Oregon takes collegiate karate
The University of Oregon has its first collegiate
sports championship of the year, although it's one
of the campus' best-kept secrets
On the first weekend in November, the Oregon
karate team traveled to Los Angeles to take on the
country's best in collegiate karate The Ducks
weren't expecting a championship, just some
needed competition and experience They got
that, plus an unexpected title to boot in only their
second official year as a club sport
Oregon outworked Stanford and Queen's Col
lege of N Y.. in winning the unofficial title Al
though there is no official team championship, it
was obvious to which team would have received
it
In the five official areas of competition, the
Oregon men won both the team kata
(instrumental moves) and kumite (actual head
to-head sparring with an opponent)
Oregon's Terrill Samura led a 1-2-3 sweep in
the individual kata Finishing behind Samura were
Greg Andersen and Simon Giszter All three are
black belts The same three teamed up to win the
team kata, while Samura. Giszter and green belt
Tom Stansbury combined for the team kumite
title Although Oregon was shut out from the top
r
Naomi Nagaki of Oregon piaced second in
the individual kata in the only women's
event of the championships
three positions in the individual kumite, the Ducks
also showed strength in that area
In women's competition (there is no team title
among the women), Oregon's Naomi Nagaki
finished second in the women’s individual kata in
the only event held
All in all, it was a very productive meet for
Oregon, the first time it's ever been to the col
legiate championships
"It was kind of funny,” says John Loeber, the
Oregon team manager "Six weeks before the
championships we didn't even know we were
going to go We took all of our available people
ready to go. drove down and competed for two
days Next thing we knew we were collegiate
champions ”
The championships, held at California State
Northridge, brought together the top team from
each of nine regions across the country The Far
West, Oregon's region, was the only one not to
hold a regional championship — there were just
too few teams in this area Just six weeks before
the championships. Oregon find out it could
compete as a representative of the Far West
Region
The university formed the team last year and
signed 160 charter members It now carries an
average of 40 members and trains three times a
week Advanced members also meet three times a
week at the Eugene Karate Club, where they
receive intense training
"People here are willing to work hard." says
Bob Graves, who along with Jerry Fitzpatrick
coaches the Oregon team What we really want
ed to do when we went down to Los Angeles was
to get in some needed competition We wanted to
work hard and be ready for next year But we re an
enthusiastic team and we didn't quit That's what
it really takes.”
"You really have to credit this team," says
Loeber "I feel incredibly proud that they were
able to do as well as they did They're good
learners and respond really well to what they've
been instructed ”
Along with the talent it takes to excel in
something like karate, some Oregon team
members also see other advantages to being on
the squad
"It's obviously an excellent way of keeping fit,"
says Giszter, a PhD student in neuro-biology “I
like combat sports, but I also like the groupfeeling
you have within the team Karate is a combatitive
art with the precision of gymnastics It's judged on
technique and it's a good test to see how you
respond under pressure
"I played soccer my freshman year before I took
up karate," says Stansbury. "but I wasn't pleased
with fie program Once I got started in this, I just
had to come back It feels good to be around on a
group setting like this and you make a lot of
friends And karate is a good physical and mental
release It's really a good exercise "
"The program has given a lot more than we
expected of it," adds Andersen, a PhD student in
theoretical chemistry, "You do a lot of testing and
evaluating and it's all done in good spirit Being
successful at it just makes it all that more enjoya
ble "
Oregon defeated Stanford and Queens
College of New York to win the national
karate championship
Currently, Oregon competes mostly in invita
tional matches in the area and in their own
tournament here in Eugene
Officials here are also hopeful of hosting a
regional championship here next September and
there are also plans of starting a karate team at
Lane Community College And Graves knows of at
least one person who is transferring to Oregon
from southern California to join the Oregon team
‘ I’ve been coaching for more than 10 years,”
says Graves, “but this is the first group that has
really put their hearts into it I think our success
isn’t so much the coaching as it is the enthusiasm
and the dedication of the people in it We worked
hard and winning the championship is just icing
on the cake We re looking forward to next year.”
They say that the only thing harder than win
ning a championship is defending one For the
University of Oregon karate team just getting into
that type of situation is quite a feat And with the
title it’s just won the team might not be a secret
much longer
Story by Greg Han berg
Photos by Bob Baker
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