Two girls from a South Toledo karate school are to travel to Ireland next month to compete in the 2014 World Karate/Kickboxing Commission Championships in Dublin.
Enna McBride, 14, a freshman at Ottawa Hills High School, and Skylar Short, 12, a seventh grader at McCord Junior High School in Sylvania, will compete as representatives of Team USA from Oct. 4-9. They earned their positions by competing in regional tournaments.
The annual martial arts competition draws competitors from around the world.
Lisa Halsey, their sensei, or teacher, will accompany them to Dublin, as will Enna’s mother, Stephanie McBride. Skylar’s mother, Brenda Nichols, is unable to make the trip.
Enna will compete in the 13-to-17-year-old girls division in hard style, free style, and extreme forms, along with creative weapons and point sparring. Skylar will be in the 12-and-under girls divisions in many of the same categories.
Ms. Halsey, who owns and operates the Elite Karate Academy, said she has high hopes her students will do well, but adds that just making it to the championships is a significant accomplishment.
“They’re definitely hard workers,” she said. “They’re eager to learn. They ask a lot of questions. They work well with the lower-ranked students too.”
Enna, 14, is a black belt who has been involved in martial arts since she was 3. In March, she placed in the top four in a regional qualifying tournament in Toledo then, at a national competition in June, she qualified for Team USA.
Skylar, 12, a brown belt, has studied karate for 2½ years and earned five national titles in the qualifier this year.
Both girls say karate has benefited them physically and mentally, and they plan to stay with the sport.
“It teaches you to have a goal in life,” Skylar said.
Her mother heartily approves.
“I love what it’s done to her self-esteem,” Ms. Nichols said. “She works out every day, anywhere from an hour to two hours. She watches her diet and eats a lot of protein.”
Ms. McBride said Enna was “following her dream. It’s given her so much self confidence and respect for others.”
Contact Carl Ryan at: carlryan@theblade.com or 419-724-6095.
First Published September 22, 2014, 4:00 a.m.
