More than 300 trophies were awarded to martial artists of all ages, ranks, styles and experience levels at the Nisqually Valley Martial Arts Championship at Yelm Gymnastics Center Saturday, Aug. 24.
Athletes competed in traditional forms, traditional weapons, point sparring and flag sparring during the tournament, which served as a friendly invitational between schools from around the Nisqually Valley and western Washington.
A pair of Yelm siblings were among the champions throughout the day, as McCray Webster, 9, and his sister Lilly, 13, took home a bouquet of trophies. McCray is a fourth grader at Fort Stevens Elementary, while Lilly is an eighth grader at Yelm Middle School.
McCray won the grand championship for his age category in sparring, as well as numerous other awards. Lilly, who coached her brother during his matches, won second place in the grand championship for traditional weapons and second place in traditional forms and sparring. The siblings have enjoyed learning and growing alongside each other.
“When we first came here, it was for me and Lilly to learn discipline and so we can learn how to protect ourselves once we get old enough,” McCray said. “The first few days were rough on us, but to make it this far is amazing.”
Lilly added that while the siblings often bicker and argue — McCray often bragged about his sizable trophy haul compared to hers — they push each other to get better in martial arts. They both train at the Rainier Martial Arts center under Master Bob Aubrey.
“It’s pretty cool because I always get to see him grow in how he does everything. He always pushes me to do better, and I always push him,” she said. “I coach him all the time so he can get better and win. We have our fights because we’re siblings, but we always overcome it. With tournaments like these, it’s always really fun because we root for each other.”
While the Websters are enjoying the fruits of their labor toward the beginning of their martial arts journeys, Port Orchard resident Clayton Waldron, 74, competed for the final time after over 40 years in martial arts. He took first place in kata, a sequence of karate moves consisting of punches and kicks, in the over-55 category.
Waldron first joined because he took his daughter to karate class and sat on the bench. He said the instructor came up to him and said, “Look, if you’re gonna be here, you might as well get involved.”
Waldron’s martial arts journey has taken him all over the world, including training in Okinawa, Japan. He said, while his competition days are now complete, he hopes to stick around karate to teach the next generations.
“I have devoted a lot of years to karate, and I’m not giving it up completely. I still like to teach the kids,” he said. “It’s a real joy to see somebody be molded into the discipline that they pick up and to be able to have self-confidence to get in front of people and talk and the pleasure that I get out of seeing them win. Winning is not just winning tournaments. Winning is their personality and their discipline. I’ve noticed the difference in how they act at school and around their parents.”
The Nisqually Valley Martial Arts Championship was an opportunity for Nathanial Stewart of Yelm to compete in kata and judge the younger generation in kata and sparring. He took first place in weapons and second in point sparring while he qualified for the grand championship in weapons.
Stewart also coaches his two teenage sons, who are both black belts, and the three study under Aubrey at Rainier Martial Arts.
“It’s a wonderful experience in being able to see them grow. At this point, they’ve been able to train more when I’ve had to work, so they’ve sailed right past where I’m at, and now they can give me pointers,” Stewart said.
Stewart said martial arts teaches him and his boys about structure in life and working toward goals.
“It’s been great seeing my sons be able to not only go through that process and become black belts, but the maturity and the skills that they’ve developed will apply to the rest of their lives,” he said.
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