Karate a kick
Young Observer Julia Felton, left, a black belt in karate, demostrates a kick with Lexi Bove while Master Dean Kelly watches at C.S. Kim Karate in McMurray.
It’s Sunday morning, and I am rushing home from church. I throw my curled hair into a ponytail and take off my necklace, bracelets and earrings. I exchange my dress and black heels for my favorite outfit – my karate uniform, complete with my black belt.
I’m a girl, but that doesn’t mean I have to be feminine all the time. Two or three times a week, you can find me at C.S. Kim Karate in McMurray, my favorite place to be the last nine years.
At the age of 6, instead of signing up for dance class or gymnastics, I tried karate. I am so glad I did. While many girls love their pink dresses, I have never been that type of person. I am more comfortable wearing my black belt than a pink dress, more comfortable barefoot than wearing heels.
Most people probably think of karate as a male-dominated sport. And, of course, there are a lot of guys involved. There are a surprising number of girls, too. Many female students are excellent fighters, win tournaments and earn black belts or even a master belt.
Karate can teach a girl plenty of valuable things. In today’s world, knowing how to defend yourself – especially as a young girl – can be immensely important. Karate teaches not only fighting, but how to escape if someone grabbed you or how to defend against an armed attacker. While these are things I hope I never use, it is certainly good to know I have a chance of defending myself if I need to.
In addition to learning to defend yourself, karate can be a great way to exercise and stay in shape. Some students take class just to get a good workout two or three nights a week.
There is more to karate than the physical aspect. Karate teaches discipline and respect.
There are many wonderful opportunities I had during my nine years at C.S. Kim. As a second-degree black belt, I had the opportunity to help teach. I started just helping with some of the children’s classes, but after a couple years, I occasionally run a class myself, and I was certified as a junior assistant instructor last year. While helping teach classes can be fun, it is also an extremely valuable experience. It helped me learn to talk in front of people, which is something that can be rather intimidating.
I know I have learned a lot of important lessons from teaching those karate classes and developed skills I can use throughout my life.
My friend, Lexi, also helps teach and will test for her junior assistant instructor certification in about a month. “I am a lot more outgoing than I was when I started, and it gave me confidence,” Lexi said of the years she spent at karate.
I started at karate when I was only 6 years old, so I practically grew up there. There are all kinds of people I have gotten to meet at karate – from new white belts who are only five years old, to adult black belts in their 60s. It isn’t just young men that are into karate – it can be a wonderful experience for anyone, even a girl.
The friends I made at karate are friendships that will likely last forever. My karate instructor, Master Dean Kelly, is almost like a second father to me through all these years. I made many close friends through karate as well, like Lexi. We are both black belts at the same karate school, so we have known each other for many years. We went from taking children’s classes together as white belts to teaching classes when our master is away at tournaments.
Though I am a girl, karate is something special to me. I am proof karate is not just for rough and tough teenage boys. There is no stereotype for karate success. It can be for anyone, young and old, guys and girls.
Julia Felton is a sophomore at Canon-McMillan High School.