The northern Illinois regional Youth of America Karate Tournament was held Sunday Nov 21, 1999, at the Field House of Oswego High School, in Oswego, Illinois.  Many types of the martial arts called "karate" were represented at the tournament: TaeKwonDo, Kyokushin, Shotokan, Kenpo, and Isshin-Ryu.
    Approximately 600 entrants competed for trophies in Kumite (sparring), Individual Kata (forms) and Team Kata (synchronized forms) divisions.  Competing for Black Belt instructor Steve Strong's TaeKwonDo class in LaGrange were Kristen Ras, age 9 of Lyons, Mike Pogwizd, age 12 of Elmhurst, Jacky Clarke Such, age 8 of LaGrange, and Jacky's mom, Vicky Clarke, age 38 of LaGrange.
     The Youth of America Karate program is taught in various Do Jangs and Dojos (TaeKwonDo and Karate schools) and YMCAs across the country.  Karate promotes self-confidence, discipline, a competitive spirit, and a winning attitude.  The LaGrange classes meet at the Richport YMCA in LaGrange on Tuesday evenings.  The next classes begin in January.  For information, call the LaGrange YMCA youth programs at 708-532-4377.  While this is primarily a program for children ages 5-18, interested parents are welcome to join a class with their child.
     For tournament sparring, competitors wear full protective gear: helmets, gloves, chest protectors, and mouthguards.  Sparring competitors are divided up by age, rank, and gender.  Individual Kata is divided by age and rank.  Teams can be a mix of ages, ranks, and genders.
    Making Sensei Steve proud, the LaGrange team of four took 2nd place in the Team Kata division!  Bringing home individual trophies for the LaGrange team, Kristen won 1st place in Sparring (girls yellow belt, ages 8-11), Mike won 3rd place in Sparring (boys orange and purple belts, ages 11-15), and Vicky won 1st place in Sparring (adult women, orange belt and below) and 2nd place in Individual Kata (all adults).