City dojo hosts international karate tournament
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on August 28, 2016 1:45 AM
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Master Koei Nohara Hanshi 9th Dan places a medal around the neck of a tournament participant during the 4th NC- Okinawa Ryukyukan International Tournament on Saturday.
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Volunteer organizer, Mallory Person, right, gets the contestants in line and ready for their matches at the fourth N.C.-Okinawa Ryukyukan International Tournament on Saturday.
The Goldsboro Okinawa Karatedo Dojo hosted an international karate tournament Saturday at Wayne Christian School, and more than 100 athletes came out to compete in various divisions.
Athletes came from all over North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, California and Japan to compete in Kobudo, Kata, point fighting and full knockdown fighting divisions.
One athlete, Mario Leon, 22, arrived in Goldsboro from Dixon, Calif., on Wednesday night. Leon competed in the heavyweight full-knockdown fighting division.
"At first it was my dad that got me into karate, but later on it really became a part of my life," Leon said. "It keeps you healthy, it disciplines you, it keeps you open-minded -- it definitely doesn't keep you boxed in."
Saturday's tournament was sanctioned under the Okinawa Karatedo Shorinryu Ryukyukan Karate Kobudo Federation, and the master of the Shorinryu-style of karate, Koei Nohara, was in attendance.
Nohara makes all the final decisions for the Shorinryu-style of karate. Nohara is a ninth dan in the discipline, meaning he is a ninth-degree blackbelt in Shorinryu karate.
Nohara attended Saturday's tournament at Wayne Christian School after flying in from Okinawa, Japan, several days ago.
"We have one student from Tokyo here," Nohara said. "He is an instructor and he's been with me to Europe; London; Brussels, Belgium; Argentina; Puerto Rico; and California."
Nohara hosts his own tournament in Okinawa, which has been going on for 24 years, he said.
The student from Tokyo in attendance was 40-year-old Mamoru Toda, who has been practicing karate for 14 years.
Toda said he initially became involved in karate as a way to get exercise.
"I like to enjoy my life, and I like karate, so I travel to tournaments," Toda said.
Jason Adams, the owner of the Goldsboro Okinawa Karatedo Dojo, said the tournament was the fourth of its kind.
"This tournament is a way of bringing all the schools together," Adams said. "It got started because he (Nohara) asked me to host one."
While Goldsboro's tournament is in its fourth year, the same tournament -- formally titled the Ryukyukan International Okinawa Karate and Kobudo Tournament -- is in its 15th year in California, 25th year in Okinawa and 10th year in England, Adams said.
Adams said the Kobudo and Kata division competitions consisted of forms being performed with and without weapons, respectively.
Leon said a Kata, or form, is a fight that was created by the "old masters" of karate, and modern practitioners of the sport compete to carry out the forms with the most power, speed and precision as possible.
Leon said he chose to compete in the heavyweight full-knockdown division because he enjoys it more than Kata or Kobudo, and it is easier to tell who wins in full-knockdown fighting rather than point fighting.
Full-knockdown fighting also builds better bonds between competitors, he said.
"Its a lot more fun, and more friends are made in the full-knockdown division," Leon said. "You never really know who wins in point fighting, but you can tell who wins in full-knockdown."