Geraldine Sidders Excited For Wushu Event
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Geraldine Sidders has immersed herself in Chinese kickboxing since taking up the sport two years ago.
Tomorrow, [November 2] she will showcase her skills in the Bermuda Open Wushu Championships, where more than 30 local athletes will compete in wushu Sanda [Chinese kickboxing] and wushu taolu [forms] at Whitney Institute Middle School.
Sidders will face Muryah Swan in a junior Sanda contest and perform in taolu for the first time.
“Although the championships are not as big as an international tournament, it’s important for us to showcase our talent locally,” Sidders told Bernews.
“Muryah is a very close friend – we have fought each other many times.
“It will also be my first time competing in taolu. I’ve been fascinated by forms for some time and, along with Enzi Johnston and Muryah, have been training in preparation for the championships.”
The 13-year-old already had some experience in martial arts before starting training with the Bermuda Sanshou Association [BSA], having competed in Karate.
She was encouraged to try kickboxing by team-mate Tristan Burgess, who has also flourished since taking up the sport.
“I was interested in full-contact fighting, took a few classes, and really enjoyed it,” said Sidders, who hailed the guidance of her coaches Garon Wilkinson, the BSA president, and Cyril Whitter III.
“Sparring in kickboxing is very different to karate kumite in which you show you can execute rather than actually execute.”
Sidders had been training for less than a year when she competed in the Fourth Pan American Kungfu Championships in Markham, Ontario, in August last year.
She excelled in the girls’ 120lb division, winning the silver medal.
“When I started training, I couldn’t imagine being ready by then considering I’d just started,” said Sidders, who also claimed gold in the Pan American Wushu Championships in San Clara, California, in September.
“It was nerve-wracking – I just wanted to do my best and be successful. We have older competitors on our team, and they helped the younger guys settle in and led by example.
“I really look up to Krista Dyer. She’s an accomplished fighter, and I admire her mentality and mindset to training and fighting.”
The Warwick Academy student, who trains four or five times a week, believes consistency and perseverance have helped accelerate her development in kickboxing.
“My life has become based around training and competing,” she added.
“If a lot of shots are landing on me in sparring, I can get discouraged, but you must stick with it and know that one training session or fight is not a reflection of where you can go.
“You must stick with it and trust the process. That would be my advice to anyone who wishes to take up the sport.”
