BAOK Stacy Cope Black Belt

Karate Tae Kwon Do

Stacy Cope

Black Belt Stacy Cope finished first on the regional Dojo Circuit this year

Local black belt shines
on regional Dojo Circuit

GASTONIA - When Stacy Cope was 12 years old, she went to watch a karate
class at the request of her mother. It seemed OK, so Cope decided to take up the
sport. Seven years later, Cope is an accomplished black belt.

Cope competes on the Regional 8 Dojo Circuit, which includes tournaments in
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Last Year, she attended 17 tournaments in the Ladies Brown Belt Division in fighting and kata. Over 200 competitors are in the region, and Cope finished first for the season in cumulative points." The year before, I came in second and I was determined to get first this year," said Cope, a '92 Hunter Huss grad.

Cope is currently in her second year as a student at Gaston College, and in addition to working out two-to-four times a week, she also finds time to hold down a job at Dotson Fish Fry in Mount Holly.

She's very committed," said Charles Burris, who has tutored Cope the last seven years at Burris Academy of Karate and Tae Kwon Do. "She really doesn't have a weakness. She's strong offensively and defensively."

Cope isn't sure where she's headed in the sport. She just enjoys the competition. "I'll keep doing it 'till I get tired of it, she said. "I don't think that will be anytime soon."

Web Site Design & Hosting by: WebTech Group