When Tanya Schramek signed her son up for martial arts, she never expected she would find herself in a uniform. But a short while later, she’s heading to an international championship.
Schramek is part of the Team Canada contingent that will travel to Panama on Jan. 6 for the annual invitational tournament, which brings martial artists from across North America to one location for a multi-day tournament. The artists compete in a variety of age classes.
Schramek originally brought her son, Nolan, who is now 10, to a martial arts class at Shamuon Generations Martial Arts because he was having behavioural issues.
Since they were spending five nights a week training, Schramek and her daughter Grace, 12, decided to join as well. All three will compete in Panama.
“Martial arts was recommended by my doctor,” said Schramek during a team practice.
Schramek said it has helped leaps and bounds with Nolan. With Grace, it has increased her confidence.
“She used to be the girl that would hide behind my leg but if you talked to her today, no one would believe that,” said Schramek.
Aside from the benefits to both Grace and Nolan, martial arts has been a boon for the family as a whole.
“It’s really brought us closer together and I feel that we all have something to work towards. A common goal. It’s often that the kids and I are in our bedroom practicing something,” she said. “(Grace) and I are doing synchro together and we often have Nolan sitting on the bed judging us.”
Julian Shamuon, whose father Tom owns Shamuon Generations Martial Arts, is back competing after ACL repair surgeries on both knees. His last surgery was less than a year ago, but his recovery went well and he feels good enough to compete.
Since his first competition in 2004, Shamoun has earned triple crowns (swept the events) every year.
Lexi McGann Barclay, 15, has been competing with Team Canada for six years and has been in the discipline for nine years. Her first international tournament was to Panama six years ago.
“I know sort of where things are there,” said McGann Barclay, who started martial artswhen she was five years old.
She originally started dancing, but didn’t like it. She switched to martial arts, and aside from the early morning training sessions, she found her passion.
McGann Barclay also has an added layer of difficulty. She has diabetes, a disease that makes life challenging, especially for athletes.
“Sometimes it’s difficult. Like yesterday during class I had to stop because my blood sugar went low, so that makes it hard,” said McGann Barclay. “Sometimes at tournaments, I’ll have a really good day if my blood sugar is normal, but if it goes high, I get sloppy and tired more easily. So I need to get that perfect in between.”