AS: Hi everyone, my name is Arshiya Sen.

TS: and I’m Trisha Sannappanavar

AS: And we want to welcome you to Episode 31 of Time Out! In this series, we explore the MVHS sports scene to learn more about the journeys of our very own athletes from various sports. 

TS: Today, we are joined by senior Riddhi Shedge, who speaks on her journey in karate and how she’s grown from it. So, let’s kick this off!

EE: When did you begin karate? 

RS: I began karate when I was like six years old, and my parents enrolled me at the dojo for the first time. 

EE: Where did you take karate?

RS: I take karate at California Karate Academy in Saratoga. 

EE: Are you still in karate? 

RS: I’m not really taking consistent classes right now because of my schedule and the workload, but for the past nine to ten years, I have been consistently doing karate around three times a week.

EE: What level are you in? 

RS: Currently, I am a black belt, both in kada and in weapons.

EE: You mentioned you did karate for about nine to 10 years. What kept you motivated to do it for that long? 

RS: It was a very interesting and kind of unique experience for me. The way my parents explained it to me, which kind of got me into it, was that they said that it’s a really great way to learn to defend yourself, especially when you’re older and you become more independent. It’s a good way to be able to defend yourself and also take care of your body, since karate is a form of exercise, and so obviously those are some benefits. And another reason I kind of just enjoy karate in general is because of the community I met through the sport, like my mentor, Jim Mather. He was a very, very good and inspirational karate teacher, and a mentor for me. He was encouraging. He always had positive affirmations, and was always just telling me to keep going. Even when I hit any blocks, he would tell me, ‘Hey, it’s okay. You can do it.’ And his mentorship really just inspired me to continue doing karate for as long as I have been doing it. 

EE: Is this something you want to continue past high school? 

RS: Yeah. Definitely. Like I said, I didn’t really get to consistently do karate for the past two years in high school, but hopefully in college, I’ll get the opportunity to practice karate. Maybe even do some more local competitions. 

EE: Can you share a memorable moment or achievement in your karate career? 

RS: A memorable moment for me was when I was in 10th grade. I went to the Ozawa cup international karate tournament, which was in Las Vegas for that year. It was an international tournament, and it was my first one. It was just really cool meeting all these different people from different nations. I was selected to go from my dojo, not only to represent my dojo, but also the U.S., which was really great. It was a new experience for me, because it was, like I said, the first time I went to an international tournament, and I just really met a lot of different people, and they were really, really good. So it was pretty intimidating. But seeing everyone coming together and doing something that we all love, like a shared thing that we value, which is karate, was really interesting. I also liked how I got to see different kinds of techniques and types of karate, because there’s a lot of different forms based on the region where that style of karate originated from. I was able to see how different people, nations, dojos, the different ways they did it [Karate]. And I felt really proud, because in the end, I ended up in the top 10 in girls for both kata and weapons, which was a pretty great achievement. 

EE: Has karate affected your life outside of the dojo? 

RS: Karate has taught me a lot of different qualities. It has definitely taught me discipline, because in karate at the Dojo, what we do, we take it very, very seriously. We’re always training. We have to be consistent, right? And they really don’t want you to slack off. You have to be on your best form, on your best behavior, right? I think I was able to carry over this discipline into my school journey as well, being productive and motivated and staying on task when I’m at school or at home, studying or in my extracurriculars. The discipline and kind of that like motivation and being able to focus when I need to, has really helped me in other aspects of my life as well. 

EE: Awesome. You previously mentioned the community you found during your karate competition. How important is teamwork in a seemingly individual sport like karate? 

RS: Yeah, karate is mostly an individual event, right? You have sparring events and kata. But the one thing that is there in karate is that it can be mentally stressful at times, because especially in the competitions, you’re under a lot of pressure and when you’re demonstrating your routine, for example, you want to make sure every move, every step, is perfect. Even when you’re doing sparring, you want to make sure that your strength, your balance, is to the point, right? It’s a lot of pressure, and I think community keeps you motivated, keeps you going, even when you feel like you don’t want to do it. There were definitely times where I was like ‘I’m physically, mentally tired. I want to take a break. I don’t want to do it.’ And that community, the people who were around me, supporting me, like my teammates, my mentor, they were just a really big source of motivationand a good support system for me to get myself back into the sport whenever I was having those periods of hesitancy or feeling tired and things like that. 

EE: What specific challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them? 

RS: The main challenge I did face was having just a lack of time to do this craft. Especially for a sport like karate, you have to really train consistently, because it’s kind of easy to lose that rhythm and flow if you don’t train basically every day. So, when I was in 11th grade, and even this year, it was just really difficult for me to take consistent classes three to four times a week, because I just had a lot of schoolwork and other extracurricular activities, and I just began to prioritize other things, and that made me go to classes less and less. But I’ve tried to  compensate in a way like reminding myself that I don’t have to be at the karate dojo to practice. Even if I get some free time at home, I can clear out my garage or go in my living room and just do like a practice there, do a couple of moves, refine my technique. Taking any opportunity I get to practice, rather than only practicing at the dojo has kind of helped me maintain my skills, especially in the times when I just don’t have a lot of that free time to give to karate. 

EE: It sounds like you’ve really adapted around your busy schedule. What advice would you give to aspiring karate participants? 

RS: I think my main piece of advice would be that you really gotta stick through it. I’m not gonna lie, karate is a challenging sport. Like I said, both physically and mentally, especially as you go up the levels, sometimes it feels like you’ve hit a block. Once you get to the upper levels, maybe when you’re testing for your black belt, people aren’t able to move up the levels after one try. You test for the next level, and you end up not getting it, and you have to re-train and then retest. You hit a lot of those blocks, especially as you move up the levels. Sometimes it just feels like I’m doing everything I can and I just can’t do more. Like, how do I get to the next level? But you have to really remember that in the end, consistent practice and having that faith in yourself, and making use of your support systems and the people around you is what’s going to help you get to the next level. Not letting yourself fall to the mental block and not giving up or taking too many breaks in which you know you can lose your flow — that could be a problem. I would probably tell these aspiring participants that you are going to face a lot of challenges but it’s inevitable. If you really have that love and passion for the sport you will definitely do well in the future. You’ll put in the work now, and I promise the results are going to pay off. 

EE: How do you stay motivated during tough training sessions? 

RS: I’m always looking at my mentors and especially my role models. When I was a lower level belt in karate, there were often a lot of black belt student volunteers who would help us out, and I would see how good they were in their technique and their moves. I was really inspired by that. I was like, hey, I want to be like them one day. Taking advantage of that and asking them questions, asking them for tips, and also Jim Mather, he is my mentor, and he’s a grand master, like a 10th degree black belt. He was really, really good, and he was also a source of inspiration for me, especially during the tough times. He would tell his own little anecdotes of how he had struggled growing up and throughout his life, in that journey of karate, and he was telling me like, you know, the problems and challenges you’re facing, they’re not uncommon. A lot of people face them, and a lot of people overcome them too. Taking advice, asking questions when I’m having trouble, that’s what really motivated me during these especially these tough training sessions. Once again, like you said, even if it’s kind of an individual sport, the community is really welcoming and really helpful, because we all just want to grow together, grow stronger together.

EE: Definitely. What are your goals for your future in karate? 

RS: My main goal in the future, it’s a pretty simple goal, it’s just to keep doing karate. I kind of lost sight of karate in 11th and 12th grade, when I prioritized other activities and my schoolwork. But I knew that I still had that love, that passion for it. I just wasn’t able to make time for it. So as I go into college, I know I’m still gonna be busy with my social life, work, all those things, but I still want to carve out some time for karate, because once again, I know I really like the sport, and I do have the skills and technique and that I can grow on and push myself to the next level. Even if I’m doing it recreationally, not even competitively, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I want to do it somehow. Last year, I used to teach at my dojo. I was a volunteer. If I ever get that opportunity in the future, I would love to take that again. I really enjoyed teaching the younger students, helping them out, so I would like to continue to practice it myself, and maybe even spread my love to the younger children in the future.

TS: That’s it for episode 31 of Time Out. Thank you to Riddhi for joining us today! I’m Trisha Sannappanavar 

AS: And I’m Arshiya. Thanks for tuning in!

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