Mirror
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Belted! Watching
sixteen-year-old, Wado-Kai Black Belt, Tarik Jayasuriya in action,
and seeing the determined look in his eyes, I was reminded of ‘Daniel
Son.’ Tarik also took his Black Belt grading before a board of Japanese Masters, and successfully managed to obtain his International Black Belt, making him one of the youngest in the country to have a Black Belt. He’s also one of the top five fighters in his age group in the country at the moment. These credits join the numerous feathers accumulating in his rapidly expanding cap! Having already brought home two gold medals from the International High School Karate Championship, held in Ghaziabad, India in 2003, Tarik seems to be on a roll! He managed to bag both the Kata and Kumite events, when he was just 14 years old. Explaining further, he said that Katas are a system of basic body positioning and movement exercises, and the Kumite is more to do with using the training learnt from the Kihon (basic techniques taught and practiced as the foundation of all later movements added to karate) and Kata. Tarik started Karate when he was just ten – six years ago and has been training under Sensei E. L. Jayasiri Perera, who trains the karate team at S. Thomas’ College (Tarik’s alma mater, where he also participates in the Annual Inter-School Karate tournament). In addition, he also trains privately under Sensei Dinesh Rajapakse, as of five years ago. He says that he owes most of his success to both these individuals, as they’ve both helped him become more disciplined by ensuring that he sticks to his routine, and by giving him that extra push to keep him focused and on track. Although his interest for karate was initially derived from watching martial arts movies, “the actual turning point was when I noticed that my younger brother was growing up faster than me – so I just had to find a way to defend myself,” he said with a laugh. From that time onward though, there’s been no turning back. Being one of four boys, he says that his family and relations have always been very supportive of his karate and have given him plenty of encouragement, and better yet given “pocket money whenever I go for tournaments abroad,” he said with a broad grin. Also,
self defence had always interested him, and you can never say when
it could come in handy, he said. It’s quite useful and very
practical to use in real life, if ever the need arises, he explained.
He also likes the discipline aspect involved in the art, as it helps
him with most other aspects of his life as well. As with most things it’s “no pain, no gain,” and Tarik’s rigorous training schedule is no exception. He follows a regular pattern of a one to one-and-a-half – two hour training session, four times a week, on his own or “on (not ‘with,’ but ‘on’ he specified…) my younger brother,” through which he works on developing his power, speed and stamina. During the remainder of the week he works with his trainer for about three to four hours a day. He says that it’s imperative to maintain your weight in particular, because from the over-19 age group onward, the fights are based on weight and not age. In his free time though, he enjoys playing computer games and listening to all types of music except for “slow ones,” he said. “I plan to continue with karate and complete as much as I possibly can,” he says, adding that he also hopes to join his father’s business eventually, once he’s completed his studies. As his arms slice through the air with focused resolve, and his body moves in perfect sync with his mind, it’s quite evident that great things lie ahead for this indomitable spirit… |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
The
mention of martial arts brings to mind flying limbs, and well-aimed
kicks and of course the Black Belt. Marisa de Silva talks to a young
Wado-Kai Black Belt holder about his achievements