Our Town Inagi 2020: Taigo Suto, Kanami Matsuo

Advancement in National Competitions

Mr. Sudo (2nd year at Inagi Dai 2 Junior High School) and Ms. Matsuo (1st year at the same school), who attend the "Seidenryu Karate Nakamura Dojo" in Hirao, participated in the "13th JKJO All Japan Junior Karate Championship" held in November. Mr. Sudo won first place in the boys' category for 2nd and 3rd year middle school students over 57 kilograms, while Ms. Matsuo achieved second place in the girls' category for 1st year middle school students under 43 kilograms, earning excellent results.
This tournament is the highest level junior competition where athletes who have won various selection tournaments can participate. Additionally, this year's tournament saw a record number of 1,601 athletes competing, making it an intense event.

In addition to regular training at the dojo, Mr. Sudo practices at home under the guidance of his family, while Mr. Matsuo is a member of the track and field club and balances both karate and track in his daily training.
The two expressed their feelings about karate, saying, "The sense of achievement when results come out in competitions after practicing is what I love about karate (Mr. Sudou)" and "The appeal of karate is that you can become stronger through your own efforts, not just talent. My motto is to enjoy both karate and track and field (Mr. Matsuo)."
Karate was adopted as an additional event in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, marking the first time that karate has become an Olympic sport.
Karate, which will be held at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is traditional karate that competes in forms and point sparring, and is different from full-contact karate, where two competitors engage and strike their opponent.
However, the number of competitors and enthusiasts in karate is large worldwide, and it is expected to continue to develop through the Olympics.

Finally, I asked about future goals. "I was able to win the tournament, which was my biggest goal. Now that I have won, I cannot afford to lose in the future. I want to work hard in practice so that I can win again next year (Mr. Sudou)." "I was able to reach the finals, but I am frustrated that I could not win. I want to build on this result for next year so that I can win (Mr. Matsuo)." They shared their passionate thoughts for the next tournament.
Let's support the two of them as they pledge to make further leaps forward.