RON BAGLEY first got involved in karate out of curiosity 20 years ago in London, England. “ST just saw it at a local sports centre,’’ he said. ‘‘I thought ‘I'll have a shot at this to see what it’s like,’ and I stuck with it.” Bagley got his black belt ap- proximately 13 years ago. He is now a fourth-degree black belt. He came to Canada five years ago, and he has no intention of returning to England. “*Vancouver’s way, way better for me,”’ he said of his new home. “After spending 30 years in Lon- don, this is like paradise.’’ Bagley, 37, represented the Vancouver Shito-Ryu last week at Karate B.C.’s provincial champi- onships held at the Capilano Col- lege’s Sportspiex. Bagley finished first in the under-80 kg kumite (sparring) competition and won the Inspira- tional Athlete of the Year award. According te B.C. team coach Howard Hewitt, Bagley has de- veloped his karate techniques bet- ter than most and he is a true martial artist. “‘He really believes in the art,’ said Hewitt, **The one thing that stands out with Ron in addition to his teck- niques is his heart,’’ Hewitt said. “He’s got very good spirit; he’s not afraid to get hit, and he’s not afraid to hit.’ . **He’s 37 years old and ie moves like a 20-year-old,” said fellow competitor Lloyd Martez. “His flexibility is unbelievable.” ‘In the last 13 years, Bagley was By Kevin Gillies Contributing Writer the 1982 British Club Champion, he finished third in the 1982 European Ciub Championships in Spain, and he was the 1983 Lon- don Capital Champion for his weight class. He was the British All-Styles Karate Champion for his weight class in 1984 and second in 1985. Bagley was an AKA England Squad Member in 1985, '86 and °87, In 1987, he took part in a Canada ane Japan tournament as a member of the B.C. team. “Pve enjoyed the karate com- petition moze in Canada,’’ he said. ‘‘! think they have more fun doing it, whereas back home they do the sport as if their lives depended on it.’’ Said Hewitt: ‘‘Ron Bagley is one of the top competitors that we have.’* Bagley plans on one more year uf competition before perhaps moving into a coaching position with the provincial team. In June he will compete at the Western Canadian Championships in Calgary, and later he hopes to attend the Canadian Champion- ships in Charlottctown. “He’s a class athlete, and at the present time he’s probably the best in his weight division,” Marlor said. ‘‘He’s definitely the class of his division.’* Locals place well in karate competition MORE THAN 300 athletes of all ages competed in the May 15 to 17 Karate B.C. Provincial Cham- pionships at Capilano College’s Sportsplex. By Kevin Gillies Contributing Writer Both the .North Vancouver Gima-Ha (NVGH) and the West Vancouver Gima-Ha (WVGH) clubs fielded teams to compete in kata (form) and kumite (sparring) events. Each event was broken down into different divisions based on age and belt color. The men’s kumite event was also separated into weight classes. In the kata competition, a cempetitor displays his or her knowledge and ability to perform certain techniques. **Katas represent combat against multiple opponents,’’. said Karate B.C. executive director James Johnson. He is also the B.C. Women’s team THE B.C. Open Women’s team won the team competition with a total of 184.850 well ahead of On- tario with 182.45 at the Canadian Gymnastic Championships held in Lavai, Quebec, in mid-May. Five of the six-member B.C. team were from Flicka Gym Club in North Vancouver. They were led by North Van- couver’s Aparna Ray, 17, and Port Coquitiam’s Kristi Mardya, president of the Nationa! Karate Association. “Obviously there’s no one there, but a person who can put that extra feeling in the kata and really imagine those opponents, they make the kata come alive,”’ he said. “We call that spirit.”’ After a competitor goes through a certain kata, five judges score the kata. The highest and lowest scores are discarded and the re- maining three scores are combined to produce the athlete’s final score. “The main point of judging kata is the basic techniques or how you utilize your body to make power,"’ Johnson said. “Next they (the judges) would go to the rhythm of the kata; whether or not it flowed smocthly.”’ Susan Nakagawa, 46, of the North Van club finished first in the women’s Masters (35 and older) colored belt kata division. 17, who came third and fourth overall with totals of 36.900 and 36.800, respectively. The winner was Simone Senicr of Ontario with 37.200. West Vancouver’s Marlies Ern- st, 15, and Jenny Campbell, 15, moved up several places from last year to finish seventh and ninth respectively, with scores of 36.509 and 36.200, making the top nine places with only a one point dif- Wednesday, May 27, 1992 — North Shore News — 13 ERE SGRE ee LS ee SEE A) a NEWS photo Paul McGrath 37-YEAR-OLD Ron Bagley (right) represented the Vancouver Shito-Ryu last week at Karate B.C.’s provincia! championships hefd at the Capilano College’s Sportsplex, finishing first in the under-80 kg kumite (sparring) competition. Bagley, a fourth-degree black belt, also won ihe Inspirational Athlete of the Year award. She. was also first in the women’s Master’s colored belt kumite event. Mitsuru Nakagawa, 10, finished in third place for nine- and [0- year-old boys and girls with orange, green or yellow belts. He also placed third in his division’s kumite event. West Van's Larry Hsu, 16, was third for his age group of girls and boys with white cr yellow belts. He won the kumite event in the same division. Also from the West Van club, Jennifer Stott, 14, was third in her age group for boys and girls with Orange, green or blue belts and Salim Virani, 13, was fourth in his age group for boys and girls with white or yellow belts. in the kumite competition, two opponents spar with each other to demonstrate their ability to use techniques in a combat situation. “The aim is to deliver an effec- tive technique, a kick or a punch, to a recognized scoring area which would be the head, the chest, the back or the side,’’ Johnson said. **(The technique should demon- stratc) speed and good timing, and come within three centimetres of the target, but you must stop short of doing damage to the op- ponent. The emphasis is on con- trolled technique.’” If a competitor strikes an op- ponent, he or she is penalized for using excessive force. **You may be disqualified depending on the amount of damage you do to your oppo- nent,’’ Johnson said. A competitor can also be penal- ized or disqualified for stepping out of the ring too often. North Vancouver’s Ron Bagley, from the Vancouver Shito-Ryu club, finished first in the men’s black belt, under 80-kg division. Ramin Emami, 26, of the West Vancouver YMCA, was fourth in the men’s black belt under-70 kg class. Lloyd Marlor, 355, of the WVGH club, placed third in the Masters black belt division. Salim Virani, 13, of the WVGH club, was first in the boys’ and girls’ white and yellow belt divi- sion and Stephen Wade, 13, from the NVGH club finished third. Andrew Somody, 12, and An- drew Stott, 10, both from the WYVGH club, finished fourth and third respectively for their divi- sions. wins in Laval championships ference. Mardyn won 2 choreography award for ter balance beam routine and Campbell won the award for her floor exercise routine. Both routines were created by coach Janice Fowler. Lise Nakano, 14, who won the balance beam event with 9.25, had a disappointing 34.40 and 3lst place. The aiternate on the team was Richmond’s Teresa Pehar, 14, who was competing at nationals for the first time and came 50th with 32.85. In the individual events, Camp- bell tied with Nakano for first place on the balance beam. Ray was second on both uneven bars with 9.40 and floor exercise with 9.50 and Mardyn was secend on vault at 9.50. Three Flicka girls competed at nationals for the first time in the Novice division and came away with good scores. North Vancouver's Melanie Redlick, 12, was 15th all-around with 35.45; her highest individual place was sixth on uneven bars with 9.10. Burnaby’s Laura Mazur, 12, was 17th with 35.20 and placed seventh on balance beam with 8.85.