Karate practitioners from across Canada are at the Sault Ste. Marie YMCA for the International Karate Daigaku (IKD) Canadian Nationals 2025 this weekend.
Among the competitors is the Sault’s Rafael Coleto.
A computer programmer who moved to Canada from Brazil in 2021, Coleto is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie International Karate Daigaku (SSMIKD) on Wellington Street West.
Coleto took first place in several men’s events at a recent provincial competition held in the Sault in May.
Those events included kata, team kata and kumite.
Kata is a sequence of choreographed movements, while kumite is sparring with an opponent.
“I was very happy and it was a little surprising for me to win at the provincials but it was a good surprise. I'm feeling very excited to compete at the nationals here in the Sault and to have fun. Of course we always aim to be successful and win a medal or two, but at the end of the day all I want is to have fun,” Coleto told SooToday.
Now in his late 30s, Coleto began learning karate in Brazil in 2012.
A black belt, he joined the Sault’s International Karate Daigaku in 2023 and trains with Shihan (teacher) Chris Troch.
“I was made very welcome there. People are lovely and I've been learning so much. My skills have been improving a lot since I started training with Chris,” Coleto said.
“I was a black belt already but when you start learning from a different teacher, even though the principles are the same, everybody has a slightly different technique and you can learn from them.”
Troch, excited to have his athletes in the nationals this weekend, is pleased to have Coleto at his Wellington Street West Club.
“He's an asset to us. He's got lots of spirit. He’s a help to other people,” Troch said.
“I would say that the reason I do karate is mainly because of its principles. One of them is to be faithful to what you believe. That principle helped me to become a vegan. That principle of being faithful to what I believe applies to the way I live my life,” Coleto said.
Karate isn’t all about philosophy, however.
“I like all the fun stuff like using my hands and the kicks of course, but we never start fights. I'm a person that avoids conflicts, but if I have to be in one I know how to defend myself,” Coleto said.
The nationals - with competitors from all age groups in men’s and women’s categories - include 90 athletes from Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Many of the 50 Ontario athletes are from the Sault Ste. Marie International Karate Daigaku (SSMIKD) and the Bruce Mines Kitano Dojo.
Saturday morning's events consisted of kata, with sparring to follow the rest of the day and Sunday.
“Our team is looking forward to all the events in the individual and team categories and what is most exciting to me is sparring. It’s going to be fun,” Coleto said.
Several local athletes did well at the competition.
Results sent to SooToday Sunday showed that Coleto took one gold and two silvers, while Troch won one silver.
The Canada Cup was awarded to Ontario.
See all of the winners here.