BONNYVILLE – Several members of Bonnyville Karate-Do recently competed and won medals at a karate competition held in Lloydminster.
Carry Grant, an instructor with Bonnyville Karate-Do dojo, said the 2025 Shito-Ryu Karate-Do Kyokai Karate Championships took place on April 12 at Lloydminster’s Holy Rosary High School.
Events that took place during the Shito-Ryu Karate-Do Kyokai Karate Championships included Kobudo (weapons), Kata (forms), and Kumite (freestyle fighting).
“Bonnyville’s 25 participants brought home 32 medals in various events at various levels,” Grant told Lakeland This Week. “Competitors were divided by rank and age as well as size for the younger groups."
Some of the members of Bonnyville Karate-Do who won medals at the championships included Bohdana Werstiuk (gold weapons, silver Kata, silver Kumite), Sylvia Slowski, (gold weapons, bronze Kata), William Walsh (gold Kata, silver Kumite), Alexander Ang (gold Kata, gold Kumite), Stella Nicholson (gold Kata, silver Kumite), Jack Mahon (silver Kumite), and Julie Andriachuk (bronze Kumite).
According to Grant, the 25 members of the Bonnyville group were among over 200 members of Shito-Ryu Kyokai Canada who gathered on April 12 for the tournament. Clubs from Bonnyville, Cold Lake, St. Paul, Lloydminster, along with some from Edmonton, Beaumont, Wilkie, Battleford, Unity, and Saskatoon, were represented at the event.
In addition to having the opportunity to bring home medals in various events, the students with Bonnyville Karate-Do who participated in the competition also benefited by learning about preparedness and being able to socialize.
“The main benefit from competing is the hard work and preparation the students put in getting ready for the competition. However, they are instructed to have fun and to make a new friend at the event,” he stated.
Bonnyville Karate-Do has been doing well this year, with 45 active students of various ages, with ranks from 1st Kyu (white belt) all the way to Godan (5th level Black Belt).
The Bonnyville dojo, he added, trains two or three times a week in traditional Shito-Ryu Karate-Do as well as Kobudo (weapons) and Batto-Do (sword).
The club takes part in different events throughout the year, with the next one being the Demura Festival, which Grant said is scheduled for the May long weekend. It will also take place at Holy Rosary High School in Lloydminster.
“This is an annual event to honour our late instructor Fumio Demura. It will include seminars and instruction as well as some testing,” he said.
The Bonnyville dojo will be hosting its own small year-end tournament toward the end of May, after which the club will begin a summer schedule.
