Martial arts tournament takes over Rim Park
The generation martial arts championships welcomed fighters of all ages to enter the dragon, and show off their fists of fury.
Rim Park played host to the generation martial arts championships on Saturday for one of the largest tournaments to come to Waterloo region.
“There is kung fu, there is karate and there is taekwondo,” said Tom Shamuon, tournament organizer.
More than 500 competitors from across Canada and the U.S.A showed up for the tournament.
“Nothing under the belt, no sweeping, nothing like that. Everything above the belt, nothing to the back. It’s all touch,” referee Michael Palitti said while explaining the rules.
Ages range from as young as 4 to as old as 50.
“I do karate and kung fu. I started when I was five. I started the kung fu side of things. I think this is the most people there’s ever been at this tournament and the competition is very good,” 11-year-old black belt Tejas Rai said.
Adding: “I love the social part of it. The friends that you meet and the people you meet and i like doing my forms and winning.”
The day was a tune-up for some of the best competitors in the country.
Several have already qualified for the World Karate Championships in Orlando, Florida.
Trevor Persaud is heading to the world championship and says there
“There’s a lot of training involved and teaching yourself how to react to different people. The best thing you can do is attend these open events to fight different people, to see different styles.”
For the less competitive, it's a perfect introduction to the sport.
Meanwhile, Palitti said in the last 14 to 15 months the sport has grown tremendously.
“We have a lot of new faces,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.