It's time for Small Stars! This week, we headed indoors to the dojo to introduce you to one of the top young karate stars in the entire country.
Meet Lauren Parton, a 10-year old karate phenom who trains right here in the Valley.
“I do kata, sparring, weapons and chambara," she said.
Lauren is currently ranked second in the country in her age group, and currently ranks No. 1 in sparring. And if that wasn't impressive enough, she's also a straight-A, honor roll student at BASIS Scottsdale.
Oh, and there's one more reason to be impressed with Lauren.
"I'm currently learning Latin. Last year I learned a bit of Mandarin. I learned French and I've learned a little bit of Spanish," she said. "And I know English.”
Lauren has been training at Rising Sun Karate in Scottsdale -- and in just a few years, she's already earned her brown belt, and she's knocking it out of the park in competitions.
And what is it she loves most about karate?
“I just like that there's a, like, final accomplishment," she said. "You can just keep on going and you can keep on learning more."
But despite her success, Lauren tells us her goal isn't just to make it black belt.
"That isn't my only goal... it's not to have a black belt; it's to kind of have black-belt excellence," she said.
Congratulations, Lauren Parton: You're this week's Small Star!
