The LSU karate team returned from nationals with a new awareness for the high level of karate competition in the nation and two national tournament awards.The team entered 10 members in the 25th Annual International Shotokan Karate Federation National Karate Championships Nov. 16 and 17 in Orlando, Fla.
“I’m glad I went,” said karate club secretary Frank Anderson. “Now I know how good some people are.”
Anderson had never been to a national tournament before and said the competition was tough.
Despite the difficult competition, LSU came away with two national honors.
Taking first place in the collegiate team kumite (sparring) event were black belts Matt McCandless and David Armentor, brown belt Hoa Nguyen and green belt Rich Rachal. Rachal also placed third in the collegiate individual kumite green belt competition.
“We wanted to win,” Rachal said. “The team stayed focused and reacted with the right techniques at the right time.”
Nguyen accredited hard training and team work for the victory. He said the most memorable moment of the trip was receiving the first place trophy.
In the competition finals, the initial eight rings were eliminated and replaced with just one main ring in the center of the floor. This was the setting for the LSU-Penn State match.
“It’s really great to fight in that environment,” McCandless said. “It’s awesome to hear the crowd scream when you stick a technique.”
Even with two national awards in its possession, the team is aware of the areas that need improvement.
“We definitely need to be a lot more intense in training,” Anderson said. “It will give us more confidence.”
Nguyen also thinks the team needs to step up its level of training as well as recruit more women.
In the regional qualifying tournament there was a concern for the lack of women members. Many of the team members thought this hindered their ability to win points.
The karate club is continuing to train and is working to raise money for next year’s national tournament in Hawaii.