Karate Kid

Porch now lives with his grandmother and
three sisters. For an active kid who loves sports, the instruction at
Traditional Karate & Fitness offers a perfect blend of athleticism
and self-control. His grandmother, Helene Nellons, decided “to put
Pauleyike in karate to give him some more discipline in his life. I
thought that it would help him cope and teach him to use some
restraint. I wanted him to learn that you don’t always have to do
everything in violence.” 

The Traditional Karate & Fitness
studio teaches its students respect, discipline and the ability to
interact with others. “We teach control,” said Mark Carfagno, his
instructor. “{Porch} needed some kind of release. At first he didn’t
want to cooperate, but he turned around and became very focused.”

 

Trophy life: Nine-year-old Pauleyike Porch started martial arts to deal with the loss of his mother; now he is a national champion. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

 

At the Westchester National Karate
Championship, Porch won first place for sparring, which is similar to
hand-to-hand fighting. “He’s a natural at sparring,” Nellons said. “He
likes doing the roundhouse kicks. Anything that has to do with jumping,
he likes. When he first started learning kicks, Pauleyike thought that
he was in seventh heaven.” 

He also competed in the kata event,
which can be compared to a dance performance that is prepared in
advance. Porch works on his kata routine at home and at the karate
studio. “He didn’t focus too well on the katas at this competition,”
said his grandmother. “By the time the next tournament comes up,
though, Pauleyike will be honed in on his katas. I make him practice at
home. I try to make sure he does at least an hour each week.”

This competition was the first of what
Porch hopes will be many more in the future. “It’s a really big
tournament,” said Carfagno. “They have people from all over the
country, and he did very well.”

Nellons did not attend the competition,
but she told Porch to “bring Grandma home a first-place trophy, and
that’s what he did. He called me on the phone after the competition and
said, ‘I won, I won first place!’ I always knew it was something he
could do.”

Porch is about to turn 9 and will attend
fourth grade at Porter Magnet School. He intends to continue his work
in kata and sparring. “He’s been training really hard,” Nellons said.
“I think that he’s getting frustrated that he’s not moving as fast as
he wants, but he knows that it takes time.” Currently a purple belt,
Porch hopes to receive his green belt soon.