By Jonah Gill, Sports Editor
Shalhevet soccer team forward, Agenda Committee rep, Boiling Point Editor…national sports champion? Last June 22 Shalhevet junior Adam Rokah proved that this is a possible combination when he won the USA Amateur Athletic Karate Federation’s National Championship, in St. Louis, Mo.
After qualifying by winning a regional tournament in Southern California, Adam dominated the national contest, earning an overall record of 23-1. That victory qualified him for the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF) Pan American games — a mini-world championship for North and South America — set for November in Formosa, Argentina.
Because karate is more popular in South America than North America, Adam will represent all of North America, while facing competitors who represent 12 South and Central American countries. The AAKF is the U.S. member of the ITKF, which practices an older brand of karate that puts an emphasis on technique and one’s mental state.
Traditional karate, along with being more technical than forms promoted by mainstream organizations such as Karate USA, is also more concerned with mindset, preaching that one’s mental faculties control one’s physical abilities.
“My type is shotokan, the original Japanese karate, developed over thousands of years, whereas these new styles are kind of artificial and meant for show,” Adam told The Boiling Point.
“This one is useful in actual situations,” he continued. “You use resistance and proper form to create maximum power and be the best you can be, whereas the other ones are just sport karate.”
The AAKF website lists Adam as Youth Division champion in the Youth Elite Division 5 section. His 10-year-old brother Jacob placed fourth in Class A.
“Record numbers of spirited, promising young athletes came nationwide, from the Eastern to Western seaboards,” the website states.
It differentiates itself from other karate forms this way:
“While traditional karate requires the high technical level of the ‘finishing blow,’ the newer karate sports [are] concerned with merely common kicking and punching actions to score,” the website states.
The format of a karate tournament is 12 kata bouts, which are an individually practiced, pre-prepared karate sequence. The other 12 bouts are sparring and hand-to-hand competition between two competitors, as seen in Karate Kid. Adam won 11 of his katas, for a record of 11-1, and all of his sparring matches, going 12-0 in that half of the tournament.
This left Adam with a final record of 23-1. The second place finisher, Adrian Gavrila, went 12-0 in kata and 11-1 in sparring to also finish 23-1, but because sparring is weighed more heavily, Adam won the championship.
Now 16, Adam began training when he was three years old with his father — Mr. Avi Rokah, a former karate world champion — and his mother, Ruth, also a decorated martial artist who placed third in two categories of the women’s AAKF last year. Mr. Rokah owns a popular dojo (karate studio) on Pico Boulevard and has also been teaching a group of Shalhevet students karate during lunch and P.E. since the beginning of last year.
In an interview, Adam recalled his first karate lesson, as a toddler.
“I do sort of remember it — I vaguely remember it,” he said. “I just kind of walked into the studio and was excited to start.”
Adam is the first of his siblings to win a national championship, but he is still a brown belt. Advancing to black belt is up to his teacher — his dad.
“He’s an amazing coach,” Adam said of his father. “Being my father too doesn’t really change anything, except I think he’s a little bit more strict with me.
“I’m cool with it,” he added.
Adam said he normally practices karate for an hour at a time, three times a week. But in the month before a tournament, he practices every day.
In addition, he is a member of Shalhevet’s soccer team, a bass and frequent soloist in the Choir, and Arts Editor of the Boiling Point. He also has been a member of the Agenda Committee in years past.
“I think it is great that someone I hang out with a lot is representing our country in Karate,” said sophomore Jake Benyowitz, a soccer teammate of Adam’s and a fellow Choirhawk.
How is it possible to balance so many activities with a full course load including AP’s and four Judaic classes?
“Well, there is a lot,” Adam said. “But it’s just time management. I pace my time well. I plan ahead, I do my homework in advance, I try to make sure nothing conflicts, which is not always possible but I’ve become better at that.”
Adam is the first national champion in the 21-year history of Shalhevet, and is looking to become the first international champion as well.
If he wins in Argentina, he’ll be eligible to compete the following year in the world championships in Okinawa.
