Kaidhyn has hemiplegic cerebral palsy, but that diagnosis didn’t stop him from bringing home a chest full of medals form the FSKA (Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association) World Championships held in Denver this past weekend.
Kaidhyn wasn’t alone at this competition. States represented included NY, HI, NM, CO, NV, KY, CA, and Kansas. Countries represented were Kazakhstan, Russia, Parfenov, S. Africa, Ukraine, Argentina, Israel, Kurobane, Brazil, England, Puerto Rico, Macedonia, and Germany.
Kaidhyn finished 4th in the Kata division against 9 typical* opponents. He earned the Gold Medal in the Challenger Division which he was eligible to compete in because of his diagnosis of hemiplegia. He earned the Silver Medal in Kumite (fighting) where he knocked out (literally and physically) the “Number 1 kid” from South Africa in order to make it to the Gold Medal round. He then lost the Gold by half a point to his training partner from his Dojo.
Kaidhyn’s parents observed that being a lefty due to his in utero stroke gave him an advantage against the competitor from South Africa. The competitor had never fought against a south paw before and Kadihyn was able to successfully block his finishing move. Kaidhyn’s mom believes that Kaidhyn was the only one in the group of nine that could have beat the kid from South Africa.
Kaidhyn has been training 10 hours a week since he attended the Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association (CHASA) Family Retreat this summer and was picked to represent his Dojo in this World Tournament. Kaidhyn demonstrated his karate moves for other pediatric stroke survivors at the CHASA Family Retreat this past summer and we were amazed at his intense focus and ability to balance and make the moves required in this sport. Kaidhyn’s family and his CHASA family are very proud of his efforts and we expect that he will continue to inspire many young stroke survivors now and in the future.
*”typical” – no hemiplegia or other neurological diagnosis
