Mason Stowell hails from Littleton, Colorado. This 16 year old has done some amazing things in 2018 and he has traveled the world. Not only does he compete in the NASKA circuit for sport karate, this kid has his eye on the Olympics. In 2018, Stowell saw much success on the NASKA circuit by opening the year with a Youth Warrior Cup in Forms at the AKA Warrior Cup in January. He followed with overall titles in traditional and CMX (creative/musical/extreme) forms in two more events during the year as well. Stowell took his traditional talents to the WAKO league to win national titles in both musical forms and weapons and a WAKO world title in musical weapons in 2018. But that was not enough, he made the USA National Team in Olympic-style (WKF) karate and was a Pan American Silver medalist and Karate 1 WKF Youth League Bronze medalist. 2018 is the year he can claim as the first athlete to medal in NASKA, WKF and WAKO in the same year. Stowell trains with his coach Jarrett Leiker and is also an accomplished dancer.

She’s been voted Best Youth Sparring Competitor for 3 out of the past 4 years of voting and now takes her fourth Viewers’ Choice title as the Best Youth Sparring Competitor of 2018. Elizabeth Rouillard is from Quebec City, Canada and for the first year ever, she has added the title of Best Overall Youth Competitor for 2018. This 17 year old manages a busy school schedule as she has already finished high school and is studying for a business degree. At the same time she actively competes around the world. In 2018, she took wins at the Irish Open in individual point sparring and in team sparring. She also won the open weight title for 16-18 girls and first in her weight division at the Bristol Open. Her victories in North America are too numerous to list and she ended the 2018 year with a NASKA World Title in 16-17 girls point sparring and an overall NASKA world title as well. Rouillard trains at Studio Unis NDL with instructors David Bossinotte and Claire Cocozza and also trains with her team coach Sam Gagnon.

There is so much sport karate talent in the Plowden family, it’s hard to know where to start. Plowden was trained by her father, sport karate superstar Richard Plowden at his martial arts school in Detroit, Michigan. This 28 year old athlete’s younger brother Richard Avery Plowden has followed in her footsteps and is also a top fighter. Ms. Plowden suffered a severe knee injury in early 2017 and after 14 months of recovery, returned to the ring in 2018. The injury did not set her back at all and she ended the year with overall sparring titles at the US Open, Diamond Nationals and US Capitol Classics. She was also the open weight winner at the Diamond Nationals and was the WKC World Champion in women’s sparring.  She then opened 2019 with an amazing come-from-behind win to earn her fourth Warrior Cup at the AKA Warrior Cup and was voted Best Female Sparring Competitor of 2018 in the Viewers’ Choice Awards. Plowden is an inspiration to female athletes everywhere.

The bo is strong with Jackson Rudolph but he’s not just a man with a stick. Although he is originally from Paducah, Kentucky, Rudolph is currently studying Human Biology at Stanford University in California. In between his studies in 2018, this 20 year old (soon to be 21), hit a ton of major tournaments and saw success. He won most grand championship titles in weapons at each event and was also successful in synchronized weapons. He was crowned a NASKA champion and he also was declared the winningest individual in ISKA – US Open history with 8 individual ISKA titles and 4 synchronized weapons titles. His original style is Tae Kwon Do and his instructor is former champion Lauren Kearney. Rudolph looks unstoppable for 2019 and he starts with his title of Best Men’s Weapons Competitor of 2018.

Gerald “Awesome” Dawson was always quick with a smile or a joke and never hesitated to tell you what was on his mind. His history in the martial arts is deep and his sport karate career remarkable. Dawson was a native of Maryland and became coach of Team TDE in 2017. Prior he had been on top teams like Team Paul Mitchell and had an illustrious career. As he reached the executive level, he didn’t stop competing and held his own against any competitor who came before him. In 2018, Dawson was still competing as well as coaching. He won executive teams at the 2018 AKA Warrior Cup, he coached team TDE and was a devoted coach to his son, top competitor Kameren Dawson. His students dominated at the 2018 US Capitol Classics. Dawson dedicated himself to getting in shape during 2018 and frequently posted inspirational photos about his progress on social media. He was a great competitor, coach, friend and father. Tragically, Gerald passed on December 11, 2018, leaving an incredible legacy in his wake. He will be dearly missed by the sport karate community. He is posthumously awarded Best Executive Competitor of 2018 in the Viewers’ Choice Awards.

The North American Sport Karate Association is one of the largest and longest running sport karate circuits in the world. It is the place where the top competitors in martial arts find top quality competition. NASKA has consistently won the title of Best Circuit in the Viewers’ Choice Awards since inception. NASKA offers a competitive world tour level of events with tournaments throughout North American along with regional events for local competitors.

2018 was a great year for Team Impex – this team has been consistently winning for years. They opened the year with a win by the men’s team at the 2018 AKA Warrior Cup and went on to win at three more key events. At the Battle of Atlanta, one of the top USA fighting events, the men took first in front of an appreciative crowd. Then the men won on the big stage on ESPN at the 2018 US Open. Finally, the men made sure to take a huge win at the 2018 Diamond Nationals in October. The women’s sparring team was also quite accomplished in 2018. The women also won at the US Open, Battle of Atlanta and Diamond Nationals. This team is coached by Richard Plowden and was voted Best Sparring Team for 2018 by the fans.