Qualicum Martial Arts’ sensei’s Rainer Todsen and Eileen Hanuse took three students to Powell River on Sun., Jan. 20 to compete in a tournament hosted by the Canadian Martial Arts Academy.
According to Hanuse, the host school practises Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate and Okinawan Tesshinkan Weapons “as do we.”
Representing QMA were James Reinhardt and Alex Niel, both 16 and both black belts, and brown belt Katrina Illingworth, 14.
In the end, Niel garnered gold medals in Team Kata and Weapons Kata, and took home a silver medal in Individual Kata
Reinhardt also picked up gold in Team Kata, to go along with bronze medals in both Weapons Kata and Individual Kata.
Not to be outdone, Illingworth earned herself gold in Team Kata, gold in Weapons and silver in Individual.
The trio marked the moment with gold medal smiles as they all squeezed onto the podium.
“It’s awesome — they’ve been doing it for so long,” surmised proud sensei Hanuse, and explained “we are a small school, and our main focus is not on competing, but it is great for the students to have a broader view of the Martial Arts occasionally.”