Destiny Jennings, a 17-year-old Eastmoor Academy senior, will compete in the World Karate Championships later this month in Turkey.
The 17-year-old Eastmoor Academy senior will compete with Team USA in the World Karate Federation Championships on Oct. 26-30 in Konya, Turkey. The city is nearly 5,700 miles from Columbus, and the flight takes about 12 hours.
“All those years, Destiny never medaled at the national level, but this year she really started committing herself,” said Ellis Jennings, her father and sensei at E.J.’s Warrior Karate Academy at 3975 East Livingston Ave. in Columbus. “It’s like when you try to teach a kid to ride a bike and they almost get it but they keep falling off. Then all of sudden they get it. That’s what has happened to Destiny. It was steps here and steps there, but she was falling short. Now she’s got it.
Destiny said her recent success was the result of hard work and having confidence in herself. She also was fed up with not reaching her potential. “She told me, ‘Dad, I can beat this girl,’ ” Ellis said. “I knew I had to go coach in Florida for AAU, but I couldn’t take this chance away from her. It was a big chance, but my little girl was going to be 3,000 miles away all by herself. We got her a hotel room closer to the venue, and she stayed there and won it.”
To achieve success at the national and international levels, Destiny needed to punch up her training. To hold her own against the best, Ellis said, his daughter needed to train with the best. Destiny got a taste of international competition when she competed in the Pan American Karate Federation Cadet, Junior and U21 event Aug. 22-28 in Mexico City. Although she did not medal, she learned lessons that will help her in Turkey and, most importantly, to believe in her skill set.
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