Two competitors from Shogun Martial Arts have qualified for the World Karate and Kickboxing Union (WKU) Canadian Nation Team.
Lincoln Hoelzler and Niko Grondines competed at the WKU National Championships in Calgary, Alta. on May 6 and 7.
Niko is 15 years old and Lincoln is 12, and both traveled with family and managed to make the cut, despite not having their coaches by their sides.
While Renshis Sheldon and Lee-Ann Lanchbury could not make it, Sensei Tareq Abut Khadra and some of his older students from Shogun Dojo Smithers supported the two younger competitors.
Niko and Lincoln competed on May 6 and both earned bronze medals in their point fighting divisions. Niko had one win and one loss while Lincoln had two wins and one loss, thought the loss was only by one point.
Kaizoe (helper) Niko and his family stayed for the second day to support Lincoln as he continued on in both WKU Continuous and Kick Light Continuous divisions. One of Lincolns wins was contested, which led to two more matches to confirm he was definitely the winner.
Lincoln ended up with a gold in boys -40 kg Continuous Fighting and a bronze in boys -40 kg Kick Light Continuous Fighting on his second day.
Though he was scheduled to also compete in kata, he decided to withdraw after so many rounds of competition and give himself a chance to regroup.
Now a national champion, Lincoln showed great sportsmanship and integrity in the face of a tough tournament, said Lee-Ann Lanchbury.
She also commended Kaizoe Niko on his great support of Lincoln and his performance as a competitor, adding both also were well-supported by parents, siblings, teammates and coaches to get to the nationals.
“As their Renshis, Sheldon and I are very proud of their accomplishments and look forward to many more competitions for them and the dojo,” said Lee-Ann Lanchbury.
Both Lincoln and Niko will go on to represent Canada at the WKU Worlds in October in Calgary, Alta.
READ MORE: Shogun Martial Arts members from Williams Lake compete at Burnaby tournament
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