Kids fire for wins

By Justin Robertson
LYNBROOK’S Kathy and Justin Borchard have a lot to be proud of.
In last month’s Australian Karate Federation National Championships in Sydney, all four of their children competed for the top prize and came home with six medals – three bronze, two silver and one gold – spread out over different specialty events and age groups.
So far this year, the quartet have claimed 31 medals.
Mum, Kathy, could hardly contain her excitement when talking about the future of her children in the world of karate.
“We are very proud parents and for them to all be doing so well is such a great effort,” she said. “This year our youngest, Jamie-Lee started karate and he’s doing just as well as the other three, so I know whatever they all do – whether it be karate or something else – they’ll be very good at it.”
While Jamie, 8, did not win a medal at the nationals, his older siblings Corey,15, Nicholas,10, and Brooke, 9, – who have been honing the craft for the past three years – cleaned up with a fist full of awards.
Eldest sibling Corey, 15, was shipped off to hospital after kicking an elbow during an elimination fight, but still earned a bronze medal for his effort which saw his foot swell up to the size of a football.
“Yeah my tournament officially ended when I had to leave to go and get treated,” he said. “If I had of kept fighting for another 30 seconds, I could have scored more and gone further in the tournament.”
All four children train four times a week and the art of karate is clearly their passion.
“I want to open up my own dojo one day,” Corey said. “I love to teach others and I actually pick up my own mistakes when I teach too, which is good.”
According to Kathy, her sons’ love of the sport even rubs off on some of the juniors at his KimeKai Dojo where he sometimes teaches.
“The other kids he teaches go home and talk about him – talk about how good he is as a teacher,” Kathy said. “And these three… (pointing to his siblings) look like they’ll follow in his footsteps.”