Around The Islands
Mini Profile
Eimi Kurita:
Eiminating Greatness
by Bradley Ramos
A half a minute into the overtime period, and Eimi Kurita delivers a fierce chudan zuki (mid-level punch) to her opponent, scoring the winning point, and taking home the gold medal in the kumite (sparring) competition at the 2005 Junior Pan-American Championships. A second-degree black belt in karate, she also captured the gold in the kata (forms) competition, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Eimi is currently a senior attending Kaiser High School, and she's accomplished so much at such a tender age. In her tenure with the International Karate Federation, she's already traveled to places most high school students only read about in geography books. From Uruguay, to Germany, to Cyprus, Eimi's success has offered her a world of experiences. She's a seven-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Champion, the 2005 United States National Karate-do Federation (NKF) Champion, and an All-Hawaii top female competitor. This 17-year-old is living proof that discipline and hard work are the keys to success.
- Q. How do you balance school and karate?
- A. "I train on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday for two hours, and I help teach karate every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Kamiloiki Elementary School. Because I am still in high school, school is my first priority. My karate schedule is pretty crazy, but I always make time for my homework. I may be tired, but I will stay up late and finish it."
- Q. When did you first develop your passion for karate?
- A. "When I was little, I loved to follow in the footsteps of my older brother, Masa. He had been training (karate) for a couple months when I joined him at the age of six. I wasn't very passionate about karate at first, but it grew on me as I started to train more. I have to say that my true passion for karate came out only last year when I started competing at more prestigious competitions, inspiring me to get better and train harder. I started to get more serious and began training on my own."
- Q. What separates karate from other sports?
- A. "I don't think karate is too different from any other sport. We learn teamwork, sportsmanship, responsibility, discipline, and respect; just like in any other sport. I think the big difference would be that in a competition, everything is individual. There is no one you can rely on but yourself. Although we stick together as a team and cheer on one another, when it comes down to competition, you're pretty much on your own."
- Q. What are your plans after high school?
- A. "After high school, I definitely want to keep training and competing. As for college, I'll probably go to a community college to take my core classes, and then hopefully transfer to UH (Manoa)."
