Elisa Au is not just another pretty face that does beautiful kata, although she is that as well. She is a 3 time Kumite World Champion in the World Karate Federation (WKF) which is the only karate organization in the world recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The WKF has 173 member countries. www.wkf.net
She is one of the new generations of kids who grew up in the dojo as she started when she was 5 years old in Honolulu with Shito Ryu karate master Chuzo Kotaka, himself an all Japan Champion in 1962. She has been training nearly six days a week now for 20 years and this is what you have at the end. An intelligent, physically fit, well mannered, talented young lady that is a total credit to the martial arts. She acts as a role model to all young girls and in fact all karate ka.
Brought up in an ultra traditional Japanese Karate Dojo she learnt strong basics and strong kata but she always excelled in sparring. "I enjoy both kata and kumite equally but it was always the kumite that I've excelled in" says Elisa.
In the most recent WKF event held in Monterrey, Mexico she not only won a gold medal in her kilo division but she also won the open weight category where girls nearly twice her size competed. Elisa weights 132 pounds and is 5' 6" in height and the 132 pounds is all toned muscle as she is in impeccable condition.
The question we wanted answered most was what makes her different then all the rest of the fighters out there. "I think that my body is built for sparring and the training that I have received is second to none. Desire plus excellent guidance has been my key to success," says Elisa.
As an elite kumite athlete, she has been able to attend the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center where she has been given some of the best instruction in the world on fitness and conditioning. "Sensei Kotaka's teaching has been excellent and his personal guidance has really made a world of difference. In addition to this, I've been to the Olympic training facility where I learned so much about conditioning and drills aimed specifically at karate. "
When we asked her to elaborate on this she said "well as an example after watching us spar the Olympic coaches and trainers said that the sports that we resemble the most are short track speed skaters and sprint runners in the summer Olympics so what I did was take many of their training principles and apply them to karate and it has made a huge difference for me. As an example the one leg hops we do came from the US Olympic gold medal short track speed skater Apollo Ono who has these absolutely massive legs for pushing off at the start of his races, this is similar to the explosion we need, when we push off to go in during a fight. We also use the same principle as sprinters do who start from a crouch and explode not just in but also upwards like they do when they catapult themselves out of the blocks at the start of the race. These are only two of the many things we trained on when we were at the Olympic training facilities in both Lake Placid and Colorado Springs.
"As I approach the competition season my training changes as well. I do longer sprints instead of 40 yard dashes I work on 400 yard sprints so that I build up my endurance it is much more of an anaerobic workout. When I train for a specific competition I usually raise my training intensity 3 months prior to the event. At that point, my training is much more aerobic type of training with short sprints building up bursts of energy rather then long distance type of endurance training. I usually train around 3 hours a day half of it being conditioning and the other half sparring skills and drills."
Elisa's Sensei Mr. Chuzo Kotaka has become one of the most successful trainers of Champions traditional karate has ever had. We asked him how he has developed such terrific fighters as Elisa and his son George Kotaka. "The most important aspect to developing a successful athlete is consistent and high quality training. My students train seriously, with their goals always in mind. This way they are always pushing themselves to achieve success. I also feel that as their instructor, I must keep an open and growing mind. I may have been taught karate a certain way growing up in Japan, but I see the new techniques that George is introducing to the students, and I think those are great too. I understand that the sport is evolving, and in order for my students to stay on top, we must be the innovators of our sport."
Elisa who at 25 is a world traveler now as she has been in countries like Italy, Japan, Canada, England, Scotland, and many others both competing and teaching seminars. This year alone she is scheduled to teach several seminars around the world the USA, Australia and Japan. This is before the end of June when she must decide whether she will start training for the next WKF World Championships in Finland.
Elisa was recently in Hollywood doing a series of DVD's called "Elisa Au's Secrets Of Championship Karate". There will be five DVD's in the series one of conditioning, stretching and drills, one on elementary kata, another on advanced kata, plus two on sparring, one for beginners and one for Black Belts.
Elisa also graduated with a degree in civil engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is now a project Engineer for one of Hawaii's top construction companies Nan, Inc.
Her dreams for the future are to continue traveling and seeing the world through karate which anyone is welcome to contact her through her new web site www.elisaau.com or by contacting her through her email at [email protected].
