Karate: Annabel opens Gate to glory (From York Press)

Karate: Annabel opens Gate to glory

7:10am Saturday 28th January 2012 in Junior sports

SIX-YEAR-OLD Annabel Cunningham is putting the chop into Chop Gate only three months after taking up karate.

The youngster, from the village between Helmsley and Stokesley, has already passed her ninth belt and is pictured with her recent trophy haul.

She won the beginners’ basics section and the under-10s junior kata at the Mujushin Karate Championships at Stokesley Leisure Centre.

Those performances earned her the outstanding competitor award.

“I can’t believe her progress in such a short time,” said coach Andy Sheridan. “Her attitude to training is superb. She is such a natural in the sport and a joy to coach.”

Karate sessions are held at Stokesley Leisure Centre on Fridays from 5.30pm to 9.30pm, for beginners right up to black-belt holders.