The Sunday Mail
A LETHAL mother and daughter combination is determined to cause havoc in the karate world.
Lorraine and Kylie Randal last month clinched silver medals at the 17th Kimura Shukokai International World Tournament in South Africa, where 18 countries were represented by 471 competitors.
Now, the pair is determined to make its presence felt both locally and abroad.
At 39, Lorraine is a 3rd dan black belt holder, while her 16 -year old daughter is a 1st dan black belt holder.
It gets really interesting.
Lorraine’s husband , Gavin, is also a 3rd dan black belt holder. And that makes one wonder how the Randals became a karate family.
“My brother started it and encouraged us to take up the sport,” disclosed Lorraine, who has been in the sport for 14 years.
“We are all passionate, we eat and breathe karate. For women, we do not get enough recognition in any form of sport so I am a big supporter of women being in sport and at the top.
“When we first started as husband and wife, we wanted her (Kylie) to train too so that she could have self defence skills. Because of crime, it is important for a girl to be able to defend herself. However, she also got hooked and is now competing as well.”
Kylie believes karate has made her patient.
“It (karate) teaches you a lot of good life skills. It has also made me a patient person. I find myself more patient when someone is giving me trouble.
“My biggest goal in karate is to be at the top and to be well known. I want to be a world champion,” said one of the youngest holders of the 1st dan black belt in the style.
Gavin is thrilled by his “women’s” exploits.
“When my wife is doing kumite that is full contact kicking and punching, she trains with me. In South Africa, what made me proud the most are not the silver medals they won, but the number of people, from all over the world, who spoke highly of their skill,” he said.
The Randals, who have to fund their participation at international tournaments, have already set their sights on the next world championships in Germany.
“It is very hard to find people to fund you, especially when you have not achieved anything. But now we are hoping that with such a big achievement, someone will be kind enough to come and help us with sponsorship. Two years from now, the World Championships will be in Germany and we will go there and bring gold medals.
“Once every year, we go to South Africa to train with 7th and 8th dan belt holders to ensure that we stay in touch with developments in the sport,” said Lorraine.
With the entire family holding black belts, it would surely resemble a war zone when arguments get physical, one would presume.
“We are a normal family, but appreciate that we should not cross that barrier. My wife has a 3rd dan my daughter a 1st and I another 3rd dan so we do not really want to get into that . . . there will be bloodshed.
“People are under the misconception that karate makes you aggressive, but it teaches you to be the complete opposite,” said Gavin on a parting note.
