Destination Kathmandu - Nepal

by Cindy Leask

Our Destination was Kathmandu, Nepal. It was a long flight from Melbourne and we were all eager to reach our destination and get on with the job at hand - winning medals!

We landed in Kathmandu mid-afternoon and were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a Nepalese delegation and Fritz Wendland, the President of the World Karate Confederation. We were rushed through customs like royalty and into the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu airport. It was a bit of a culture shock to begin with, but we soon got into the local way of doing things.

Driving in Nepal is nothing like Australia - you don't stop at intersections, you just keep going and give a toot of the horn. Most of the time you're dodging cars, kids, buses, trucks and most importantly cows.

If you hit and kill a cow on the road you are in deep trouble - Go figure! The cow is sacred in Nepal and they roam the streets like they own them.

There's nothing like a bit of training to get rid of jet lag and that's where we were headed - the venue where the training and technical seminar was being held. The thought of a training session straight off the plane was a bit of a shock, but that's what Karate is all about - being able to adapt to different situations.

In the morning Sensei Keith was off to teach again and Luke and I were given 2 days off to check out the sights of Nepal with Christina and Elke Wendland, Fritz's Wife and Daughter. Kathmandu was beautiful with temples everywhere. We visited the Pashupatinath where the Hindi have their cremations. Luke and I were fortunate to see one of them and it was a bizarre sight seeing someone's legs sticking out of a fire.

Bhaktapur was the next place on our list - an ancient town full of Royal temples. It was very beautiful with buildings so old and ragged that you were too scared to sneeze in case they fell down. The Nepalese are very proud of their history and culture and we found them to be extremely hospitable wherever we went - A very laid back society.

On the morning of the competition we took an early flight over the Himalayas to see mount Everest. It was breathtaking to be able to see it up close. The whole range was amazing and the flight was over before we knew it.

The competition!! Well the stadium was nothing like you could imagine, a place the Nepalese were all so proud of. My section was the +55kg Kumite Shobu Sanbon. It was the first time that I have fought this type of competition, so I was feeling a little edgy.

Luke was great at keeping me cool and calm. I had a bye the first round and then it was time for me to go on. I had decided there and then that I deserved the win after a year dominated with injuries and so I went out and fought the best that I could.

I dominated the first fight winning 6-0. In the final I was so pumped, that I wasn't going to let anyone take this away from me. I fought the best I have ever fought and succeeded - I was in shock! The next day Luke had two events and I still had kata to go.

First round was Heian kata which I ended up on top. The Final was favorite kata. I performed Gojushihosho and was successful again, finishing with a total of 2 gold medals.

It was time to focus on Luke's campaign. He had Kata up first, the same format as myself and he also led after the first round with a great Heian Sandan. In the Final he chose to do Unsu.

The crowd was gasping after he made an amazing jump. It was enough for the Gold - One down and one to go.

It was a long wait for his division, the last round of the day, so we sat quietly watching the other fights - some were quite aggressive. Luke also had a bye first round, so we watched all the other fighters to see what he was up against. I tried my best to kept him calm and ready to go. His first fight was a little nervy, but he did a great job and won. The 2nd fight was a little tougher as his Indian competitor was ready and waiting for anything, but again Luke dominated.

I was told not to coach from the sidelines and it was very hard to keep quiet.

Before we knew it, it was time the Final. The whole stadium came alive as his opponent was from Nepal - a great little fighter.

Everyone was shouting so I joined in. Referee Vladislav from Slovakia awarded Luke 2 Ippons early on and then just before time, gave the third. I was jumping up and down with tears rolling down my face.

We had done it! A clean sweep with 4 gold medals. It was probably the best feeling I had felt during my competitive career.

We were awarded our gold medals by the Nepalese Minister of Sport, with many photos taken afterwards.

Before we knew it, the trip was over and we were heading back to Australia. On our stop-over in Bangkok, all 3 of us got food poisoning, which made our trip home rather interesting.

It was a memorable trip with a fantastic result. Sensei Keith's belief in us and our trust in his methods was an unbeatable combination. We both look forward to the World cup in St Petersburg in June.