HALE sporting star Alex Cockx has been selected to represent Great Britain in the World Kata Championships.
The 19-year-old Hale Karate Club mentor is widely regarded as one of the rising stars of the sport in the UK.
And he has now been picked from around 50 top karate players nationwide in the three-man team in the open section, available to all ages.
Kata is described as the soul of karate and is a non-contact exercise made up of some 35 different sequences of movements which must all be precisely formed, held and timed, requiring great strength, balance and agility.
Alex, a former Altrincham Grammar School pupil, said: “It’s about physical precision, strength, timing and discipline. It takes years and years of practice to hone sequences which last for a matter of minutes.”
Alex, pictured, decided to forgo university to concentrate on his passion for the martial art he has been learning since he was seven.
And he now teaches some 90 local enthusiasts of all ages over three week nights at Hale Karate Club, which is based in The Grammar Sports Centre, at his old school.
He said “Karate is not only about self-defence, it’s about self-discipline and finding your inner mettle.
“More and more schools and families are taking on board all the benefits and I believe the inclusion of larate as a demonstration sport in the Tokyo Olympics next summer will give the sport a higher profile worldwide.”
As well as teaching, Alex trains for around d 15 hours a week and travels the country. to find the level of competition he needs to develop his craft to a world class level.
He added: “My ambition is straightforward. I want to become grand champion, the very best in the world, and that is going to demand hard graft work and sacrifice as well as some natural ability.”
The event in Lisbon, Portugal is on October 21 and 22 and marks the start of the Karate’s major competitions with the European championships the next target for Alex in November.