The young karateka: Tiffany Jiloca

What started as a mere curiosity for a young Filipina turned her into a champion in the 2018 Canada National Karate Open Championships.

An 11-year-old’s very first national Karate competition in Canada was graced by a gold-medal-victory on June 2 to 3 this year in the 10 to 11 year old Girls Individual Kata event black belt or the advanced category.

But make no mistake; this cannot be a beginner’s luck when through her focus and fruitful training, she was able to conquer the different rounds of her division with the competition having almost a hundred Karate clubs participating.

With awe and applause here and there, who exactly is this young Tiffany Jiloca?

Wearing the gi

Before bagging the gold medal, this young karateka was just like any other child hooked by curiosity.

“It all started when I saw my dad doing some kicks and punches in our living room when I was five or six years old,” Tiffany told Philippine Canadian Inquirer.

What seemed to look like some form of dance for her bright eyes as her sight landed on her dad, Rei’s movements, was something she soon learned as something called “kata.”

“I asked him what he was doing and he told me that it was Karate, a form of a Japanese martial art,” she recalled.

The young girl soon found herself fascinated with asking more questions about the martial art – not knowing what really drew her to it in the first place.

Any form of martial arts for someone who is not practicing it may seem like a type of lesson one would learn in hopes of self-defense. But what Rei taught Tiffany is that karate is not all about a shield of protection in times of danger but it also promotes patience, self-discipline, focus, and physical and mental fitness.

Wishing to try out the martial art, Tiffany tried to throw some kicks and punches which earned a nod from her father.

“We would be using our pillows as kicking and punching bags whenever we practice at home,” she added.

This fascination developed to passion when Tiffany realized that she wanted to compete and be in the Olympics.

Her patient father of course supported her as if passing down a legacy to his young daughter, as it was also his long-time dream to represent the Philippines in the sport. He started looking for a karate school that would hone her potential.

“My dad wanted me to try the karate classes through the City of Surrey recreation programs. At first, he was hesitant because the style was Goju-Ryu, different from the style he has been practicing. He had a point for being hesitant as it would be a challenge for him to teach me the katas of Goju-Ryu, but according to him, the basics of karate are the same. So in May 2014, I attended my first karate class with the Ku Yu Kai club and our classes were being held at the Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre in Whalley, Surrey,” the 11-year old narrated.

While it was through Rei’s influence that Tiffany loved karate, she revealed that her passion for it became stronger to the point of shedding tears.

“Sometimes I would cry if we are coming in late or if either my mom or dad won’t be able to bring me to my karate classes,” she said.

After all, the joy she felt while practicing is something really different than not doing it had the opposite effect.

Tiffany then said, “I enjoyed the classes as I learned new things and I met new friends. The atmosphere in the dojo was supportive of learning. The instructors were fair and willing to teach. My colleagues and the higher coloured belts were also supportive. It was a fun environment. I enjoyed every time we do the katas, then do the bunkai (or the application of the katas), and most especially the kumite or sparring.”

But another remarkable thing about her love for karate is that even after classes, she spends 30 more minutes with her dad to review the lessons that day.

“He would correct my forms and give me some tips. I think that reinforcement at home really helped me a lot,” Tiffany added.

However, these additional practice sessions are sandwiched with her own initiative to practice by herself when she is waiting for her parents to arrive home.

Perhaps seeing bits of himself in her, Tiffany recalled how her dad encouraged her to keep going.

“He shared his experience that it took him 10 years, more than 25 tournaments, a cut in the eyelid and with injured knuckles and knee before he won a medal. He added that if he did it, why can’t I,” she remembered his words.

Through the karate tournaments organized by her club, Ku Yu Kai, Tiffany bagged more awards which fueled her to do better and devote more time to practicing.

But Rei believed that to really bring out her highest potential, she needed to join other tournaments outside of her club. This was when she was registered to join the 2018 Canada National Open Karate Championships. Two months of practice with her dad, Ku Yu Kai instructors, and her Shihan, Tiffany revealed that a week before the tournament, she wanted to withdraw out of nervousness.

“My parents said they would respect my decision if I wanted to withdraw but also encouraged me to go on. They reminded me that if I wanted to be an Olympian, it was a good starting point. So I said to myself, if they can do it, I can do it, or even better,” she said.

What was supposed to simply be an exposure for her to experience a national competition gave her something more than what they aimed for. And if Tiffany chose to withdraw then, she would never know that she was capable of being the tournament’s champion in her division.

For now, Tiffany aims to advance in the art of karate, hoping to qualify for the Junior Black Belt exams in Spring 2019.

“My long-term goal in terms of karate as a sport is to represent Canada in the 2024 Olympics,” she said, also hoping to perhaps visit Japan and join a training camp of one of the grandmasters in the country.

Once upon a time…

When an Iloilo-born kid winning the competition hit the headlines, apart from this feat, one would ask how she stepped foot to the Great White North.

For Tiffany’s story, both her parents planned the immigrant life a long time ago even before she was born. Before she was brought to the world, and even before tying the knot, they already had ongoing permanent residency (PR) applications.

In 2007, her family was living in Singapore then when their PR visas were approved.

“We were supposed to settle in Edmonton, but a friend of my dad advised to try it first in BC and then decide if we still want to move to another province,” she started saying.

“When I asked my parents why we moved to Canada when everything was going well in Singapore, they said it was a long-term plan and it was for my future. Another reason was they wanted to have a work-life balance and to avail of the many social benefits that Canada has to offer especially the universal health care,” she continued.

Tiffany added that as non-speakers of Mandarin or Malay, settling in Singapore might be a problem.

Many immigrant families face different risks and challenges and for their family’s case, her parents had no friends or relatives in Canada.

But just like how Filipino culture gives importance to close ties and communities, Tiffany said that while still in Singapore, her dad already built connections in an organization.

“When we landed, some of his colleagues from his organization who have been in Canada for a while met us at the airport and helped us settle in,” she said, adding that they received aid from cable and internet, to beds and couches, and even food.

“This is the reason why my parents are active in helping new immigrants to settle in as a way of giving back. They help the new immigrants by looking for a place to stay, asking for some used items like microwaves, toasters, bed, winter jackets, etc. while my brother and I would play with the kids of the new immigrants and donate some of our clothes and toys,” Tiffany shared.

Though their family got a good ‘starting pack’ in venturing the immigrant life, her parents struggled in landing a job that was related to their work experiences – which was in the legal field.

She said that both her mom and dad had to go to school again to ‘upgrade.’

New chapter

As this new chapter unfolds for the family, her parents juggled matters on their livelihood, grabbing job opportunities and their education, and getting accustomed to the new life. But Tiffany had her own struggles to face.

She grew up being in the daycare most of the time for her parents were working.

“One of them would bring me to the daycare in the morning, then another one will pick me up in the afternoon. I met new friends and played with them but I would always want the comfort of home,” Tiffany said.

She also had to deal with the challenge of communicating with other immigrant kids who did not speak English.

“Whenever my parents would register me for recreational activities, at the start I would feel like a stranger as it seems that the other kids know each other. So my parents would always encourage me to make the first move and approach and play with them. They would always say, ‘don’t be shy,’” she admitted the memory.

Tiffany then added, “So I think the encouragement from my parents helped me overcome the challenges as they explained to me that everything will be okay and that we are in the process of blending in our new environment.”

Outside the dojo

While Tiffany is capable of creating fabulous and strong moves that could turn down an opponent, she is just like any other kid who have fun in building snowmen and imprinting snow angels.

In fact, despite being a karateka, she knows the responsibility that knowing the martial art does not mean that she should use it anytime.

“I think it’s just normal that kids from the same ethnicity will tend to group together. There were times especially in playgrounds or in the park that some kids tried to bully me or for example to go ahead of me on the slides. But I was taught at home and at school to use my words and stand up against bullying. And if gets physical, then that’s the only time I can apply what I learned from karate,” the young one wisely stated.

Aside from her beloved sport and art, she also ventures the waters as part of the Surrey Knights swimming club. Tiffany is also a member of the North Surrey Skating Club. Combining these two, she is able to maintain a physically fit and graceful form. Just to add to this sporty line-up, she also loves biking.

Despite being in foreign countries mingling with non-Filipinos and flying to the Philippines for only a few times, Tiffany’s family was able to preserve several Filipino practices and bits of culture in their day-to-day lives.

She and her brother take turns in leading the prayers before eating their meals, they still use ‘po’ and ‘opo’ though she confessed that it is difficult to speak in Filipino when they have a lot of dialects in the family.

What Tiffany could assure as the very evidence that the Filipino heritage is alive at their home is on the dining table.

“I like the sausage longganisa, tocino, pan de sal, rice and egg, polvoron, barbeque, pansit, chicken adobo, etc. My dad would even have rice and pansit as his viand. My mom loves to eat green mangoes with bagoong. My brother loves eating using his bare hands,” she shared.

Tiffany plays the role of not just a karateka, but also a daughter, an elder sister, a student, and a kid. But more than that, she is a young girl with big dreams who remains youthful.