Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 15, 1993 TAG: 9310150230
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY METRO
SOURCE: Melinda F. Emerson
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Until she reaches the gym and puts on her gi, the white, two-piece garment worn by those who practice the martial arts.
Monis, 20, of Portsmouth, recently competed in the third annual American Internaitonal Karate Championships in Rochester, N.Y.
Encouraged by her coach and sponsor, Joe Librescu, a Tech graduate student who is himself a third-degree blackbelt, Monis walked away ranked No. 1 in the United States and No. 2 worldwide for bareknuckle, full-contact kyokushinkai karate.
Experts have called this form of karate, often quick and violent, the most physically challenging of the martial arts.
This is the first year the tournament has sponsored a women's division.
Bare-knuckle, full-contact fighting is nothing new to karate, but many styles shun this form of training and competition because of its aggressive nature and the potential for injuries. Monis said people choose this kind of karate training because the mixture of kicks, judo and weapons defense is good for personal protection and physical conditioning.
Monis fought three consecutive rounds for her titles in the open competition. In the final round, she was defeated by a Canadian. "I gave her a good fight, but she was a really experienced fighter," Monis said. "I learned some things."
The knockdown fighting competition was full contact with no protective gear allowed. It shouldn't be too hard to understand that this 131-pound powerhouse is no one to be messed with.
Her coach said she started in a women's defense class and, in less than two years, has earned hr brown belt in survival defense. "Not long after she was in the class, many of the guys became afraid of her," Librescu said.
Earlier this month, Monis moved slowly, with a slight limp - evidence of hundreds of hours of grueling workouts. A junior in exercise science, Monis supplements her training with running and weight lifting. She recently started boxing as well.
Monis said studying survival defense, which incorporates methods of karate, judo and self-defense methods of aikido and juijistsu, was the best possible preparation for the tournament. "It's a more complete system," she said.
As for the tournament itself, Monis said it was truly a learning experience. "I came back a lot more mentally tough and strong," she said.
She said she owes her new ranking to her coach and 35 classmates who meet twice a week at the War Memorial Gym. "They helped me earn it," she said. Monis originally got into survival defense because of some friends who were in it.
In addition to training with the survival defense class, Monis teaches a class in women's defense at Tech.
She plans to pursue a career in physical therapy.
by CNB