Tina Fuller and Liam Rao from Black Dragon Martial Arts, Sault Ste Marie MI have qualified for the World Karate Championship (WKC) World Tournament.
Fuller and Rao competed in the WKC National Tournament in June and both qualified for Team USA, and will go to Ireland this October to compete at the world tournament.
But getting onto the team is not easy
“Getting on the world team is not easy, there are three phases to competition within the WKC. The first phase is regional competition where there are qualifier tournaments held throughout the year in different regions across the country.” she explained
“We both competed at a regional qualifier tournament in Ohio. The goal in most regionals is to place within the top four within your various divisions of kata and/or sparring to qualify for the next phase.”
“Phase two is national competition, which in the case of the USA, takes place in Michigan. The goal here is the same as regionals but now the competition is more difficult. Those who place in the top four within their divisions qualify for phase three and are now a part of their respective country’s team.”
“We are looking forward to the WKC World Championships,” says Fuller. “The world tournament in Ireland will run for five days to determine the world champions for each division.”
