Our Town Inagi 2017: Airi Sekizawa

Martial artists active in the world united as a family

Airi Sekizawa, a first-year student at Inagi Dai 3 Junior High School, won first place in both the 60th All Japan Karate Championships for Elementary and Junior High School Students (Junior High School 1st Year Girls' Kata) held in August 2017 and the 14th World Karate Championships for Youth (13-Year-Old Girls' Kata) organized by the Japan Karate Association.
I have been participating in the national tournament every year since I was in the third grade of elementary school. I surpassed my personal best result of reaching the top four last year and achieved my first victory.
The world championship, which was participated by about 30 countries and held once every three years, was held in Ireland, Europe. During the match, they faced a formidable opponent and felt overwhelmed with tension, but they approached it with the awareness of their usual practice. What they particularly focused on was being aware of the key points of form (strength, sharpness, pauses, etc.).

The reason for our victory was that the entire family united to study the match together. We repeatedly watched videos and discussed ways to strengthen our core, maintain our axis, and lower our center of gravity. It seems that conversations within the family mainly revolve around karate.
Mr. Sekizawa was influenced by his older brother, who started karate earlier, and began practicing at the age of 5. Now, he is captivated by karate and continues to train at the dojo six days a week. Regarding the future, he said, "Training is tough, but it's fun to win matches; I want to continue doing this in the future."
We are aiming for victory at the world championship in three years, and we are undergoing rigorous training every day. Let's support Mr. Sekizawa, who is active on the world stage.