Following in his sisters footsteps Thornlands Peter Grace, 12, is one kid you don t want to mess with after he received his black belt in karate last month. His older sisters Rachelle, 15, and Nicole, 14, also received their black belts at 12. Photo by Wendy Chung.
Following in his sisters footsteps Thornlands Peter Grace, 12, is one kid you don t want to mess with after he received his black belt in karate last month. His older sisters Rachelle, 15, and Nicole, 14, also received their black belt at 12. Photo by Wendy Chung.
PETER Grace is one 12-year-old you don't want to mess with.
The talented karate kid, from Thornlands, received his black belt, following in the footsteps of older sisters Rachelle, 15, and Nicole, 14, who also received their black belts at age 12. His younger sister Steffani, 10, sports a brown belt, one belt behind Peter.
"I don't really get along with my sisters, so it can be interesting," said Peter, who is a student at Bay View State School.
"My friends think it's pretty cool and I think it's cool too."
Peter joined Sports Karate Australia when he was five as a fun family activity but soon realised he had a natural ability.
"It gives you much more confidence. I used to train four times a week but now I train only one day a week," he said.
"I want to be a karate instructor when I get older but not as a full-time job. I want to be a carpenter."
Peter said he would not have been able to achieve what he has without the support of his parents.
Mother Wendy is very proud of her children but said this was Peter's first hurdle on his achievement list.
"In 12 months time he will have to do it all again and go for his conformation. That's called a Dan," she said.
"So if he passes, he will go on a world register and get a number where you're officially recognised as a world black belt.
"Both Rachelle and Nicole are on the register."
Wendy said her karate children kept her on a busy schedule driving them to various clubs.
"They train at Victoria Point, Hilliard State School, Mary Mackillop School, at Wellington Point, but their main dojo is at Fox Street, Wynnum," she said.
"Each one focuses on different things, so we have to go to many classes. We do lots of training at Wynnum so there is quite lot of driving around."
Wendy said her children planned to continue to fill their Thornlands home with trophies.
"Peter has the biggest one but we may need to buy another trophy cabinet soon," she said.