‘Really happy, really shocked’: Saskatoon teen heads to Italy for World Karate Championships

Lily Simard has been practising Karate since she was seven years old. Now 14, she's dedicated to her preparation as she heads to Italy to represent Canada.

Lily Simard has been practising Karate since she was seven years old. Now, at the age of 14, she is dedicated to her preparation as she heads to Venice, Italy, to represent Canada on the international stage.

“When I first moved here from Whitehorse, my aunt asked me what sport I wanted to do, and I watched so, so many karate videos and movies, so I just told her karate,” Simard said.

Simard’s initial love of the Kung Fu Panda franchise had led her much farther than she expected, as the young athlete prepares to represent Team Canada at the youth league World Karate Championships in Italy.

“When I first found out... I didn’t know how to react... really happy, really shocked.” Simard said.

Simard has done all of her training through Shotokan Karate YXE. The Saskatoon-based dojo has produced a number of high-calibre athletes throughout its more than 30 years of operation. The dojo’s head instructor, Sensei Brad Berrns, said watching his students reach this level of success is a rewarding experience.

“To watch them grow is what really keeps me in coaching. Because I know the benefit of competition and what it has given to me in my lifetime, and I’m seeing the achievements in athletes making it to the world level is significant to our organization,” Berrns said.

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While karate movies initially inspired Simard’s interest in the sport, it is the community she’s grown to love that has kept her returning to the dojo for seven years.

“I’ve learned a lot of things from karate, mostly like respect and discipline. But also how to help me get talking to people more, like making friends easier,” Simard said.

She said that each competition is an opportunity to learn new things about the sport from new people.

“You make friends everywhere you go, and like at tournaments, you always make friends off the mat, on the mat. You get to talk with different people and see different fighting styles,” Simard said.

Sensei Berrns said it certainly isn’t easy to reach such a high skill level and requires a lot of work.

“We train about five days a week, preparing all of our athletes for competition and technical training in the dojo. And then we meet about every two weeks as a provincial team and do high-performance karate training with our Saskatchewan High Performance Karate Association,” Berrns said.

Berrns emphasized that schoolwork is the first priority for his athletes. The Sensei said karate is a sport that requires discipline both in and out of the dojo.

“Being part of a provincial team is a really big privilege. And the athletes that come learn how to compete, learn how to travel, learn how to get their work done, and learn how to be teammates,” Berrns said.

Alongside his fellow teachers, Sensei Greg and Sensei Steve, Berrns has worked to create a space that promotes the values which karate is based on.

“The discipline that’s required by athletes to compete at this level is significant. And we watch their development that’s going to carry them forward for the rest of their life,” Berrns said.

As Simard prepares for her first trip out of the country, she said her eyes are on the prize this week.

“I’m going to go in and do my best, but my goal is to get first point, because that’s like a really big thing,” Simard said.