Illinois Shotokan Karate Clubs News

ISKC Shines at Shotokan World Championships

September 17th and 18th marked yet another victorious weekend for the Illinois Shotokan Karate Clubs (ISKC) at the 21st Shotokan Karate World Championships. Sponsored by the Illinois Shotokan Booster and the American Shotokan Karate Association, the 2011 Championships were held at Palatine's own Harper College. It was here that the United States Team won an astounding 14 medals!

The Shotokan Karate World Championships is a globally prestigious tournament held every two years since its inception in 1990. The Championship is largely celebrated for its supreme display of the art of karate by means of incorporating events highlighting athletes from all walks of life. Whether testing their bond as a team or challenging oneself as an individual, the level of sheer talent this year motivated contestants to settle for nothing less than greatness. Among ISKC's many triumphs, for example, was the Junior Men's Team, who swept the competition and won first place.

To say the least, competition at the Championships was incredibly stiff. The energy present at Harper College's campus was indescribably alive, buzzing with the ambitions of approximately 186 avid competitors hailing from 17 countries. The participants' talent and dedication literally awed the crowd whilst inspiring a whole new generation of athletes to push themselves toward future excellence.

By allowing students to discover their own personal strengths and weaknesses, as well as driving them to work that much harder, competing in the Championships is an accomplishment in and of itself. Rest assured, those long hours of patient practice paid off in dividends!

A record number of ISKC's finest excelled at the Championships. As stated by Sensei Straza, "The ISKC instructors provide a lot of teaching and opportunities for competition and karate development, and the students continue to put forth their best effort both in class and in training." Whether partaking in kata or kumite events, every single one of our students did us proud, displaying the utmost in good sportsmanship and performing beautifully.

Further demonstratiNG ISKC's continued commitment to excellence, several students went home with medals. Congratulations to Angela Wong, Michael Watts, Earl Osoteo, and Cheryl Murphy on earning a gold medal. Other medal winners are Allison Mack, Shannon Masterson, Emily Morgan, Marina Klipinitser, Tiger Kaufman, Lisa Swanson, Connor Noda, Ryan Senatore, Andrew Ragona, Alysa Berenson, Jenna Weber, Carlos Sanchez, William Gatch, Juan Oshiro, and Julio Egoavil.

Considering the success of so many ISKC students, it comes as little surprise that our instructors fared equally well. Per Sensei Straza, "The instructors are full-time karate-ka and devote their lives to training not only in the art, but in their particular specialty within the sport as well." With that in mind, let's take our hats off to Sensei Egoavil, Oshiro and Sanchez!

Download 2011 WSKA Results

2011 USA Karate Nationals Results!

Many of our students were hard at work this summer, training for the 2011 USA Karate Nationals. This year's annual competition was hosted by the Lone Star State in
the exciting city of Arlington, which is home to the Texas Rangers ballpark and University of Texas - Arlington.

This year Illinois Shotokan had more than 150 students compete at the Nationals. In order to prepare themselves for the Texas sized competition, our competitors ditched
the pool for the dojo, putting in extra workouts during our special training program. This meant in addition to their original classes, these dedicated students trained twice more per week; with one workout devoted to kata and the other to kumite. Even Sensei DiPasquale noticed the students' devotion and said he is pleased to have such a committed group of young athletes.

Finally, after weeks of intense training and preparation, the group of athletes headed to Texas, all with dreams of obtaining a National title. For many of our advanced
athletes the stakes were especially high as they were competing for a spot on the USA Junior and Senior Team. As a whole our club performed well and it seems all the hard work paid off. ISKC returned to the Windy City with a grand total of 136 medals and 12 competitors from our club qualified for the United States Competition team.

The highlights of the trip included watching Brian Mertel
and Jenna Weber in the finals Sunday evening, both of whom placed first in their kumite divisions. This was Mertel's 9th consecutive National title and Weber's third. Meanwhile, Eddie Allegretti, Alex Diana, Alex Gale, Eric Krol, Jason Krol, Cirrus Lingl, Brandon Malone, Connor Noda, Earl Osoteo, Perry Ross and Ethan Pearson have all qualified for the Jr. US Team. Some other notable performances came from Brandon Malone, Joel Pelkonen, Erica Simmerman and Alyssa Parma, who all placed first in both their kata and kumite divisions.

"I think our students did well this year," Sensei DiPasquale said. "And I am pleased that we placed a good amount of students on the United States Teams again."

For those who placed on the teams, it's time to head back to the dojo to prepare for their upcoming trips. The Junior Team will travel to the XXII Jr. Pan American Championships in Fortaleza, Brazil as well as the VII Jr. & Cadet World Championships in Malaysia. Mertel and Weber will travel with the Senior Team to compete in the 2012 Senior Pan American Championships next May.

ISKC would like to congratulate all of our students for the impressive performances at the tournament this year and we look forward to another great Nationals next July in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Good Luck!!!
Good Luck to the following students; Ethan Pearson, Eddie Allegretti, Alex Gale, Cirrus Lingl, Brandon Malone, Jason Krol, Eric Krol, Perry Ross, Earl Osoteo, Alex Diana and Connor Noda. These ISKC students will be representing the United States at the 2011 Jr. Pan American Karate Championships Sept 1-3rd in Brazil.

Past News From ISKC
The spring karate session has been a busy time. Since the Jennifer Malloy tournament we have hosted the Chicago Classic and the State/Zone Championship. Both proved to be exciting tournaments, with fans cheering, cameras clicking, and video cams catching those special moments.

The State/Zone Championship is the tournament where students can qualify for the USA Karate National Championships. This year the tournament will be held in Arlington, Texas the weekend of July 12-17. If you did not attend the parent meeting and still are interested in attending please call the ISKC office as soon as possible. Tournaments are a great place to meet fellow ISKC families, making new friends for both the karate-ka and their parents. Nationals is a great way to incorporate a family vacation and karate competition.

As the spring session comes to an end it's time, once again, to sign up for the next session so you don't fall behind. Consistent training will help you during the next belt test; so don't lose your momentum by taking the summer off.

All park districts are now accepting registration - so sign up early, as classes will fill up quickly. Please remember that all blue thru 3rd kyu brown belts must take 4 classes between the summer and fall sessions to be eligible to test in the Fall 2011; while 2nd kyu brown belts thru black belts must have a total of 5 classes. Summer classes do count toward your belt testing eligibility, a great reason to register now for the summer session.

If you have any questions about the summer karate classes or you are not sure about the eligibility requirements, please call the ISKC office during normal business hours. Someone there will be happy to assist you!

Have a safe summer and we hope to see a lot of our ISKC friends in Arlington, Texas at the 2011 National Championships. Good Luck to them all!

Illinois Shotokan Kicks Off The Tournament Season
Competiton is what fuels many karate students. When the tournament season is underway you can feel the energy. The Jennifer Malloy Memorial Tournament was our first competition of 2011 and it was everything a competitor would want. You could feel the electricity when you entered the gymnasium at Harper College, the buzzing of the competitors and the cheering from spectators. Cameras were clicking and flashing to catch the special moments as each student took their turn in the ring.

More than 825 athletes had their chance to show their stuff, performing kata, participating in kihon (basics), trying their favorite techniques in kumite, and many do all three events. The touranment began at 9:00am and the last match ended at 6:30pm. There's not a better feeling then knowing you overcame your fear and came out and gave it your all. Winning is not the most important part; it's having the courage to compete against your peers which helps you learn your strengths and weaknesses. If you go home having learned from your experience, that's a great accomplishment.

Tournaments are also a great place to meet fellow ISKC families and make new friends for both the karate-ka and their parents. So mark your calendars now for Sunday, March 27th. Don't miss the exciting Chicago Classic Karate Championship.