A SHOT at national glory awaits three Warrnambool karate competitors.
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Alistair Wilby, his son Zack Wilby and Molly Morrice will represent the Warrnambool dojo at Japan Karate Association of Australia titles.
The trio earned their berths by placing at a state competition in Portland last month, in both their kata and kumite categories.
Alistair earned top honours in kata (forms) and was third in kumite (sparring) in his open men 10th kyu to fourth kyu section.
Zack made it a family double with his results in the under 13 boys’ section. He placed second in kata and won kumite.
And Molly finished with a pair of second-place efforts in the under 13 girls’ section.
Nationals are in Melbourne from September 25 to 27.
Warrnambool sensei Stephen Hol said the competitors could be proud of their achievements.
“To get to nationals, you’ve got to compete at states. The guys who got placings will have an entry into nationals in October,” he said.
“Alistair came up against some of the top competitors from Noble Park. They’re very good at kumite.
“And he psyched them out in the kata. One of the other guys thought he had it under his belt and made a big mistake.
“Young Zack, he did really well. He concentrated hard, kept his head, did what he did in training. He followed through.
“Molly, she did extremely good as well. She went up against some of the boys and she showed them a few things.”
Hol rates the trio a chance to medal at nationals “but we can’t gauge them until we go to these tournaments”.
“We’ll have to wait and see. I wasn’t expecting much from the states but there’s a possibility (they could medal),” he said.
“The level gets a bit higher, the standard gets higher. You’re going up against others from other states. If they can prove themselves, they can be national champion. I’m happy for them to compete at that level.”
National titles will also feature a visit from JKA chief instructor Masaaki Ueki, a ninth dan black belt who will travel from Japan.