|
| |
Nall wins 2009 AAU National Championship
By GREG CREWS
gcrews@thenewsenterprise.com
 RADCLIFF — Chelsea Nall is
a big fan of the expression: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And when
the 11-year-old Radcliff resident is on the karate mat, she makes the expression
ring true.
At 60 pounds, Nall is not only one of the youngest in her division, she is also
one of the smallest. However, that certainly didn’t get in Nall’s way on June 19
as she won the 11-12-year-old division National AAU Shito-Ryu Karate
Championships in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
“I talked to her (about taking up karate). She is small and I wanted her to be
able to defend herself,” Nall’s father Hershel said. “She’s taken it a lot
farther than I expected her to.”
Nall, who began training under sensei John Harris about a year ago, earned a
spot in the national championships by winning her division at the Kentucky AAU
State Championships in Erlanger on May 28.
In the national championships, Nall earned a silver medal in kata (a
pre-arranged floor routine) and gold in kumite (sparring) to claim the title in
her division.
“It was challenging, but I did well,” Nall said. “I was surprised (to win).”
Over 2,000 athletes in all competed in the national championships and Hershel
said the athlete’s march in took around 30 minutes.
It was the biggest event Nall has competed in, and at first, it was a bit
intimidating.
“She was a bit nervous when they got down there,” said Harris, who is the owner
and chief instructor at Harris Martial Arts in Radcliff. “They had to call me so
I could calm her down.”
That talk seemed to pay off as Nall went on to take second in kata before
claiming the crown on the mat in kumite.
“She was ecstatic,” Hershel said. “She dropped her head gear, dropped her
mouthpiece, left her footgear and just ran off to get her picture taken with a
grin from ear-to-ear.”
In kata, participants are judged on the precision of their movements and their
form. In kumite, fighters win matches by scoring points, which are earned with
strikes to the upper body.
Nall said her favorite is kumite.
“I like to spar,” she said with a grin. “(My favorite move) is where you hit
their hand out of the way, then you punch.”
Though Nall’s mother, Christine, may get nervous when her daughter is going
toe-to-toe with girls much larger than her, Nall shows no fear.
“She’s just mean,” Harris joked.
“Let me tell you how she wins,” Hershel said. “She’s just real quick. And she’s
learned not to do things wrong.
“In her earlier performances she had a lot of errors, but she still won because
she’s a lot better and trains a lot more than most of the kids.”
When preparing for a tournament, Harris said Nall trains every day — sometimes
even twice a day.
So, it’s safe to say that Harris will be seeing plenty of Nall over the next two
weeks as she prepares to compete in the USA National Karate Federation
Championships in Ft. Lauderdale on July 15. She qualified by winning an NKF
regional in Mason, Ohio on May 3.
“I just want to do my best,” Nall said before echoing the whispers of Harris,
“and be first.”
Greg Crews can be reached at 505-1754
| |
|
