Junior Will Neely was four years old when he chose the sport he would be participating in for the next 12 years: karate. Neely’s skills and passion have led him to success. He placed second in the world in the weapons division of karate at the Junior Olympics last spring in Las Vegas.

According to Neely, the weapons division of karate includes a sequence of complex movements that involves the use of a six-foot stick called a “bo”. Neely said his performance at the Junior Olympics is his biggest accomplishment in his career thus far.

“Winning the medal felt like the perfect reward for such a challenging tournament,” Neely said.

According to Neely, he still has higher aspirations for the next Junior Olympics.

“Looking back on that tournament, I am still extremely proud of winning that medal, but I feel as though I could do better,” Neely said. “The next [Junior Olympics] tournament is April 2014, so I’d really love to return to that tournament to show how much I learned in the last two years, and hopefully win gold, or medals in more than one division.”

Neely said his goal for this year is to make the United States National Team after winning first at nationals. If he qualifies for the U.S team, he would be able to compete at worlds.

In order to reach his goals, Neely says he trains very hard. Neely currently trains at least four times every week at the North Shore Dojo, located in Glenview. According to Neely’s sensei, Dave Kohn, his success has been a result of his hard work.

“Anyone can be good, but to be great, to be excellent, it takes so much work,” Kohn said. “He has learned how to be patient and he’s learned how to really work himself to a mastery level.”

According to Neely, it has taken many years of training to reach the point he is at now. Neely said that he has loved the sport since he first started.

“[Karate] is a really interesting sport because when you go to tournaments, you’re technically competing for a team […] but it’s also an individual sport, so I really like how the two aspects combine,” Neely said.

Neely says that he hated training when he first joined because his sensei was very intimidating. However, Neely recalls getting over his hatred of training during the process of earning his black belt in 2007. Just before earning his black belt, his sensei assigned an essay about what karate meant to him.

“I remember when I was writing that essay… it was the shift from knowing that ‘I used to hate [training]’ to all of a sudden understanding that karate had become a huge part of my life,” Neely said.

According to Neely, he competes in many competitions every year. These include smaller, local competitions as well as larger competitions such as nationals and the Junior Olympics. According to Neely, his favorite competition is the Junior Olympics because he likes the challenge.

“It’s just a higher level competition [at Junior Olympics], and you get to go against people from all around the world,” Neely said.

Along with competing in karate, Neely also frequently helps teach children who train at his dojo. According to Neely, he enjoys working with the children because it’s rewarding.

“For me, karate was about growing and becoming more independent, so I like seeing… how [younger kids are] able to go from knowing nothing to being able to repeat a kata, which is a sequence of movements,” Neely said.

Kohn said Neely helps with a karate program for disabled kids at the North Shore Dojo.

“[Neely] is a very good helper,” Kohn said. “He helps out with the… program for disabled kids. He’s very patient and very sensitive and has a very nice talent when he works with children less fortunate than him. He likes giving back to the program because he has gotten so much out of it.”

Neely says he hopes to continue karate after he graduates high school.

“I would really like to go to a college where there’s somewhere to study karate nearby,” Neely said. “I’ve been doing it for 12 years of my life, and it’s not something that I want to drop all of a sudden.”