A sophomore from Los Alamitos High School captured the silver medal during the World Karate Championships in Santiago, Chile Oct. 23-27, according to Diane Nguyen of NKD Martial Arts.
Two other Los Al students finished high in the international competition that hosted martial arts competitors from more than 120 countries.
According to Nguyen, LAHS Sophomore, Reece Yoshizawa, 15, brought home a Silver medal, Junior Kaitlyn Shimohara took 5th place, narrowly missing the bronze medal and freshman, and Kaylee Mow also took 5th place in Team kata.
All three students are on the Jr. National Team and train at NKD Martial Arts in Fullerton, under the instruction of Sensei Chad Eagan and Sensei Bruce Nguyen.
Yoshizawa competed in the Team Kata (synchronized forms) division with teammates Ian Estrada, 17, and Paolo Serafico, 15. Yoshizawa, Estrada and Serafico competed at Nationals in Chicago this past July and brought home the Gold medal to qualify for the Jr. World Championships. This is the first time the USA male team kata has ever medaled at the Jr. World Karate Championships.
In the 14-17-year-old Team Kata division, Yoshizawas team competed against teams from Canada, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Malaysia, Croatia, Montenegro and Turkey. They placed first in the first round with an impressive score of 24.26. The took first place again in the second round with another high score of 24.62 to put them in the final round against Egypt.
In the final round, their team scored 23.67 to win the Silver medal.
According to Nguyen’s statement, approximately 120 countries representing 5 continents with a total of 1700 accredited athletes competed at this Championship. Five days of competition and 10 days of related activities and trainings. These championships are one of the most important sporting events of 2019 organized by the National Federation of Karate of Chile and the World Karate Federation WKF.
It is the first World Youth Championships held in the Americas since 2004 and one of the key events before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Yoshizawa started training at the age of 4 years old under. He started competing when he was 7 years old and he spends 5-7 days a week training at the dojo. He has been on the US National Team for the past three years and is a six-time National Champion. He competed at his first international tournament at the Pan American games in Guayaquil, Ecuador in August, placing 5th. Besides karate, Yoshizawa has been playing alto saxophone since he was 9 years old. He plays in the Los Alamitos High school jazz band all while keeping a 4.0 GPA throughout middle school and high school.
Yoshizawa makes sure to volunteer his time and goes to Lee Elementary school weekly to help his former teachers in their classrooms. He also volunteers his time at the karate dojo and teaches weapon classes to students of all ages. Yoshizawa lives in Rossmoor, CA with his parents and he has an older sister, Marissa.
Kaylee Mow started training in karate at the age of 5. This was her first year on the US National Team and placed 5th. She is on the freshman basketball team at LAHS, plays the piano and volunteers her time at the library and at Weaver Elementary. Kaylee maintains a 4.0 gpa and lives in Seal Beach with her parents.
Kaitlyn Shimohara started training at the age of 4. She has been on the US National team for the last 3 years, is a two-time National Champion and is a two-time gold medalist at the Panamerican games.
Shimohara is ranked 59th in the world for WKF female kata. She is on the dance team at LAHS and volunteers her time with her girl scout troop and teaches karate to the younger students at her dojo. Shimohara also maintains a 4.0 GPA and lives in Rossmoor with her parents and has an older brother, Sean.
Courtesy photo
