Advertisement

firehouse pizza banner

Gabriel Henderson Brings Home Gold

Homeschooler Gabriel Henderson of Rochester, KY, son of Laura and Brandon Henderson, recently competed in the Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic National Championship’s first ever Kung Fu competition, bringing home both a bronze medal in Advanced Weapons, and the coveted gold in Continuous Sparring for his age group.  His mother, Laura Henderson, had only good things to say about her young champion, stating “He did win gold at the Junior Olympics. We are very proud of him.”
Gabriel is 12 years old, and has been studying Kung Fu at East West Kung Fu in Bowling Green for five years, with Master Tom Pardue and Sifu Aaron Marcum. Gabriel has been competing in sparring, open hand forms, and weapons forms tournaments for a few years, and in September of last year earned the silver medal at a national AAU Kung Fu tournament, a win that qualified him for the Junior Olympics, held this past July in Des Moines, Iowa. Gabe said he practiced anywhere from 30-60 minutes a day to get ready for the tournament, with occasional rest days thrown in. Gabe was very gracious, and when asked about Kung Fu and how it felt to win the championship, he remarked, “It’s just awesome, so awesome. When I won I was like ‘oh, cool, I won the gold medal.’ ” Gabe highly recommends Kung Fu to other children his age.
During the two week long AAU Junior Olympics, competitions in Kung Fu, as well as Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Track and Field, Gymnastics, Weightlifting, and a variety of other sports were held, attended by thousands of 7-16 year olds and their families from all over the United States. According to Gabriel’s mother, he narrowly missed claiming yet another bronze medal in the Open Hands Form, finishing that category in fourth place. 

When Gabriel’s mother was asked if Kung Fu or some other sort of extracurricular activity was beneficial, and whether or not she would recommend it to other homeschoolers or children in public school, Laura assured emphatically that it was. “You can’t go wrong with extracurricular activities.” She said, ”They help the child to explore their interests and expand their knowledge base. [Gabe] has met people from different races and religions from all over [the United States].“
The Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic competition has grown substantially since its humble opening in August of 1967 in downtown Washington, D.C, from a meager 523 athletes competing in only two sports categories, to over 15,000 amateur athletes in 20 sports categories.

Story by J. Harris, Beech Tree News

Tags: 


Bookmark and Share

Advertisements