It was a weekend to remember for a pair of Saanich-based dojos that scored big at the 2025 National Karate Championships at the Richmond Oval from April 3-6.
Kenzen Karate sent 10 athletes to the championships and returned with five of them earning medals and spots on Team Canada.
Led by sensei Richard Mosdell, a 6th-degree black belt with over 35 years of coaching, training, and international competition experience, the club had its most successful national showing to date.
“To take 10 athletes to nationals is already huge,” said Kenzen coach Steven Gurney. “To have five of them make the national team is massive.”
The standout moment of the tournament belonged to Grade 11 athlete Arya Mittal, who captured gold in the 16/17-year-old under 61kg kumite division. But it wasn’t just the medal that got people talking – it was how he won it.
“His match ended up being 18-15. That’s incredibly high for point fighting,” Gurney said. “It was back and forth the whole way. Neither of them could get the eight-point spread – it just kept going, with huge scores and incredible energy. The whole place was talking about it the next day. People were coming up to me saying it was the greatest match they’d ever seen at nationals.”
Additionally, six athletes from Saanich-based Varsity Karate won five medals in Richmond. Three of these athletes earned berths on Canada’s Junior National Team. These results were part of a larger performance trend that placed B.C. at the top of the overall medal charts for the first time in 25 years.
St. Joseph School Grade 7 student Joann Huang fought to a gold medal in the U14 +52kg kumite (sparring), while teammates Ella Crowle (2nd Year UVic student) and Yashita Kaku (Grade 10 at St. Michaels University School) earned silver medals in the U21-68 kg kumite and the U16-47 kg kumite, respectively.
Rounding out the club’s medal count were Haruka Shin (Grade 12 at Reynold Secondary), earning a bronze in the female U21 -68 kg kumite, and Pahal Kaku (Grade 8 at St. Michaels), also earning bronze in the U14 -47kg kumite division.
“These athletes prepared very well for this competition and hit many of the performance objectives that we set,” said Varsity Karate head coach Kraig Devlin. “Now we reset and begin training towards the three upcoming continental championships that they have been selected for. “
The next major national team competition for Ella Crowle will be the 2025 Senior Pan American Karate Championships in Monterrey Mexico, (May 22-24) and the 2025 Junior Pan American Games in Asuncion, Paraguay (Aug. 21-23) while Joann Huang and Yashita Kaku are planning on representing Canada at the 2025 Junior Pan American Karate Championships (Aug. 28-30) also being held in Asuncion, Paraguay.
Kenzen also celebrated strong performances from Sarah Nolan, who earned silver in para-karate; Faith Davison, who took home two silver medals in kumite; her brother Matt Davison, who added a pair of bronze; and Koen SaInz, who secured another bronze in the 14/15 age group.
Faith and Arya will also go on to represent Canada at the Pan American Championships later this year – Faith in Mexico for the senior competition, and Arya in Paraguay for the junior event. While Sarah, Koen and Matt will serve as alternates for the national team.
“These kids earned it,” said Gurney. “Faith’s been with us since day one – she was our first student when we opened in 2014. She’s not just an athlete, she’s a role model. She trains five times a week, helps coach two days a week, and studies kinesiology. She knows everyone and everything in the dojo.”
Mittal, meanwhile, came up through Kenzen’s after-school program and has since developed into one of their fiercest young competitors.
“He’s been with us for seven or eight years. He’s so focused, and that fight on Saturday showed how much heart he has,” Gurney said. “He’s got a real presence about him. Even as a teenager, you can tell he’s a leader.”
For Gurney – who spent a decade coaching in Tokyo before opening Kenzen Karate in Royal Oak with his family – the team’s success is about more than medals.
“We’ve built something special here,” he said. “A positive, can-do community where kids push each other, support each other, and grow together. Even the ones who didn’t go to nationals played a part in this. That’s what makes it work.”
With Pan Ams on the horizon and the dojo continuing to grow in its beautiful new heritage space, Kenzen Karate is showing no signs of slowing down in year 11.
