Looking back, written the day after the German championships in Erfurt.
Karate since childhood and a national championship before my school certificate
Seventh place at the German championships in my hometown, six days before my Abitur certificate.
Yesterday was the German championships in Erfurt, U21 kumite under 75 kilos. Seventh place. In six days I get my Abitur certificate. Not the calmest week I could have planned, but you don’t skip nationals in your own city.
I started as a kid at Chikara-Club Erfurt. Shotokan, kata and kumite, later almost only kumite. The club is the state performance centre for kumite in Thuringia, and it trains like one: several sessions a week, training camps, at some point the state squad.
The biggest title came early. At around fourteen I became German vice-champion in the U14 kumite. After that it got harder, older opponents, tighter weight classes. 2022: fifth among juniors under 68 kilos. 2023 in Kaiserslautern: seventh in the U21 under 67 kilos and bronze with the team. Now seventh again, one weight class up. I got my first dan, the black belt, last year.
To be honest, I haven’t made it to the very top in the last few years, and I was back in the gym every week anyway. A fight lasts a few minutes. Training goes on afterwards, whatever the result was. That’s the part I’m keeping. Persistence pays off. I learned that in karate before I needed it anywhere else.
The club also showed me what older members can do for younger ones, because I had that myself. So now and then I ran a kids’ session, without a coaching licence, and helped out at competitions and training camps.
University starts in autumn. We’ll see how much training still fits in. The club stays in Erfurt either way.