If you’ve ever met sport karate champion, Kyle Gray you might find it hard to believe he bounced form chair to footstool to sofa and back because he’s positively the most polite, quiet and image concerned youngster you can imagine. Both Kyle and his father are very serious about his martial arts training and competition, perhaps Kyle the most between to two. Kyle appears to listen more than to talk, laugh infrequently and produce only conservative smiles at tournament competitions. Kyle’s etiquette in front of the general public is one of staunch seriousness. However behind the scenes rumor has it he can be quite the clown, with imitations of favorite competitors part of his immense repertoire of skills. But this stuff is saved for only the few he’s comfortable of opening up to.

Like many players, this Buffalonian started out as a Sport Karate International under blackbelt, working his way through a season to gain a player rating and seed for the year end Amateur Internationals competition that decides the yearly under blackbelt international sport karate champions. Despite his traditional Korean training, as Kyle and his dad watched other students occasionally venture off to open tournament they too were tempted to try it. What Kyle found in open competition was an avenue for his imagination. He started creating his own forms for competition despite his not even being 10 years old yet, but it seemed to work as Kyle began to place in the open style local events.

His first SKIL rated season came in 1997 and so off the family went to test his skills in his first Amateur International Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There he garnered several third through seventh places in open and traditional forms and even a fifth in point fighting. He was an advanced player at the time, but the following year he jumped directly into NBL blackbelt action. In his new 11 and under blackbelt division, faces change rapidly and he was just one of many newcomers. Winners for that year’s Super Grands IX in Savannah, Georgia was anyone’s guess between all the fledgling new blackbelt talents that included many of today’s powerhouse players: Eric Wilson, Jonathan Indermuhle, Devin Waldrop, Matthew Comiskey, Chris Gallio, Jack Felton, Roberto Torres and Joshua Durbin to name a few. His first year in the Super Grands competition didn’t produce spectacular results never-the-less consistent with his record the previous year, just in the more difficult blackbelt divisions. But lets face it, placing anywhere in the top eight at the Super Grands World Games leaves those players in the elite status in sport karate competition.

He went back to the drawing board to ready himself for the 1999 season and added Japanese forms and traditional weapons to this competition repertoire after training with super star of the time, Valerie Bruce of Canada. Undaunted by any prior stagnation or lack of winning progression, he proved himself as an eminent budding champion at World Games X in Niagara Falls, Canada taking his first world title in the 11 and under Korean forms division backed up by two seconds and two thirds in various other contemporary and traditional forms and weapons world title divisions. This however, was not an unexpected improvement as Gray had been attending national conference tournaments and had become a favorite in the circuit.

Continuing his travels in 2000, he was smoken’ at last year’s Games winning four titles, including 11 and under musical, creative and Japanese forms and traditional weapons. Ironically he slipped back to second place in his beloved Korean forms. He also took runner-up in musical weapons.

He has no plans to stop and again this year he appears to be the 11 and under player to measure most of the others by. But with players such as Cass Sigmon of North Carolina and Johnny Shaw of Texas on his heels he knows he will have to play smart and practice hard.

Amongst his competition desires is his push to introduce his seven year old sister Kayla into more competition. They have a team form in place for this year, but she’s still a little apprehensive about competition, which probably won’t last long as people come to appreciate this little upcoming dynamo. And believe me as one who has watched her, if she continues on she’s going to be an instantaneous hit.

Both are members of their school’s demo team where his traditional Korean instructor openly allows there creatively to be demonstrated to the public as well as in competition. Of course the demo team is made easy with their mother, Karen Gray being the leader. Mom started karate one year after Kyle and has since, also earned her blackbelt. Come on Dad, you’re lagging behind!

Finally, as if full time martial arts and straight A’s in school aren’t enough, Kyle is an enthused amateur magician spending his waiting time during his sister’s gymnastic lessons by amusing the other children with tricks of the trade. Incidentally, the Las Vegas Legacy is his favorite tournament not just because of the competition, glitter or just being in Vegas, but because New York, New York, has continuous magic demonstrations!

Oh, and by the way. I hate to be the one to let the “cat out of the bag” but dad’s lessons idea was a total flop…he’s still bouncing from furniture to furniture!