THOMASIAN athletes bagged bronze medals in the 1st University Karate Cup last March 15 at the De La Salle Sports Complex.
Freshmen Thislie Barruga and Juby Bernadette Ruiz, who represented the UST Athletic Karate Alliance (USTAKA), both took third place in the women’s divisions of the Individual Kata (Forms) and the Kumite (Sparring) events, respectively.
Kata is a set of pre-arranged techniques practiced against imaginary opponents. A development exercise, the Kata serves as an incremental process toward imprinting correct form, correct physical stimulation, the honing of impulse, and breath control.
On the other hand, the Kumite reflects the free combination of Karate techniques, which demonstrate authority over oneself and dominance over one’s opponent. It is made up of two categories, that of the contest between two individuals and that between three-or five-member teams. Points are scored when a player connects with prescribed targets of the opponent’s body with precision and purposefulness while exhibiting good form, proper timing, and perfect finish.
Barruga settled for the bronze after she twisted her left ankle in the middle of her match, forcing her to yield to University of the Philippines’ Katrina Zulueta. Barruga beat Ateneo De Manila’s Tanya Gabe earlier to advance.
Meanwhile, Ruiz, playing with a sore left foot, finished third after losing to Ateneo’s Loida Mendoza. Mendoza, who connected on several kicks to Ruiz’s head, used her height advantage to earn the victory by being the first to score eight points. Previously, Ruiz also defeated Gabe in their encounter.
Despite their mediocre performance, Ruiz, who also serves as the USTAKA’s team manager, said that they would have fared better if not for the players’ injuries.
“It was frustrating. The players got injured while training. We were not expecting that this would happen,” said the perky Ruiz.
UST finished fourth overall, behind first place De La Salle, runner-up Ateneo, and third place UP. Dexter R. Matilla
