Westmeadows Kyokushin karate star impresses Arnold Schwarzenegger
WESTMEADOWS schoolgirl Shaida Rich won the heart of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger with her skills in Kyokushin karate but now wants to win the hearts of Leader readers.
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WESTMEADOWS schoolgirl Shaida Rich won the heart of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger with her skills in Kyokushin karate but now wants to win the hearts of Leader readers.
The 14-year-old recently won her division in the Victorian championship at Ballarat and is a 2018 Leader Local Sports Star Junior Nominee.
Shaida won both gold and silver for her age group at the Arnold Classic Kyokushin Australian championships earlier this year where she captured the movie star Schwarzenegger’s attention.
“Shaida was performing a demonstration smashing concrete roof tiles with her hands and Arnie was so impressed he videoed her for his millions of social media followers,” her proud mother, Maria Rich, said.
“She started training at three, displaying excellent technique and also the power to smash perfectly good pine boards with her bare hands and feet while still in kindergarten.”
Shaida has won three national championships — the first when she was only five — and many state and regional competitions over the past 10 years.
The Year 9 Gladstone Park Secondary College student said she was “shocked, but happy” when Schwarzenegger videotaped her skills.
She said karate was an important part of her life and she chose to train at her parents’ Glenroy Fighting Arts Fitness Centre, instead of partying.
“Being surrounded by champion fighters including my teammates and instructors at the centre, has set me up to have a winning attitude in all aspects of her life,” she said. “I love karate, it’s a big part of my life and I love the discipline.”
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