A lifelong Pennington resident and currently an eighth-grader at Timberlane Middle School, Kelly Wittkop’s five years of dedicated study of a specialized form of karate, bujutsu kai, paid off recently.
By John Tredrea
Kelly Wittkop knew at an early age that she was athletically inclined. But she knew that team sports like softball and lacrosse weren’t quite her cup of tea.
Karate was.
"One of my brothers was interested in karate. I got the idea to try it from him," Kelly said. "I started five years ago."
A lifelong Pennington resident and currently an eighth-grader at Timberlane Middle School, Kelly’s five years of dedicated study of a specialized form of karate, bujutsu kai, paid off recently. In a competition at Allentown, Pa., she took first place, landing a trophy almost as tall as she is. The competition was hosted by a grand master of karate, Jon Chung Kim.
Bujutsu kai is a weapons-wielding type of karate that employs use of a long wooden staff. In training and competitions, practitioners of bujutsu kai run through a rigorous, detailed series of movements. There is no opponent. The movements are done solo. "You defend yourself against an imaginary opponent, who also has a staff," Kelly explained.
Competitors tell the judges in advance what routine they will try. The judges award them points based on how well the competitors do what they set out to do.
"It gives me a lot of self-discipline and self-confidence," Kelly said of her involvement with karate. "I feel like it’s helping me grow up."
Kelly studies several styles of karate three days a week at the R&R Martial Arts Academy, in the Scotch Road Plaza in Ewing. At home, she practices and refines what she learns at the school. Her first instructor at the school was Dennis James. Kelly studied with him for four years.
"He died about a year ago," she said. "I took it pretty hard. I learned a lot from him, not only about karate, but about what kind of person I should try to be. We were close. Now, when I do karate, I feel like I’m doing it for him. It was like that at the competition in Allentown. That was a big part of why I was so happy I won."

