Celynne Belanger surprised herself by winning a silver medal at a karate tournament last month.
"Just before I went, I thought, that I wasn't going to do good because I hadn't been training, but as soon as I got there and I won my first fight, I thought, 'I can do this,'" she said.
For anyone who knows the 18-year-old it wouldn't come as a shock to hear how well she did at the Wado International Karate Federation world championship last month in Arlington, Texas, considering Belanger has trained in the sport since she was six.
"It's all muscle memory," said Belanger. "I don't even know what I'd do; whatever just comes to me."
In the gold-medal match, the Prince George resident earned the first two points, putting her opponent on edge.
"You could tell that she was a little bit worried, because the way she was fighting she was a little bit hesitant," said Belanger. "[Plus], she was nervous with the way she was standing."
The nerves propelled Belanger's rival to battle back to tie the fight, before scoring the decisive point with 15 seconds remaining.
"She scored a punch to the body and from there on it was just punches back and forth, no more clean enough to score," said Belanger, adding she'll need to shift her body differently next time so her opponent can't land a clean punch. "I just couldn't get the last one."
It was the first time Belanger - a first-degree black belt - competed against women, having moved into the 18-to-35-year-old category.
Ever since her dad signed her up at Nechako Karate Club, Belanger said, she has committed herself entirely to the discipline.
"I've been going to every practice every day," she said. "Every time we have training, seminars, tournaments, I've been to all of them."
The silver medal won in Texas has joined a "whole box full" of medals, putting pressure on her dad to finish getting a room ready to hang them all.
Belanger's sensei (teacher) Ken Corrigan credits the support her parents have given her to the success and commitment she has for karate.
"Her parents help her and stand by her and help through every phase that she goes through, that's why she does so well," said Corrigan.
With the Zone 8 qualification, along with the annual Prince George Open, coming up Oct. 22 at Ecole Lac Des Bois, Corrigan is convinced his pupil is working hard.
"She's getting stronger at being able to get in and get out, and as she's getting out, keeping her defence so they don't counter on her," he said.
In addition to preparing for the Zone 8 competition in order to qualify for the provincial championship in November and, hopefully, the national team, Belanger will be attending the College of New Caledonia, studying criminology, with her sights set on eventually joining the RCMP.
"It's going to be hard with school, but I'll figure out how to do it," said Belanger.
Besides, after placing second at the 2010 national karate tournament in Toronto to a fighter from Quebec, Belanger said, she's determined to improve her placing.
"Last time I was at nationals I got second so this year the goal is to get first and make it on the Pan American karate championship [team]," she said.
