helping me to prepare for this tournament, and to Steve and Doug for helping me out both before and after the tournament. Overall the USWC was a success and I hope to return next year for this great competition and wonderful experience! OSU!
Rowan Gibson
I traveled with Cara and Rowan Gibson, and met up with Doug Shermack, Michelle Gillespie and Sensei Brad. We decided to make it a long week-end so that we could do a little bit of tourism. I had never been to L.A. before (except for the airport!) and was excited to spend a few days sightseeing. It was a busy schedule: Universal City Walk, Hollywood Blvd, lunch on Robertson's Blvd, guided tour of the celebrity houses, dinner in West Hollywood, the tournament and the beach!
I really enjoy visiting the cities where the tournaments are held. I also enjoy meeting up with the other teams that are participating. Kyokushin really feels like an extended family. Canada was well represented with both the West and East Canadian teams, which I had previously met at the NY tournament last June.
I had a good kata competition, and finished 4th in my division. The open kata was won by Showta Moriyama, from the LA dojo. His katas were phenomenon. And to top it all off, he won his fight division also! It was exciting to see the fights and how well the Canadians did. Congratulations! And congratulations to Rowan and Doug for winning in their respective divisions!
The weekend went by quickly, and on Monday it was time to go home. Steve, Doug, Cara, Rowan and I left the hotel early so we would have time to dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean before taking the plane. We went to Santa Monica, walked on the beach, did Tensho on the Pier (thank you! I love you guys! ❤️) and had a late breakfast before going to the airport. All and all it was a great time and a great tournament.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all the participants and tournament organizers of the USWC 2015, and the IKOK-C for making it possible for me to participate in the tournament.
OSU,
Isabelle Godin
On the weekend of January 24th 2015, members of the Calgary dojo and all around Canada travelled to Los Angeles to compete in the U.S. Weight Category Karate Championships. Isabelle G., Doug S. and myself were the Calgary competitors. However, we had a big pit crew including Sempai Michelle and my mom (Cara). The day before the tournament we took advantage of being in LA to do some shopping, eat some good food, visit some celebrity hot spots and hang out with friends. Speaking of celebrity hotspots, we had a good time eating at the Ivy restaurant Saturday afternoon although we were a day early to see Harry Styles (from One Direction) at lunch. We also went on a Hollywood tour and finished off the night with a dinner at Nobu. Nobu is a famous Japanese restaurant.
Sunday was tournament day. We ate breakfast at the Calgary group’s frequented restaurant called Jist and then headed over to the event for 8am. It was held in a theatre in Little Tokyo and the ring was up on the stage. Isabelle and I both competed in the kata divisions . I did the mandatory Pinan Ni and then Geksai Sho placing 1st in my division. Later in the morning I had my first round in my kumite division. There were some challenges in that fight I hadn’t experienced before. After lunch I had my final round of kumite against an experienced fighter from LA. It was a tough fight as she fought different then what I’m used too, but I continue to learn from experiences like this one. I came out of the division with second place.
I want to thank the IKOK-C and the USWC organizers for the experience of competing in Los Angeles. Thank you to everyone at the Calgary dojo for helping me to prepare for this tournament, and to Steve and Doug for helping me out both before and after the tournament. Overall the USWC was a success and I hope to return next year for this great competition and wonderful experience! OSU!
Rowan Gibson
Updates:
Other info:
FREE concussion training available and encouraged for students and parents. Do YOU Know the symptoms?
