The student news site of St. Teresa's Academy

DartNewsOnline

Breaking News
The student news site of St. Teresa's Academy

DartNewsOnline

The student news site of St. Teresa's Academy

DartNewsOnline

Dart News

St. Teresa’s Academy sophomore Lydia Thomsen competes, medals at karate World Championship

Lydia Thomsen participated at the Karate World Championship in Spain last week | by CASSIE REDLINGSHAFER

Sophomore Lydia Thomsen won two gold medals and one bronze metal at the World Kickboxing and Karate Association World Championships in Spain last week.  Lydia and her brother Søren Thomsen both qualified for the US world championship team in June.

‘My wife and I were absolutely thrilled [when we found out that Lydia and Søren qualified for the World Championship],’ Lydia’s father,  Mr. Chris Thomsen said. ‘We’re very proud of them. We’re honored that they’re representing our country.’

At the world championship, the gold metals Lydia recieved were for Non-music Open form and Traditional Weapons form.  The bronze metal was for Korean Traditional form.

Lydia is a first degree black belt and has studied a variety of martial arts for 10 years.  At the world championship, she competed in the Korean Traditional, Hardstyle, Creative Weapons, Point Sparring, Non-music Open and Traditional Weapons forms.

According to http://www.usopen-karate.com, Korean Traditional, or Ji Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do, is the most recognizable form of karate.  It says this form uses traditional stances, footwork and techniques and focuses on speed, power and execution.

Hardstyle form is also recognizable and similar to the Korean Traditional form.  However, this form is made up of both traditional and creative techniques.

Creative Weapons form involves weapons such as the Tonfa (a side-handle baton) and the Nunte (a dagger). This form, unlike the Korean Traditional form, can include techniques that originated in the last 30 years.

In Point Sparring form, two competitors fight one another.  Once one of the competitors strikes the other with a kick or punch, play is stopped, the attacker is awarded a point and competition resumes.

Non-music Open is a cheoreographed performance that incorporates the criterea for Traditional and Creative forms. There is a special emphasis on innovatice choreography.

Traditional Weapons form is a type of karate that involves weapons such as a Bo (a 6 foot long staff) and a Jo (a 3 to 4 foot long staff). This form has the same criterea as Korean Traditional form except with the use of weapons.

Lydia and Søren, a senior at Bishop Miege High School, train together at AmeriKick Karate Dojo in Overland Park. According to amerikick.com,   Amerikick Karate Dojo is a nationally acclaimed karate studio and has produced nine World Title holders. Lydia is nationally ranked number two in Point Sparring and number seven in both Traditional Forms and Traditional Weapons.  Søren is nationally ranked fifth in Traditional Weapons.

In June, Lydia and Søren qualified for the championship team by trying out in Kentucky. Between 100 and 200 people represented the United States at the World Championship.

‘There was a [North American Sport Karate Association] tournament [for the tryouts] that our instructor told [Søren and I] about,’ Lydia said. ‘We went and tried out and made the team!’

According to Søren, while preparing for this tournament, “karate came first” when conflicts between different activities arose. He and Lydia trained four to five days a week for about an hour and a half to two hours.

‘[Søren] is really good at Bo and, well, we’re both good at different forms,’ Lydia said. ‘[To prepare for this tournament] I practiced with more experienced people because it helps me a lot with my form and technique.’

Chris believes that because Lydia and Søren spend so much time together practicing, they have become closer.

‘[Lydia and Søren] are very supportive of each other,’ Chris said. ‘They’re always there to cheer each other on and coach each other.’

Although World Championships are the highest level for an amateur martial arts student, Lydia still has goals for the future.

‘I’m definitely going to keep doing tournaments, just to keep it up,’ Lydia said. ‘For now I want to do well in Sparring. Hopefully next year I’ll be [ranked] first in Sparring and improve on Traditional Form.’

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

Please review the Dart's editorial policy before commenting. Please use your first and last name; anonymous comments will not be published.
All DartNewsOnline Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *