Morning Star Staff
Mike Barrajon of Vernon North Okanagan Karate struck gold at the Kelowna Spring Karate Cup.
Seije Bott, brothers Joshua and Liam Roffel, Barrajon and his son, Marcus Barrajon, all went in with great focus and determination.
Mike Barrajon, who won the gold medal in men’s open free sparring, was determined to apply the techniques he recently learned.
“Bad Habits of relying on my speed are hard to break as they kept me in my comfort zone and relying on them had not worked for me in the past,” said Barrajon. “So I decided it was time to apply everything my Sensei Ted Roffel had taught us on technique while training for this competiton. I set a vision of where I wanted my opponent to be for my next move and forced them to move there to come out victorious,
The real win goes out to our Sensei Ted Roffel who dedicates his time and patience to instruct us, many times on an individual and group basis. I expect that this is just the first of many gold medals that our club at North Okanagan Karate in Vernon will bring home. We are all champions at the end of the day learning from our experiences, increasing our talents and most of all having real fun."