Okinawa Team paid a visit to Chicago – beautiful, the third most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles.
Third year in a row our #DreamTeamOkinawa travels to compete in the prestigious international tournament Fonseca Cup, organized by our friends, great karatekas and the family – Elisa Au Fonseca three-time WKF World Champion and her husband John Fonseca WKF World Karate Medalist.
“Worth fighting for” – is the official slogan of the event. Nine athletes from Okinawa Dojo including Sensei demonstrated their skills at such a high level competition – it was definitely worth fighting for!
-
- Martin Gissa and Elisa Au Fonseca
-
- Martin Gissa at Fonseca Martial Arts Dojo
-
- Debbie Torres
Our results:
Maria Gladkih – GOLD (kata), GOLD (kumite)
Daniel Skhisov – GOLD (kata), BRONZE (kumite)
John Marler-Vu – GOLD (kumite, SILVER (kata)
Debbie Torres – GOLD (kata), GOLD (kumite)
Daniel Zaslavsky – BRONZE (kumite)
Martin Gissa – GOLD (kata), GOLD (team kumite), BRONZE (kumite)
Ochi Purevsaikhan – GOLD (kata), GOLD (kumite)
Kieu Vu – SILVER (kata), SILVER (kumite)
Sensei Vitaly Padalka – BRONZE (kumite)
This trip for all participant was truly an amazing experience! But how trips like this can be fun without sightseeing, right?
We got to check out Downtown of Chicago, enjoyed Millennium Park in its fall tricolor, the Cloud Gate was so impressive! This sculpture nicknamed “The Bean” because of its legume-like shape. Part of the team got to go on the top of Willies Tower – 108-story skyscraper and the second-tallest building in the United states, and the eights tallest freestanding structure in the World. Wow! We took a walk along the shore of amazing Lake Michigan – one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Enjoyed the night ride on the Ferris Wheel at the Navy Pier Chicago. Filled up at few famous restaurants and cafes and had a lots of delicious food.
The whole trip from the beginning till the end was filled with excitement, family-like atmosphere, laughter and fun!
Thanks a lot to all friends and families who supported our team during the trip and who made it possible!
KarateBros.
If you would like to get a feel of this trip, please enjoy this short film about our adventures, including moments from the tournament:
