Karate star Carla Rudkin-Guillen kicks on with medal haul in Las Vegas

BALLARD School’s karate sensation Carla Rudkin-Guillen returned from a successful trip to Las Vegas with multiple medals in the kata and kumite disciplines.

Carla, who regularly trains in New Milton and Lymington at Southern England Karate Federation (SEKF), won silver in each discipline at the one-day Junior International Open before taking a silver and a bronze at the two-day USA Open.

In the Junior International Cup, 14-year-old Carla took double silver after eight challenging rounds.

In the kata, Carla finished higher than the current US kata champion, who managed bronze.

Carla, who is in the England national squad at both kata and kumite, followed that up with a cadet kumite +54k silver and a cadet kata bronze at the prestigious USA Open.

The budding martial artist is trained by her father and SEKF founder, sensei Collin Rudkin, a sixth dan black belt and former-England International.

He said: “Carla trained hard for three months before this event with the intention of conquering the USA in her build-up to represent England at the forthcoming European championships in June 2022.

“She made a big impression and received great feedback from many coaches, athletes, and even some world officials, which was really encouraging.”

The New Forest youngster had an impressive 2020, claiming two gold medals for England in the Berlin International Open Kata Championships.