Jodi Anderson-Carson competes in WKC World Championships

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: NEV CARSON
Jodi Anderson-Carson, along with her son, are participating in the World Karate and Kickboxing World Championships this week in Orlando, Fla.

Fanshawe’s Jodi Anderson-Carson will be competing in two speed fighting events at the World Karate and Kickboxing Commission (WKC) World Championships this week in Orlando, Fla.

The Championships take place from Nov. 4 to Nov. 11 at the Wyndham Orlando Resort International.

According to the official WCK website, the WKC World Championships is an annual martial arts competition that gathers the top competitors of various martial arts disciplines from across the globe to complete. Anderson-Carson is one of the four women representing Canada in the veteran women’s continuous sparring and point sparring competitions.

In order to qualify for the world championships, Anderson-Carson had to place in the top four positions at the Canadian National Championship tournament. In the continuous sparring competition, Anderson-Caron reigned victorious, taking home the gold medal. In point sparring, she received the bronze medal.

Anderson-Carson is a familiar face in the Fanshawe community; she is the fitness and wellness program director for the Student Wellness Centre and also teaches a few fitness classes.

Anderson-Carson started to take kickboxing classes at the Bernardo Karate Academy on Oxford Street as a result of taking her son to his karate classes. She chose to enroll in kickboxing classes at the facility originally for her fitness and eventually, her teachers suggested she should try out fighting in the women’s veteran division.

In order to compete in fighting competitions, Anderson-Carson had to begin taking karate lessons at the academy and increase her belt ranking. While Anderson-Carson took some time to debate whether or not to pursue karate lessons, she made up her mind last December and began her training with her goal to make it to the World Championships.

In January, she participated in her first fight, meaning that she has only ten months of fighting experience. Going into the World Championships, Anderson-Carson has her orange stripe while a majority of other competitors in the veteran’s women division have their second or third degree black belt.

Her twelve-year-old son will also be competing in four disciplines at the WKC World Championships in Florida. The events he will be participating in are: the traditional bow, creative bow, freestyle kata and traditional kata competitions. Anderson-Caron explained that her eldest son was inspired to pursue lessons in karate after watching the movie Kung Fu Panda when he was three-years-old.

“We are on team Canada together and to walk in the opening ceremonies together will be a pretty cool experience,” Anderson-Caron said.

In regards to her training schedule, Anderson-Carson says she trains five to six days a week. In addition, she has had the opportunity to train with world champion fighters Tammy Bernardo and Connie Baker.

“I’m excited and nervous [for the competition]. I would like to come home with the gold, but I’m just happy that I made it [to the world championships] and get to experience it. If I can come home with some sort of medal, that will make it all worthwhile,” Anderson-Carson said.

Anderson-Carson said her and her son are planning on entering a team form competition next year to participate in an event at the world championships together.