Anna Mazurkiewicz -- she and her way

Anna Mazurkiewicz
She and Her way

December 1999
Hi, my name is Anna Mazurkiewicz. I am 19 years old and have been a member of the Kitchener Kyokushin Karate Organization for the past seven years.

I have started karate in 1992 for the purpose of filling my boring after-school hours. At first I felt as a handicapped not being able to move as fast as the others and generally not being able to reshow the techniques that were demonstrated to me beforehand. However, with hard work even this was not impossible; nothing is. Knowing the techniques, I was then able to learn katas. Having these two things behind me, I was faced with yet another hurtle: fighting. Now I was to apply everything that I learned but in totally new and unknown conditions. It was quite hard but after a few tournaments I became more and more confident.Now I have the 1st kyu (a brown belt with a black stripe).

My two biggest accomplishments so far are: a first place in the "10th Full Contact Karate Championships" in the junior category in Montreal of '97, and the second place in the "1st All Division Championships of North America" where for the first time I fought in the senior category (Montreal of '99).

My goals in karate are to attend the World Championships and of course every athlete's dream is to participate in the Olympics.

It has become hard to attend karate classes three times a week (like I have done in the past) since I have to concentrate on school. I believe that school is the most important but that karate has taught me a lot too. For example, I find that I manage my time very well even though my schedule is busy. Karate also helped me learn how to focus and concentrate; karate does not only aid in physical conditions but also in mental ones.

I will train hard to convert my dreams into reality. However, I fully know that I am far from having mastered karate; it takes ones lifetime to master a martial art. This does not discourage me though; in my life karate went from being the purpose of keeping me busy after school, to a lifelong commitment without which I could not see myself anymore.

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