Damien’s a karate kid

St Joseph’s School’s Year 7 student, Damien Prins, started karate when he was just five years old.
In June of this year, he was graded in Mapleton under the leadership and guidance of Sensei Garry Edwards from the Redlands Karate Dojo in Thornlands and was awarded his Shodan-Ho (Junior Black Belt).
Damien competed at the ISKA World Champs in Sydney last year and won Silver in Kata. He was invited back a month later and competed in the Australasian Champs, walking away with Gold.
In May of this year, Damien’s parents moved to Stanthorpe from Cleveland and Damien not only had to adapt to a new school but also to travelling great distances to get to training sessions that were similar in discipline to his style.
Damien stayed focused and committed to his training and the rewards have been worth the effort. He competed in the NAS State Champs in Carrara on October 21 and won BRONZE in Point Sparring (Kumite) and GOLD In Continuous Sparring.
Credit to his success must be given to his training sessions with Sensei Dave Webster from Aussie Kids Karate in Allora and Killarney, Sensei Peter Wetherspoon from KoryuUchinadiKenpo Jutsu in Toowoomba and last but not least, a very specal thanks to Shihan Jason White of ShiroRyuKan Martial Arts in Texas who spent many hours getting Damien ready for NAS.
Damien has now qualified to represent Queensland at the NAS National Champs held in Melbourne on December 1 and 2, 2012.