Raven Wheesk

by Marty Loon, student intern

Twelve-year-old Raven Wheesk’s iron self-discipline has made him a three-time world champion martial artist and he’s now looking to clock new achievements as a representative of Team Canada internationally in his chosen sport.

“I want to continue with my martial arts and make a difference to influence people to make a change to do things for the better,” said the Attawapiskat band member.

When he was five years old, Wheesk began avidly studying Japanese-style Karate. He then started Korean Tae Kwon Do when he was eight. Raven also competes in extreme karate where his focus is on his karate kicks and flips. He is also an expert on weapons handling forms such as bo-staff, kamas and the katanas.

Raven receives his instruction at Bae’s Martial Arts in Winnipeg. While it’s a little unusual that he travels to Winnipeg every second month to train with his master, Raven needed to. As he advanced into a higher level of competition he needed more experienced and specialized training. Raven pays very good attention to each new instruction he receives each time he goes out for his training and then he perfects what he has learned at home.

He says both his mother and father are always there to help him and support him with his martial arts. In fact, the couple has gone so far as to renovate a portion of their basement to a private dojo so their son can train to his heart’s content.

Raven has established a training routine that works for him. At the break of dawn every day he begins his morning with 20-minute stretches and then he heads off to Algonquin School in Thunder Bay where he is an academically successful Grade 8 student. As well, in the evenings and on weekends, he spends between one and one-and-a-half hours going through a sequence of drills in order to maintain his focus, strength, balance, power, sharpness, skill and technique in the four disciplines of martial arts he is involved in.

“I think his best quality is his focus,” his mom said of his abilities. “He is able to keep everything else separate, especially when it’s time to compete.”

Raven’s attention to detail has netted him a junior black belt in Japanese style Karate, which he received at the age of nine and a first Dan black belt in Korean Tae kwon Do, which he received at the age of 10.

Of course, Raven confesses that he wasn’t a super star when he first got involved in the sports.

“I wasn’t all that great until I had gotten older and had stuck it out for all the training,” he said, adding he’s gone on to compete provincially, nationally and internationally in his chosen sports.  

Because of his dedication, Raven is now a three-time world champion, a title he first achieved at the age of 10. He has also won multiple Canadian championships with eight gold medals under his belt in various categories of martial arts.

Raven recently added a further four gold medals at the Nationals in Ottawa this past May to his medal collection. This has allowed Raven to represent Team Canada in Hardstyle, Korean, Extreme and Musical Weapons at the Worlds this upcoming fall.

“He needs to work on his endurance,” confessed Lisa, Raven’s mother.

In looking at his list of accomplishments, you would never know Raven suffers from severe asthma as well as multiple food and environmental allergies including that of every type of nut, shellfish as well as coconut. He is also allergic to dogs and cats. His asthma and allergies affect every part of his life: as a competitor, son, student, traveler and so on.

Given the extent of his allergies, navigating the life of a highly competitive athlete who must travel constantly can get quite tricky.  

“Everywhere I go there are always different foods being served and I always have to be careful and extra cautious in different countries where they have different rules (about food labeling, preparation, serving and animal transport),” he said. “Having these conditions is pretty hard and sometimes it gets you down, or it can get very annoying.”

One thing’s for sure though: Raven enjoys an old home cooked meal provided by his mother.

He says he’s fortunate in some ways because his martial arts training has been beneficial in that he is able to focus his abilities in order to perform and complete tasks that are before him and which allow him to overcome his conditions.

In fact, after his first major successes in karate when he was eight, his accomplishments drew the attention of the Canadian Lung Association where he was then recruited to become a spokesman of theirs.

“Everywhere I go there are always new things to see and to meet new people,” he said.  

Wheesk is, at the moment, training to make a name for himself at the upcoming 2010 World Karate and Kickboxing Council (WKC) Championships as a Team Canada representative in his four events to be held in Portugal this October.  

“It fills me with pride knowing that I’m representing Canada,” he said, adding he feels more excited than nervous when performing in front of an audience.