Caitlin Anna Joseph, New Zealand
When Caitlin was threatened at the local park, her karate training kicked in. Read all about it in this week’s GKR Stories.
Hi! I’m Caitlin! I’m 12 years old and a blue belt in karate and this is my GKR story!
GKR Karate has always been special to me, it has helped me gain so much confidence, knowing I could defend myself if needed.
One day last year after school, we rode our bikes to the park to play tennis with our stepdad.
“Can we pleaseeeee go to the skatepark area instead?’ my little brother asked. He knew our mom never allowed us there so now was his chance.
We parked our bikes by a wall and then set up our gear a few meters away. While playing tennis I heard some noises behind me, I peered over my shoulder to find 2 boys messing with our bikes.
My stepdad noticed that I looked worried and asked if I wanted him to move the bikes. I nodded yes, and as my stepdad got closer to the bikes, the boys started to mock him. He ignored it, moved the bikes and we kept playing.
After a few minutes, I heard some girls shouting and turned around to see 2 girls yelling and cursing, accusing us of hurting the boys who had been messing with our bikes and who were their brothers. My brother and stepdad went to go and talk with them to try and diffuse the situation, leaving me with the bikes.
One of the kids in the group then shouted “Let’s go steal their bikes” and suddenly, a group of children began running towards our bikes. I jumped in front of the bikes, watching a kid race with my brother to get there first. He got closer and closer and then tried to tug the bike away from me. I got scared and kicked him, while my brother got on his bike and we rode home.
I was proud of the fact that my karate training kicked in and I was able to stand up for myself – I wasn’t going to just let them take our bikes!
My family and I had done all of the right things in trying to avoid trouble and were happy that in the end, by using what I had learnt at karate, we got home safely. It was the best possible outcome given the situation we were faced with.
All I can say is, without GKR, and what I have learnt from the Sensei’s, this story could have ended very differently.
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