Hey folks! Guess what? A 14-year-old student from Morinville Community High School just won a silver medal in kung fu! Olivia Laporte, a resident of Sturgeon County, recently competed in the WKU World Championships held in Calgary from Oct. 16 to 23. She participated in the kung fu soft-style forms category for Junior Females aged 13-14. Although Olivia had her sights set on gold, she’s still stoked about her silver medal considering the tough competition she faced.
Olivia shared, ‘I was a bit bummed that I didn’t snag the gold, but the girl I went up against was seriously skilled. She did Wushu Kung Fu, which seemed to be the judges’ favorite. There were some seriously talented competitors, including black belts, but overall, it was a pretty cool experience.’
So, how did Olivia get into kung fu? Well, it all started with her dad’s karate stories and her own interest in martial arts. Olivia explained, ‘I compared Karate and Kung Fu and found that I preferred the circular movements of Kung Fu. I love everything about Martial Arts. It teaches discipline, and even when you’re tired, it pushes you to keep going. After each session, I feel stronger and more motivated to improve.’
Olivia trains at the Canadian Ging Wu Martial Arts Association, where the instructors informed the students about the WKU National Competition in Calgary last May. They had to compete to qualify for Team Canada, and Olivia was one of the ten students from her school who made the cut. Team Canada had the largest representation with over 200 athletes, and they secured an impressive fourth place overall.
Now, here’s the exciting part. In this month’s competition, Olivia tried something new for the first time. She said, ‘I just started learning the fan this year, and I decided to compete in that division. It was my first time performing with the fan in a competition, so going up against black belts at the World Championships was a bit nerve-wracking. Even though I didn’t win that round, I’m proud that I took the leap.’
Currently an orange belt, Olivia has her sights set on achieving a black belt in kung fu. And beyond that, she dreams of becoming a kung fu instructor at her martial arts school.
So, let’s give a big round of applause to Olivia Laporte for her outstanding achievement in kung fu! We can’t wait to see her reach new heights in the future.