We are Itosu-Kai Bosatsu, Denmark. In our club we train both traditional karate and sports karate (kumite). We have a competition-team with 14 athletes. 8 out of 14 are on the National Kumite Team of Denmark. We train 5 times a week, and frequently travel around the world to competitions.
Recently we had 4 athletes chosen to represent Denmark at the European Championships in Georgia. Alvin Poulsen fought in the category junior boys -68 kilos, Esben Hansen fought in the category cadet boys -52 kilos, Vanessa Henriksen fought in the category junior girls +66 kilos and Karla Bohnhof fought in the category junior girls -59 kilos.
The level of the fighters in all categories were high, and unfortunately Alvin, Esben and Vanessa all lost early. Karla had 5 fights in total - they went as followed;
(Denmark) 5-1 (North Macedonia)
(Denmark) 0-3 (Porland)
Repecharge:
(Denmark) 5-0 (Malta)
(Denmark) 3-2 (Serbia)
(Denmark) 1-0 (Austria)
Fortunately Poland went in the final, and Karla then had the chance in repechage to fight her way to the bronze medal match. Which she did. In the bronze medal match she fought against Latvia, and won with one point. She won the first ever WKF medal for Bosatsu. It was and still is a historical moment we will never forget. Denmark was on the tribunes in Georgia and also Bosatsu members watched the livestream to support Karla.
This was truly an amazing experience, which we hope and strives for to happen again in the future. I, Sensei Michael Andersen, am very proud and very happy to see this kind of result. It satisfies me to see progress and results for my athletes. It shows me, that i am doing the right thing, and training is fulfilling.
From Karla herself:
This was truly the most amazing moment in my life. I have never ever felt so supported. I really felt how all the training and hard work pays off. I have achieved this, and my bronze medal will never be taken away from me. I could never have done this without my teammates and my trainers! I am still not sure if I have realized that I won a bronze medal at the European Championships! I will continue my karate journey, and hopefully achieve more of my personal goals in the future
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