This month, 12-year-old Danielle Nuckolls of Chesterfield
will try to repeat her success earlier this year in her
first regional karate tournament.
The 7th grader at Ascension Catholic School won two golds
and one silver in a Windy City karate tournament in Chicago.
This was the first tournament action in which Danielle ever
had participated.
And, she'd been taking karate lessons only for a year.
She started her lessons in the summer of 2006. She's a member
of the Missouri Karate Assn., which practices at the Chesterfield
Athletic Club.
Danielle said she started karate lessons because her father,
Jon, "wanted me to learn about self-defense."
She admitted she was reluctant at first. "But, after the
first lesson, I loved it," she said.
The Missouri Karate Assn. will host a regional tournament
late in September. It will be Danielle's first tournament
action since the Chicago meet.
Danielle has been warned that other contestants will be
trying extra hard against her. They'd like to prove that
her Chicago wins weren't flukes.
In Chicago, she won gold in the kumite division (kumite
is a Japanese word that means fighting) and in the one-time
attack division. She also earned a silver trophy in the
kata division, which stresses defensive form.
Barry and Daryl Power run the Missouri Karate Assn.
Of Danielle's Chicago showing, Barry said, "Danielle was
our star athlete. She's a complete natural; she's a 100
percent athlete.
"She stays late and asks questions. Others look at the
clock and she's still working."
The Missouri team made a good showing in Chicago. Team
members won eight golds and 12 silvers. Barry won the black
belt division for adults.
Of the upcoming tournament here, Barry said, "It will be
the first Missouri Karate Championship." He said teams from
Kansas and Iowa have been invited along with teams from
Chicago and Atlanta.
(If you'd like to know more about the Missouri Karate
Assn., you can visit its website at
www.mokarate.com.)
Danielle said she attends karate practice three times a
week, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. She said she plans
to maintain that three-times-a-week practice schedule even
after school starts.
The hour-long practices include stretching, exercises and
practice on moves.
Danielle said some of the moves in karate are "almost like
a dance routine, with flowing movement."
That fits in with another of Danielle's extra-curricular
activities. She takes dance lessons regularly.
She also plays soccer and takes classical guitar lessons.
Danielle also shows some artistic ability. For instance,
she designed the family's Christmas card for this December.
The drawing features Santa holding a snowman. It was done
in colored pencil, paint and markers.
Her mother, Debbie, has her scheduled for art classes.
Concerning her karate, Danielle said her best experience
so far was her showing in the Chicago tournament. But, she
said the first action was quite a surprise because most
of her work up to then only had been practice with team
partners.
She said she lost her first match in the kumite competition
because she wasn't used to the attacking style by a real
opponent. She admitted she got hit pretty hard in the nose
at the tournament. "But, it didn't bleed," she said.
But, she said, "In later matches, I learned to anticipate
my opponent's moves."
In one-time attack competition, kids are judged on their
skill in making a single move.
Danielle said her goal in karate is to become a black
belt, which is the highest ranking.
"It might take me four years to get that but I want to
keep after it," she said.
