John Kenneth McGrath a twelve year old Grade 8 (second form) student of the prestigious Queen’s College secondary school, has been blazing a trail in Karate-do in Guyana.
His latest accomplishment has been his phenomenal achievement of becoming a third degree black belt better known as the Sandan rank last Friday (March 10, 2017). His performance at the grading event to earn him this coveted rank was nothing short of remarkable.
John Mc Grath standing tall at just 12 years old
His father, prominent hotelier Shaun McGrath, and his mother Monica McGrath an Accountant and Business Executive also with deep roots in the tourism industry of Guyana, are both very supportive of his martial arts feats and his other physical exploits which includes playing cricket and soccer, being constantly in attendance in the Dojo, from the very first day he presented himself at the very tender age of just four years old before his Instructor who at the time was Sensei Chetram Mortley, in his Gi and white belt, all the way to his most recent achievement, of acquiring his third degree black belt ranking under the guidance of Sensei Jeffrey Wong 6th Dan, giving all the moral support they can.
They have also always set aside their busy schedules to accompany him to all of his tournaments whether he is participating locally or overseas.
In his spare time, like so many of his peers John could be found playing a wide range of video games using the modern and popular gaming consoles. That aside John is an avid reader and loves the adventure of travel around the world.
In the area of education, John began his schooling at the New Guyana School where he consistently maintained a high academic performance before earning a place at Queens College.
It’s clear from his concentration and intensity that this Karateka really loves the sport and plans to stay in karate all the way through University eventually becoming an Instructor.
John’s walls are covered with awards which he accumulated from his attendance and participation in a number of tournaments both locally and overseas including two world tournaments that were held in Canada in 2012 and 2015, the Caribbean Karate Championships that were held in Barbados and the Pan American, South American and the Guyana Karate Federation tournaments held in Guyana.
He is an excellent role model and intends to use his athletic platform for promoting positive societal change, and has made a commitment to behaving in ways that reflect high moral values and also in ways that support personal integrity.
John always presents himself in a realistic and responsible manner and freely devotes time and energy to helping young and budding Karatekas
He focuses on personal effort and accomplishments instead of making comparisons with others and feels success and satisfaction when he has learned something new, seen skill improvement in himself, or when he has given maximum effort.
John displays a healthy balance between striving for excellence and having fun in the process and wishes to promote to other young athletes the virtues of working hard to achieve goals and the importance of enjoying the journey.
