Going on 40 years, the Western Canadian Karate Championships have always been a big draw in the Martial Arts community.
Next month, on May 26 more than 300 karate athletes between the ages of five and 65 will gather at Hunting Hills High School for the long-running tradition.
Lyle Cheney, Master Instructor at Cheney’s Zen Karate and Kickboxing has hosted the event since 1987 and he said it’s always a thrill to see the wide range of talent attend the event.
“Lots of strong competitors, good volunteers. It’s become kind of an institution. One of the cornerstone Martial Arts tournaments in the country. I’ve really enjoyed keeping it going throughout the years,” he said.
“It’s been very gratifying. Seems like time has flown by. I remember the first one that put on, in 1987 and it seems like only yesterday.”
Cheney noted that typically one of the highlights is the black belt portion of the competition and often people who do well at this event move on to the national or international stage.
“People who do well at this tournament go on to compete at nationals or world championships,” he said.
“We’ve had several of our people win at nationals and several of our instructions go to world championships in both forms and fighting.”
For the last five years, Cheney said he’s seen some of his students win the black belt grand championship and while many tournaments seem to be seeing a drop off it that area, Western Canadians continues to have strong support.
“The number of black belt competitors has really dropped down, but ours still has a strong black belt division,” he said.
“A lot of these tournaments have become primarily kids, we still have a lot of adults competing out ours, which is good to see.”
For more information about the tournament, check out www.cheneykarate.com/news-events/
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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