RP karate kids hit paydirt

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine team of Super Karate Kids bagged four gold medals in the recent sixth Korea Open International Karatedo Championships which gathered over 400 participants split into 27 teams from 21 countries in the annual event hosted by the Korean Karate Federation in Busan.

PBA legend Samboy Lim’s daughter Jamie Christine, a Grade 7 student at Immaculate Conception Academy in Greenhills, showed the way for the Association for the Advancement of Karatedo (AAK) delegation of three girls and six boys with two gold medals in the 12-13 age group in kata and kumite.

Others who struck gold for the Philippines were La Salle Zobel’s Alisa Karmina Cifra in the ladies cadet -54 kilogram kumite and Xavier School ‘s Jose Raphael Habalo in the 9-year-old boys kumite otherwise dominated by Russian prodigies.

Aside from four gold medals, the Super Karate Kids – all consistent winners in the yearly AAK championships at SM Supermalls – brought home a silver medal and eight bronzes in assuring the country of a new generation of future stars in the sport which stakes 14 gold medals for men and women in the Asian Games.

The Philippine delegation was headed by Richard Anthony Lim and Juan Carlos (Chino) Veguillas who also served as referees in the tournament sanctioned by the World and Asian Karate Federations.

Claiming a silver medal was Alenn Castro in the 13-year-old boys kumite while settling for bronzes were Cifra in cadet kata, Joshua Balao in the 13-year-old boys kata and kumite, Lars Peterson in the 11-year-old boys kata and kumite, Rafael Lim in the 11-year-old boys cadet kumite and Castro in the boys kata. Completing the Super Kids lineup was Vanese Calpito.

The Super Karate Kids competitions are a series of eight to 10 tournaments organized by the AAK held at various SM malls to promote and elevate the level of karate among youth practitioners from all over the country. Pocholo Veguillas heads the AAK.

Lim, Cifra and Habalo are no strangers to the podium. Lim also won two gold medals at the third Asian Korea Open International Championships in Kuala Lumpur last December. Cifra pocketed the gold in girls kumite and Habalo the gold in boys kumite at the sixth World Shitoryu Karatedo Championships in Beijing last year.

Lim, 13, said she hopes to join the national pool someday. “That’s my dream,” said the 5-5 wunderkind who wears a size 11 shoe. “I want to represent our country in the sport that I love in the Southeast Asian and Asian Games. I felt so happy and proud when I held our flag to represent our country at the World Cup and Asian Cup last year where I won three golds, one silver and one bronze in the two tournaments. I want the world to know how good Filipinos are in sports. I’m proud to be a Filipino and I want my country to be proud of me, too.”

Lim isn’t only an exceptional athlete but also an above average student. She had an average of 90 as a Grade 6 student last schoolyear and is a kumon gold awardee in math. Last summer, she got a job as a book assistant at Powerbooks Greenbelt instead of enjoying her vacation, displaying a rare virtue of industriousness at her age.

Lim’s sensei is Rex Resurrecion with whom she has trained since she was six years old and her kumite (sparring) coach is Sonny Montalvo.

“Jamie hopes to join the national team when she is qualified, at least 16 years old,” said her mother Lelen, a lawyer. “She has a few more years to develop her skills and gain more exposure. I’ve never missed any of her tournaments since she started in 2004. Win or lose, we’re always together, appreciating each tournament as a learning experience – on how to embrace gracefully a loss and how to be gracious in victory. She has toughened through the years. She used to cry before every tournament from the anxiety and prospect of losing. I imagine it is tough for a child to face such stress at an early age but now, when I see her, I see a strong kid – not one to easily give up in any endeavor, always giving her best, humble, confident. She still gets nervous at the start of a tournament but that’s normal. The important thing is she overcomes the anxiety and competes to give her best. She trains regularly, not letting up even after winning tournaments. She is aware that competing in sports is a never-ending learning process.”

Samboy, the fabled Skywalker, said: “I’m very proud of Jamie. It doesn’t matter if karate is her sport and not basketball. As long as she’s happy in karate, I’ll always give my all-out support. She has achieved so much at her age in karate and I hope she continues to give honor to our country as an athlete.”

Lim draws inspiration from her father. “Jamie watches her dad’s games on YouTube and she is fascinated by her dad’s moves and how fans still love and adore him up to now,” said Lelen. “She’s very proud to be his daughter and for her, Samboy is just a simple man who dotes on her, always showering her with attention. He likes to see Jamie eat a lot, bringing her to restaurants which serve her favorites – roasted duck, tempura and steak.”