Girl takes karate world by storm
"I loved watching Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies. It was because of the movies that I decided to do karate."
Karate student Kelly Marcel (15) excelled in Japan and plans to conquer the fighting world.
A pupil at Holy Rosary School and a member of the Michael Roetz Karate Dojo, Kelly represented South Africa at the Karate No-Michi World Federation in September.
Her passion for karate started when she was six years old.
“I loved watching Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies. It was because of the movies that I decided to do karate,” said Kelly.
According to Kelly, not many girls are interested in the sport and are scared of her because she does karate.
“Karate is important to me as a sport because it is disciplined and I use that in my daily life. I think more girls should take up karate as a sport because it is not only for boys. I am also respected by my friends for my choice of sport,” she said.
Kelly’s most memorable moment in karate was when she took part in her first tournament in October 2007 – and won first place.
She said she also enjoyed her time in Japan, where she attended the conference and won third place for Kumite in her age group.
“It was really cool to experience karate on that level. There were 20 countries represented at the conference and we spent three days learning the art of karate. Another memorable moment was in Poland, when I competed in the Whisi Wska World Shotokan Karate Association Championship, competing against 22 countries and made it into the top eight,” said Kelly.
