By Mike McCombs
The Island News
Chuck Elias never thought he’d be doing it this long. Heck, he never even wanted to learn karate.
He said it started out of boredom.
My brother and my buddy were taking karate, and I was hanging around,” he said by phone Tuesday, Feb. 21. “And the instructor told me, ‘if you’re going to be here, you might as well be on the mat.’”
But it was the karate tournaments that Elias latched on to.
“I would have never stayed in karate if I had not attended my first tournament,” he said. “I thought, ‘There’s something there I can grow with.’”
Elias said he has attended a lot of different tournaments – “Some good. Some not good.”
And that brings us to this weekend.
Elias and his Club Karate are hosting the 30th annual Goodwill Tournament, set to take place Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Beaufort High School gymnasium. This milestone event promises an exciting showcase of martial arts skills, camaraderie, and community spirit.
Elias said he expects a couple hundred competitors across several divisions. Interested participants may pre-register for the competition at Club Karate or pay at the event. The entry fee is $65.
The spectator fee is $8. Those age 6 or younger are free.
Elias said when he opened Club Karate, he came to the realization that bad tournaments weren’t just bad, but that they would actually cost him students. So he had to do something.
“I wanted to be sure my students had the opportunity to attend a good tournament,” he said. “The first one was 31 years ago, and here we are.”
When asked what a competitor might take away from Elias’ tournament that would convince him that he hosted a good tournament, he didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Hopefully they made a friend or two. Some of my best friends have been made at tournaments,” Elias said. “And hopefully they came away learning something. It’s not all about just winning and losing. The only time you don’t win is when you don’t learn. If you learn something, you walk away a winner. “It’s about growth. Preparing students for tournaments is preparing students for life.”
Elias said the tournament’s name isn’t for show either.
“We call it the Goodwill Tournament because we’re really, really, really trying to express Goodwill,” he said. “We don’t allow people to be jerks.”
He said the belief that isn’t so common anymore is a misconception.
“You learn to be humble, compassionate, … you learn respect,” Elias said. “I’m not alone. Most martial arts schools are the same.”
As for what would make the tournament “good” for Elias, he had a simple standard.
“Nobody gets hurt,” he said. “So far we haven’t had that. And that’s remarkable in itself. I already feel like its a success just from the excitement building and the pre-registrations.”
There will be demonstrations from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, along with the U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard and a floor “flooded with competitors.” After 11 a.m., the competitors will be broken up into different divisions.
For more information, call or text Chuck Elias at 843-252-7283 or email Clubkick@gmail.com.
Mike McCombs is the editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
