Come check out a marital arts tournament put on by Grass Valley Kenpo Family Karate being held at Nevada Union High School this Saturday at 10 a.m. David and Jakki Garcia, who have been the owners and operators of Grass Valley Kenpo Family Karate since 2010, are hosting the event.
“Our tournament is called the Gold Mountain Invitational Youth Karate Tournament, which pays homage to the beautiful area we live in and our rich history,” Garcia said. There was a lack of tournaments in our area and led to the Garcia’s to organize the local tournaments for kids to compete. “We noticed a lack of local public tournaments that were available to our students,” Garcia said.
“In 2016, we held our first-ever invitational youth karate tournament. We had to stop holding tournaments in 2020 due to Covid restrictions, and our family also welcomed a baby girl the year before. We are finally back and looking forward to a large number of competitors participating this year.
” In previous years, competitors had to travel to tournaments all over the state, from Southern California to Oregon. “We are very happy to give children the chance to showcase their skills in a safe and welcoming environment,” Garcia said. “That essentially is the goal to bring all of the different martial arts together for healthy competition.
” The tournament is a charity event, and they have raised $10,000 for Child Advocates of Nevada County. This organization provides emotional and practical support .
