With the season changing to spring a number of winter sports are winding down, including karate.
To prepare for the coming end of the year, the Humboldt Karate Club hosted a demonstration and testing day on April 28.
The demonstrations came to the club courtesy of Sensei Mark Minarik, which was huge, says head instructor Bryce Nagy.
鈥淲e usually can only get him out here once a year so it鈥檚 kind of one of our big events that we have.鈥�
Being able to bring an instructor of Minarik鈥檚 ilk was important, says Nagy.
鈥淚t gets more exposure for those kids and sensei being my teacher, they鈥檙e going right to the source now so it鈥檚 very good for them. And he helps give me a little bit of guidance as to what I need to be working on with my students as well,鈥� says Nagy who notes the demonstration day is also helpful for him.
Throughout the day karatekas spent time with Minarik learning different techniques, before wrapping up the day with testing.
Three different levels of karatekas participated in the testing portion of the afternoon, with white belts testing for their yellow, yellow for their orange, and green for their blue, says Nagy.
Seeing all of his students work hard throughout the day, was great to see, says Nagy, who notes he could not have asked much more from them.
鈥淭hey all tried really hard, and sensei was impressed with them, with their spirit and with their eagerness to learn. That was quite good to see.鈥�
With the testing day now behind them, the club will turn their focus to their next task, the national championships in Saskatoon.
Nagy says he hopes to see as many of his students as possible take part in nationals, as it is a great way for the kids to gain exposure, and to learn from someone they do not get to see on a day-to-day basis.
鈥淲e have a limited number of kids here training together all the time so it鈥檚 the same people to train with. Even when they go to provincials, there鈥檚 lots of kids from different towns to go and see so either way it鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�
Of course, having it in Saskatoon makes things a lot easier, admits Nagy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 expensive to fly out to Newfoundland or Quebec so giving these kids a chance to go and compete and there will be other kids coming from Newfoundland so it will give them more exposure, other kids to compete with.鈥�
While the karate season is entering the final stretch of the season, Nagy says they are always open to welcoming new students.
鈥淲e do registrations year round, so you can register any time, just drop in and try out a class free of charge.鈥�
