FAYETTEVILLE — Three students from Lawrence World Class Karate will be participating in the 2024 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Karate Nationals to be held at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from today, July 2, to Saturday the 6th. The event is considered one of the toughest and most prestigious amateur karate tournaments in America, if not the most.
Lawrence World Class Karate dojo has won over 100 medals at previous AAU Karate Nationals—something that has not been achieved by any other karate school in Onondaga County. Out of these, over 40 were for first place, making the medal winners national champions.
This year, the Lawrence World Class students will compete in the events known as kubudo (weapon systems), kata (choreographed set pattern of movements), and kumite (controlled, competitive fighting using basic techniques delivered with “empty hands”).
Hanshi Rande Lawrence, the head teacher at Lawrence World Class Karate, will be attending as head coach, and he will be assisted by Renshi Gary Guidera.
Eric Scharoun, a 60-year-old with Down syndrome who has a fifth degree black belt, will be competing in the kata and kubudo events in the advance physical challenge division. Scharoun has previously won a national championship, and according to the dojo, it is believed that he holds the highest karate rank achieved by a person with Down syndrome in the United States. For 30 years he has trained with Master Lawrence and been a student at the Lawrence World Class Karate dojo, which is located on East Genesee Street.
Sam Tadevossian, a 17-year-old second-degree black belt karate student, will be competing in the kata, kubudo, and kumite events at the Nationals. In 2021 at the AAU Karate Nationals, Tadevossian was placed third overall in the United States at the intermediate level. In addition, for his demonstration of the Saifa Kata at the event, he was awarded a bronze medal. That 2021 event marked the first time he had entered a national karate competition.
Srihari Mohan is eight years old, and this will be his first Karate Nationals tournament. He has a junior blue belt and will be competing in the kata, kubudo, and kumite sections.
Commenting about the upcoming championships, Lawrence said, “I am immensely proud of my students for competing in the AAU Karate Nationals. This is by no means an easy event. While the competition is tough, I know that we will do well. Let’s bring some medals back to Syracuse.”
Lawrence World Class Karate dojo is the only karate school in Central New York specializing in traditional Japanese Shotokan and Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate Systems.
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest, non-profit, volunteer sports organizations in the country. As a multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports programs. Founded in 1888 to establish standards and uniformity in sports, the AAU philosophy of “Sports For All, Forever” is now shared by nearly 800,000 members and 150,000 volunteers across 45 sports programs and 55 U.S. districts.
