WATCH: Dainfern’s karate kid wins at the National Karate Championships

Dainfern karate kid Leila Chite is now the South African U13 champion in the sport.

The 13-year-old won the Gauteng Championships at the Ellis Park Sports Arena earlier in the year, and followed up her victory with a win at Nationals at the same venue in late May.

This was the first time Leila had competed at Nationals, as she started the sport in November last year.

“We had to compete in kata and kumite,” the solid yellow belt explained while training at home afterwards.

“I won kata but came second in kumite. I finished first in the tournament overall.”

Leila explained that in kumite opponents ‘fight’ each other in front of judges but they were not allowed to make contact.

“My opponent was too close to me and it got a bit wobbly, which is why I lost.”

Kata is demonstrating the patterns or movements used in karate.

Leila has had an interest in karate for six years but only took up the sport when she met Sensei Bernard Guys who is based at Dainfern Golf and Residential Estate, where Leila lives.

The youngster said she liked the grace and power utilised in the different karate moves.

“You actually have to have spirit when doing karate because it’s more or less about your spirit in general,” Leila added.

“When you fight you have to show spirit and your devotion in your moves. Every step you take, it’s like telling everybody how you feel.”

She concluded that one has to put a great deal of time into training to be good at karate. She trains as often as she can and anywhere she can.