This year Charlottesville Yoseikan decided to attend a new and different tournament, the United States of America National Karate Federation Virginia State Championships. A group of twelve competitors and their families, along with Sensei Gage, attended the tournament.
The friendly competition from karate-ka of other styles was a great experience for everyone. In their divisions:
-Matt Fornaro and Chris Meslar won gold,
-Linda Hexter won the silver medal, and
-Brendan Ventura received the bronze for kata.
In their divisions in sparring:
-Pablo Mota took the gold,
-Matt Fornaro and Chris Meslar came in second, and
-Brendan Ventura and Patrick Keese won the bronze medal.
In team kata,the "Chito-Ryu" team which was Matt Fornaro, John Grammer, and Patrick Keese, came in second.
Linda Hexter, Danny Monge, and Megan Payne came in third with their team "CYT1."
Some of the students also competed in kobudo, using their bo staffs to perform a kata.
Everyone did a fantastic job overall, and with peace, perseverance, and hard work, we will reach our goal of doing even better next year.
By Linda Hexter
