The Stats on Elisa Au
• Occupation: civil engineer
• Marital status: single
• Favorite movie: Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America
• Favorite music: oldies, including the Beach Boys and the Supremes, and 1980s vintage Madonna
• Home base: Honolulu
• Dojo: International Karate Federation School of Champions
• Teacher: Chuzo Kotaka
• Style: shito-ryu karate
• Rank: third-degree black belt
• Favorite technique: counter-reverse punch
• Most prestigious win: three World Karate Federation titles
• Worst injury: a twisted ankle sustained in 2002.
• Hero: her parents. “They are the best,” she says.
• Goals: To see the world before age 30. |
Elisa Au is not just another pretty face that does pretty kata. She’s a Black Belt Hall of Fame member and a three-time kumite champion in the World Karate Federation, the only karate organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee. She’s one of the new generation of martial artists who literally grew up in the dojo—in her case, since she was 5. “When I was in kindergarten, they passed out fliers at the YMCA,” she says. “It was just something I wanted to try as an after-school activity. That’s how it all got started.”
The master under whom she was educated was none other than Honolulu-based shito-ryu legend Chuzo Kotaka. Au has trained six days a week with the 1962 All-Japan champion for most of the past 20 years. The result: an intelligent, physically fit, well-mannered and extremely talented third-degree black belt who’s not only a sparring champion but also a role model to scores of young karateka in Hawaii.
Raised in an ultratraditional Japanese karate dojo, Au learned the basics well and built a name for herself in forms and sparring. “I enjoy both kata and kumite equally, but it was always the kumite that I’ve excelled in,” she says.
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| LATERAL TWO-LEGGED HOPS TO BOOST SPEED AND COORDINATION: Elisa Au begins with both feet on the same side of a kicking pad, then leaps sideways, lands and leaps back to her starting position. Do three 15-second intervals. |
In the most recent WKF event in Monterrey, Mexico, she not only bagged the gold in her weight division but also took top honors in the open weight category, besting women nearly twice her size (she stands 5 feet 6 and weighs 132 pounds). The question that immediately comes to mind is, What makes Elisa Au so superior to all those other female fighters out there?
“I think that my body is built for sparring and the training that I’ve received is second to none,” the 25-year-old says. “Desire plus excellent guidance has been my key to success.”
As an elite karate fighter, Au was allowed to work out at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she received cutting-edge instruction. “I learned so much about conditioning and [many] drills aimed specifically at karate,” she says. When she coupled that with the wisdom Kotaka conveyed to her over the years, she found herself in possession of an unstoppable combination.
What training secrets did the Olympic bigwigs teach Au? “As an example, after watching us spar, the coaches and trainers said that the [athletes] martial artists resemble the most are short-track speed skaters and sprinters,” she says. “So what I did was take many of their training principles and apply them to karate—and it’s made a huge difference. The one-leg hops we do came from U.S. Olympic gold-medal short-track speed skater Apollo Ono, who has these absolutely massive legs for pushing off at the start of his races. That’s similar to the explosion we need when we push off during a fight.
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| LATERAL ONE-LEGGED HOPS TO BUILD LATERAL EXPLOSIVE SPEED: Elisa Au starts by squatting on her left leg (1). She bends even lower, then jumps up and to her right (2) to land on her right leg (3). To return to her starting position, she reverses her motion. Do three sets of 10 jumps. |
“We also use the same principle as sprinters when they start from a crouch and explode not just forward but also upward, catapulting themselves out of the blocks at the start of the race. These are only two of the many things we trained on when we were at the Olympic training facilities in Lake Placid, New York, and Colorado Springs.”
As Au approaches the competitive karate season, she alters her training but still manages to mix high-tech methods with traditional techniques. “I do longer sprints instead of 40-yard dashes,” she says. “I work on 400-yard sprints so I can build up my endurance.
“When I train for a specific competition, I usually raise my intensity three months prior to the event. At that point, [I use] short sprints to build up bursts of energy rather than long-distance endurance training. I usually work out around three hours a day, half of it being conditioning and the other half sparring skills and drills.”
Up Close and Personal
Karate has always been Elisa Au’s No. 1 physical pursuit, but over the years she found time to dabble in figure skating, track and gymnastics. “And in high school, I did paddling,” she says. “It’s like Hawaiian canoe paddling. It’s a high-school sport here in Hawaii.”
Despite the fact that she’s only 25, Au is a world traveler thanks to karate. Among the nations she visited for teaching and sparring purposes are Australia, Canada, England, Italy, Japan and Scotland. In the first half of 2006, her itinerary will take her across the United States, as well as to Asia and Australia. By the end of June, she must decide if she’ll start training for the next World Karate Federation World Championship in Finland.
All those martial endeavors have to be squeezed in between the duties of Au’s day job: She works as a project engineer for Nan Inc., one of Hawaii’s top construction companies, where she puts her civil-engineering degree to good use.
—D.W.
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| Elisa Au executes a knee-to-chest jump to build explosive power. After landing, she immediately goes into the next jump. Do three sets of 10. Right: Au demonstrates the kick-back jump. Instead of pulling her knees to her chest, she kicks her heels toward her butt. Do another three sets of 10. |
DOUBLE FACE PUNCH WITH KICK: Elisa Au confronts her opponent (1). She opens with a jab (2) and follows with a reverse punch to the face (3). The culmination of her combination is a rear-leg roundhouse to the face (4). Executing a single kick is seldom effective unless you have perfect timing and great speed, she says. Therefore, she prefers to set up her kicks using hand techniques. |
The Master on the Student
Chuzo Kotaka is arguably the most successful trainer of champions the traditional karate world has ever seen. In addition to Elisa Au and his son, George Kotaka, he’s churned out a plethora of fantastic fighters over the years.
“The most important aspect to developing a successful athlete is consistent and high-quality training,” the master reports. “My students train seriously, with their goals always in mind. This way, they are always pushing themselves to achieve success.
“I also feel that as their instructor, I must keep an open and growing mind. I may have been taught karate a certain way growing up in Japan, but I see the new techniques that George is introducing to the students, and I think those are great, too. I understand that the sport is evolving, and for my students to stay on top, we must be the innovators of our sport.”
—D.W.
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| COUNTER AND SWEEP: The opponent and Elisa Au square off (1). When he attacks, Au unleashes a counter reverse punch (2), followed by a lead-leg sweep (3). She finishes with a reverse punch to the face (4). “You sweep the front leg to catch him off-balance, not necessarily to take him down,” she says. “Then you can go to the face.” |
FEINT AND HOOK KICK: Elisa Au chambers her rear knee (1-2), then places the foot back on the ground (3). She immediately initiates a hook kick, taking the opponent by surprise (4). |
About the author: Don Warrener is the president of Rising Sun Productions, a Hollywood-based martial arts book and video company.
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