Young Hannah Vandersluys is following in her family’s storied traditions in the sport of karate. Vandersluys’ great grandmother was a member of the Imperial Guard in Japan and her grandfather was a respected Sensei who mentored and taught local Sensei, Chris Taneda.

With such a great family tree, the nine year old Vandersluys has since taken up karate and she has proven to be a tough competitor in her age group.

Vandersluys competed in the 16th annual Chito Ryu Kids Classic tournament earlier this year where she was awarded gold in kumite and team kata, as well as a bronze in kata.

There are a lot of reasons the Grade 4 student practises karate. Growing up in a family which reveres the discipline she experiences a complex blend of culture, athleticism and nine year old fun.

“It is something I have always wanted to do, not just for family but for me too.”

Her ‘Papa’ may have been one of the greats within karate, but Vandersluys takes tremendous joy in the entire karate experience.

“I was told it is not about win and lose but about having fun,” she said. “Sometimes I have so much fun I forget that I am supposed to be competing.”

Vandersluys practises once a week at Chris Taneda’s dojo and she will soon be moving to twice a week. It is an idea her mother Naomi Akutagawa is comfortable with now that she has seen how well her daughter has taken to the sport.

“My father didn’t want her to start too young; in fact he would have preferred she waited even longer.”

Akutagawa is comfortable with the demands of karate, although she laughs about her own abilities, claiming she was, “not disciplined enough” to undertake any real training.

“Once Hannah started and she really wanted to do it, one thing that has to happen is she has to complete her black belt.”

That is not a problem for Hannah, she has a laser-like focus on her next goal, a yellow belt. “I really want to practise more, and I am close to a yellow belt. That is what I want to do next.”

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