SPOTLIGHT COMPETITOR – RAVEN WHEESK
Photo credit: Lisa Wheesk
Too often in Canadian Sport Karate, we focus on the competitors hailing from the more metropolitan centres of our large geographical regions with higher population densities. Unfortunately, we tend to overlook those competitors who might hail from the more remote (or in this case, more Northern) parts of our large country. Looking beyond the mainstream auspices of our great country, we venture to another part of Ontario where not too many people have travelled to. Boasting only a population of just over 100 000 people, Thunder Bay happens to be the highest populated city in Northwestern Ontario yet one can wager that not ONE person in the Canadian Sport Karate community can name one Sport Karate superstar whose accomplishments are bigger than the city itself. And for this, Canada Sport Karate Media Services would like to showcase and highlight a young gentleman who has made a name for himself despite the fact that he resides in an area where Sport Karate (or Karate for that matter) is pretty scarce.
Photo credit: Becky Jackson Foote
“Go big or go home” – a saying that this diminutive powerhouse lives by and utilizes to reach his potential. Raven Wheesk, a 13 year old hailing from Thunder Bay, Ontario, shows to everyone that his drive, much like his accomplishments, tower over his competition. Despite the distance separating himself with the majority of the top talents in Canada, Raven has competed amongst the best on the International and World spectrum. Appearing in several WKA and WKC World Championships during his competitive career to date, Wheesk separates himself from the rest of his competition. His energy driven performances make him a dynamo in the 12 and Under Forms and Weapons divisions - capturing the attention and the hearts of the spectators who have witnessed his athleticism through the years. It’s the norm rather than the exception that Raven earns Gold Medals, especially in the Extreme, Korean, Hard Style and Musical Weapons divisions. During his quests for success, he has parlayed his talents to garner himself numerous gigantic wins. He is a 10 time World Champion and a 14 time National Champion with his most recent wins being a clean sweep of 4 Gold Medals at the 2011 WKC World Championships in Cadiz, Spain held in November. However, it was his first Gold Medal in Korean Forms at the 2008 WKA World Championships which Raven defines as his most memorable win. Perhaps it was this first victory in Korean Forms which served as momentum to his future victories in this same division as he has won the 12 and Under Korean Forms division at the last three consecutive WKC Nationals and Worlds – something that is rare for any Junior competitor.
When asked who Raven’s toughest Forms and Weapons opponent is, he lists NASKA mainstay competitor Carson Crawford as one who gives him a good run for the Gold. The two met at the 1st WKC Worlds in Dublin, Ireland in 2009 where Raven outscored Crawford in three divisions. However, whenever the two duel at the Diamond Nationals, it becomes a see-saw battle between the two as Crawford has a narrow edge in Weapons and Raven having a slight edge in Tradtitional Forms. Definitely a duel for the ages. Raven lists fellow Canadians and WKC Canada teammates Ryan Young, Jeremy Lussier and Alex Cousineau as his favourites in Forms – an indication of respect for his fellow competitors. With 2012 being a year of age advancement for Raven, he will have the opportunity to battle these talented gentlemen as Raven will be entering the 13 – 17 division. Moving from one challenge to another, Raven’s dedicated work ethic to train independently each and every day will definitely make overcoming these obstacles a little bit easier and perhaps achieving his goal of obtaining the 5 World Championships in this age bracket will come sooner rather than later. With the current consistent results Raven has achieved to date, his dominance in Forms and Weapons should carry over into this new age bracket. Despite the fact that most of the competitors in this field have the size and strength of grown men, Raven can easily size up his competition with his fluidity, dexterity and overall impact to woo the crowd and most importantly, the judges.
Raven began his path in the Martial Arts in 2003 and received his Black Belts in Shotokan and Han Moo Kwan (Taekwondo) in 2008. Although Raven lives in Thunder Bay, he makes a frequent 8 hour commute to Bae’s Martial Arts in Winnipeg, Manitoba under the direction of WKC Manitoba director and supporting coach, Master Malcolm Edwards. It is here where he learns the fundamentals but the actual fine tuning and choreography (for his Musical routines) he does independently at home with only direction from his Mom and Dad. It is this type of desire to be successful that all youngsters should strive for and Raven serves as an exemplar to many of his peers. Unlike most “Karate Kid” like stories of bullying or motivation from movies, Raven simply began Martial Arts to be active and to live a happy, healthy lifestyle. In spite of having asthma and multiple allergies with a daily threat to anaphylactic shock, Raven’s involvement in Martial Arts helps to keep him thinking positively – something that the Martial Arts teaches everyone who is involved. Adding to his healthy lifestyle, Raven is also involved in biking, swimming, basketball and the highly enjoyable paintball.
Although only 13 years old, one can see Raven as a visionary with maturity beyond his years. He is a firm advocate that believing is achieving provided that you put your mind to it. Aside from his Sport Karate goals, Raven sees himself involved in law. Based on his previous foresight and success to achieve greatness in Sport Karate, it should be no surprise to anyone that this ambition to become a lawyer will become a reality rather than remain a dream. Whatever Raven chooses to do in the future, one thing remains certain - this young man has been an asset to the WKC Canadian Team since the beginning. His humility, positive outlook on life and exemplary display of such (in addition to his Sport Karate success) is why he is Canada Sport Karate Media’s Spotlight Competitor.
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