By Greg Nikkel
Karate is “a way of life” for three members of the Weyburn Martial Arts Training Centre, who all took tests for their black belt on Aug. 16 at the Knox Hall, under the scrutiny of Shinhan Terry Rasmussen.
The trio, who all graduated from Grade 12 at the Comp in June, included Tyler Ochitwa, Mitch Bellefleur and Scott Mercer, who shared what it means to them to have gone through the training and reaching the black belt level before they go on to university this fall.
Ochitwa has been taking karate with Rasmussen for nearly eight years.
“I enjoy figuring out what my limits are and how much you can fight through before you throw in the towel,” he said, adding that what he’s learned in martial arts is applicable to every part of his life.
“Martial arts is one of the things I use the most. I can use them in sports and in day-to-day life. If I’m having trouble with something, I can apply the skills I’ve learned, whether the challenge is physical or mental,” he said, noting he will be taking kinesiology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton this fall, with the aim to be a physiotherapist.
He spoke of the challenges that Rasmussen puts them through in training.
“Right when you think you’re at the end, he kicks it up another notch and it just gets incredibly difficult,” said Ochitwa.
Bellefleur has been taking karate for six years, and said he enjoys the challenges of the exercises and training.
“It’s not easy, but it’s fun. It’s a good way to keep fit with exercise,” said Bellefleur. “I think everything you learn here can be applied to my life. It’s self-defence and general exercise, and can also be applied in my daily life.”
He is attending the University of Saskatchewan, and will be taking business administration this fall.
Mercer has been taking karate for seven and a half years, enrolling in it when he and his family moved here from Ontario.
He considers the karate valuable as a discipline that tests his boundaries and the limits of what his body can do.
“It teaches you respect and how to care for others, and it kind of builds your character. We help younger kids as well,” he said.
He will also be going to the U of S to take arts and sciences, focussing on pharmacology.
Asked if he might continue to pursue karate while at university, he said, “It’s not just a sport, it’s a lifestyle. It’s who you are.”
The Weyburn club is led by Rasmussen who is a 10th-degree black belt, and has been practising the martial arts for 44 years.
He said it’s rare to see someone with the stamina to make it to black belt, but it’s highly unusual to have a group of three all reach this point at the same time.
“I’m so proud of these boys. You see them from when they’re a little kid and they grow up right in front of you. I hope I’ve had a positive hand in their training as they go out into the world,” he said.
The Weyburn martial arts club will be starting up a new season of classes on Thursday, Sept. 1, at the Knox Hall. Classes will run every Monday and Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m.
