Cole Mitchell is a black belt in Okinawan Karate. He can break concrete blocks with his hands, wield several weapons and defend himself against multiple attackers at one time. Not bad for a 7-year-old.
The son of Devon and Jill Mitchell of Independence Township, Cole has been studying karate since he was 3, when his mother signed him up for classes.
‘I thought karate would be good for him. There was a school near our old house where we used to live,? Jill said.
She and Cole paid a visit to Banister Martial Arts school in Commerce Township and Cole has been studying under Sensei Darwin Banister, usually three times a week, ever since.
‘He wanted to be a Ninja Turtle,? Jill laughed, adding that Cole was one of the youngest students in the class when he started. ‘The Ninja Turtles were key, I can’t give them enough credit?
Jill said that a new rank had to be defined at the school for Cole, as the rank of ‘junior black belt ? is not given until a student is at least 8 years old. Having earned his way to that level by age 7, Cole has earned himself a ‘small junior black belt? ranking.
Prior to earning his black belt, Cole has competed at the annual U.S. Open national karate competition in Orlando, Fla., twice, where he competes in open-hand kata, creative kata, weapons demonstrations, sparring, team kata events, and concrete breaking.
‘He broke (concrete) with his hand, foot, then he broke one with his head, he jumped over something and did a high kick and broke it. It was fun to watch,? Jill said.
Katas, often referred to as forms, are complex series of movements designed to train the body in various defensive situations. Katas are a popular portion of many martial arts regiments and combine the basic movements first taught to beginners.
Cole and other students from his school have competed in team katas in the Michigan Sports Karate Circuit as well, where they recently earned a third-place finish against teams much older then themselves, some having teenagers on them.
While a lot of Cole’s exercise might be more for fun, Jill said he learns a lot of a valuable lessons from his classes.
‘That’s one of the reasons I really like that school. They do a lot of self-defense. They teach the children that if a stranger grabs you, they know how to get out of it, break free and run,? Jill said, to which Cole nodded in agreement. ‘That makes me feel good just knowing he knows where his boundaries are, and he’s not just going around punching people.?
Jill said discipline has never been an issue for Cole, but she think his studies have really help boost her shy son’s confidence.
‘I would have never in a million years thought that he would go in front of all these strangers and perform,? she said.
Cole also plays soccer and basketball, but said he enjoys learning weapons the most. Right now, Cole said his favorite is the kama, a curved scythe-like weapon.
‘It looks cool,? Cole said.
Cole said his friends at school, Brookfield Academy in Waterford, think he’s cool for studying karate, and some of them have decided to try martial arts too.
But as any martial artist will tell you, Cole’s black belt is just the beginning. There is still a lot to learn.
‘He has somebody teaching him how to do flips.? Jill said. ‘He’s all about wanting to learn that.?