Photo: (l-r) Gordon Feinstein, Shihan Ray Kelly,
master instructor at the House of Shotokan
and Emily Feinstein
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Apr. 19, 2023
Students of the House of Shotokan in Belize City participated in the Wu Shu Kung Fu Martial Arts Championship held in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, April 15, and three students of the karate club earned top spots in their respective categories.
The students who participated in the tournament were 11-year-old Gordon Feinstein, 9-year-old Emily Feinstein, and 7-year-old Ampree Swasey.
Gordon placed first in all three categories in which he participated: The Child Intermediate Form Division, Children Intermediate Fighting Division, and Martial Arts Weapons Division; while his sister Emily placed third in the Children Girls Fighting Division and fourth in the Children Girls Form Division, and Ampree placed first in the Fight & Martial Arts Form and second in the Children Intermediate Form division.
“[They] are the up-and-coming athletes of Belize and that is one of my goals,” said Shihan Ray Kelly, master instructor at the House of Shotokan.
“… Their self-esteem is through the roof. Their parents who were there with them — smiles from ear to ear. This is what they’re experiencing, and there’s more to come,” Kelly added.
Shihan Ray Kelly holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Martial Art Science and has been operating the House of Shotokan since 2010. His students at the school range from the tender age of 3 years old to 70 years old.
Kelly told Amandala, “Students have evolved from the karate studio to become engineers, have gone outside to the United States [or] study in Taiwan. Presently, there’s a student that’s studying to become a doctor. There are many students who have come through House of Shotokan within its tenure and have gone on to become successful in their lives. I’m even receiving students who have their own children to come back and train in this studio.”
Kelly said that there will be two other tournaments in Mexico and the United States in the upcoming months. He also mentioned that a local tournament will be held this year and an international tournament sometime next year.