Members of Effler's Livingston Karate pose after finishing first in the National Karate Alliance’s National point standings for the second straight year.
Nine-year-old Conner McCoy of French Settlement poses with his medals and trophy after winning three world championships at the United States Karate Alliance World Championships in Phoenix late last month.
Conner McCoy in action during competition.
When asked what he likes most about karate, Conner McCoy’s answer wasn’t complicated.
“It’s really fun and entertaining because I never know what’s coming next,” McCoy, a 9-year-old fifth-grader at French Settlement Elementary, said.
It’s been a whirlwind of sorts for McCoy, who won three titles at the United States Karate Alliance World Championships in Phoenix late last month after taking up karate in January of 2021.
During this past season, McCoy, a blue belt, became the Louisiana Pro Am champion in kumite, kata and chanbara, the South central regional champion in kumite, a two-time USKA world champion in kumite and chanbara and a USKA world champion in ippon, while finishing second in the nation in points in kumite in the 8-9-year-old boys beginning division.
McCoy’s mother, Tiffany Meades, said it’s been a steady climb for Conner since he started in karate.
“He’s started to develop a name, and it’s odd,” Meades said. “It makes me proud, but at the same time, it’s odd because I don’t look at him like that. I look at him as just Conner.”
Conner’s parents agreed that a little brotherly love also helped spur his interest in the sport.
“He picked it up really quickly, and from the first competition, he figured out that he really enjoys sparring, and that comes from him and his older brother (Carter) fighting,” Conner’s father, Chris McCoy, said with a laugh. “From there, it was just a fit.”
Said Meades with a laugh: “I definitely think him and his brother, that was probably the best training he’s had – at-home training.”
While he’s had tremendous success, Conner McCoy said that’s not what drives him, noting he’s always looking to improve.
“It’s not just about winning,” he said. “It’s about having good competition. What I also like about fighting is that it just comes naturally.”
“It feels good after you win, but after a few weeks or so, you kind of forget about it,” Conner McCoy continued.
Conner McCoy is a member of Effler’s Livingston Karate in Livingston, and sensei Ray Effler spoke highly of his student.
“You never know who it’s going to be,” Effler said. “When a kid walks in the door, you can’t judge any kid. I’ve had them all shapes and sizes come in. I’ve had ones that are super athletic come in here and it doesn’t happen, and I’ve had ones that aren’t so athletic just turn into some of the best black belts that you could see. Conner is one of those guys that I don’t know – they’ve just got that fire. It’s just the type of person he is.”
“We don’t do what I consider ‘hobby’ karate,” Effler continued. “My door is a revolving door because I can’t tell you over the past 30 years of teaching how many students I’ve seen realize this is not play time and walk right back out the door a week or two later, so for a child to do that, for somebody Conner’s age to be able to come in and consistently train in this and never have a bad attitude, you know that’s saying something about that young athlete. He’s one of those that can do that, and we’ve got quite a few others on this team that can do that that are coachable and consistent and don’t mind that the work is hard because they know that it’s going to pay off.”
Meades said she’s been around basketball and baseball and played sports growing up, but she admitted it’s been an adjustment being a karate parent.
“I’m cheering for him from the side, and they’re like, ‘Ma’am, you can’t yell direction from the bleachers,’” Meades said. “I was like, ‘I didn’t know I was coaching.’ I was just (saying) ‘Get in there!’ I get all excited and hopped up for him. He’s got us all in. I’m trying not to be a yeller. I’m a yeller for basketball. I’m a yeller for baseball, and I didn’t realize I was going to be a yeller for karate, but there I am.”
“He’s smaller, so I’m sitting here thinking I’m sending my kid in there to fight another kid, and I feel bad because I don’t want either one of them to get hurt, and that’s’ the goal – they’re not supposed to hurt each other – but I find myself getting caught up in it,” Meades continued.
Conner McCoy, an honor roll student, is also a member of the French Settlement fifth-and-sixth grade basketball team, played for the LA Bulls travel basketball team over the summer, LPR baseball the spring and LPR basketball in the fall, and Meades said his time in karate has been beneficial in each sport her son plays.
“I didn’t realize that karate would be good cross-training tool, but it is,” Meades said. “It’s been amazing for us.”
Effler’s Livingston Karate also finished first in the National Karate Alliance’s National point standings for the second straight year. Effler noted a first-place finish for an individual at a local tournament nets 20 points, second 15 points, and third 10 points. Points accumulated by individuals on a team are compiled for the team standings. Effler also earned instructor of the year honors for the second year in a row based on points and was inducted into the United States Karate Alliance Hall of Fame.
Sensei Jacob Boutwell was inducted into the Chittim Jordan Korean Karate Roll of Honor and placed on the United States Karate Alliance National Team.
Effler’s Livingston Karate tallied 15,310 points, while Cotton’s Karate was second with 8,400.
“I’ve been doing this for over 30 years. I’ve never seen anything like that,” Effler said of the point differential between first and second place.
“You’ve got to have competitors, athletes that are coachable that are on board,” Effler said of the formula for the team’s success. “If they’re young people, you’ve got to have families that are on board with the thing too. It’s a lot of that stuff kind of just sort of congealing and everybody sticking with the program and working hard and knowing what they’re working toward and making it out to the events. We’ve always had really good teams and families, but I think word is getting out about our particular team. We’ve done better and better … and every year we got closer and closer and closer as we kind of snowballed that team into a group of really good, strong competitors.”
As a father, Chris McCoy said he’s been impressed with what he’s seen from team members at the dojo.
“They tend to help each other out,” he said, noting some of the dojo’s older members will take time away from preparing for their own matches to help younger members. “There’s a quite a few … that are almost black belts, and they take a lot of time with the kids. I don’t think I’ve ever watched Conner or any other kid go up to them and ask them for help and them tell them ‘no’ or ‘I don’t have time’, or anything like that.”
Effler's Livingston Karate had 27 competitors at the United States Karate Alliance World Championships, all of whom placed in events and/or became world champions in their divisions.
“It’s not like baseball or basketball,” Effler said, noting the team was consistent throughout the year. “We don’t load everybody up on a bus and drive them across to the big events together to make sure they get there. We’re asking families to fly to Phoenix in July to do the world championships. They make it a vacation and everything, so it’s not that hard of a sell, but typically at a regular karate school from Louisiana, you might get five families, if you’re lucky, to go. If you’re lucky, you might end up with seven or eight competitors. What you’re probably going to have is more like five or six or four competitors show up at that event from your school. We had 27, which is what we bring to most tournaments … so we didn’t tail off at all going into worlds.”
Effler’s Livingston Karate will be hosting the Battle of the South on Saturday, August 19 at the Doyle Elementary Gym, and Conner McCoy said he will be moving up to compete in the 10-11-year-old age group at that event – another sign of his growth in the sport.
“I never thought that he would be a world champion,” Meades said. “I didn’t even know that was an option when we started. I thought we were just going to be driving to Livingston, he was going to do karate, and we were going to be coming home, but no, he’s in it. He’s all in.”
Here is a list of Effler's Livingston Karate's finishes at the United States Karate Alliance World Championships:
Jacob Boutwell: Adult Black Belt 2nd Forms, 4th Weapons Forms
MacKenzie Boutwell: 16-17 Advance 2nd Sparring
Kellen Authement: 6-7 Beginner 3rd 1-Point-Sparring, 4th Sparring
Brayden Cryer: 14-15 Advance 4th 1-Point-Sparring, 4th Sparring, 3rd Team Weapons Forms, 4th Team Forms
Aria Moore: 12-13 Advance 4th 1-Point-Sparring 4th Sparring, 2nd Weapons Forms, 3rd Team Weapons Forms
Dyson Moore: 8-9 Beginner 2nd Sword Fighting, 4th Forms, 1st 1-Point-Sparring, 2nd Sparring
Chassidy Moore: Adult Intermediate/Advance 2nd Team Weapons Forms, 4th Team Forms, 2nd Forms, 4th Weapons Forms, 1st World Champion Sparring
Braxton Meyers: 6-7 Beginner 2nd Self Defense, 1st 1-Point-Sparring, 4th Forms, 2nd Sparring
Bentley Meyers: 8-9 Intermediate 3rd Self-Defense, 1st World Champion Sparring 4th Team Weapons Forms
Darrell Meyers: Adult beginner 1st 1-Point-Sparring, 1st World Champion Sparring
Ashley Meyers: Adult Beginner 3rd Sparring, 1st Team Weapons Forms, 4th Team Forms
Abigail Dykes: 10-11 Intermediate/Advanced 1st World Champion Weapons Forms, 2nd 1-Point-Sparring, 2nd Sparring
Memorye Dykes: 1st World Champion Sparring, 1st Team Weapons Forms, 2nd 1-Point-Sparring, 4th Team Forms
James Lopez: 16-17 Advance 3rd 1-Point-Sparring, 3rd Team Weapons Forms, 4th Team Forms, 3rd Weapons Forms, 3rd Forms 2 Sparring
Giovani Lopez: 16-17 Intermediate 4th 1-Point-Sparring, 4th Sparring
Austin Worsham: 14-15 Advance 4th Sparring
Chris Sanchez: Adult Intermediate 2nd Team Weapons Forms, 4th Team Forms, 4th 1-Point-Sparring 4th Weapons Forms 3rd Sparring
Chance Sanchez: 16-17 Intermediate 3rd Sparring, 4th Team Weapons Forms
Adilee Sanchez: 14-15 Intermediate 2nd Sparring, 3rd 1-Point-Sparring
Waylon Sanchez: Young Patriot 1st Self Defense 3rd Weapons Forms 3rd Sparring, 3rd 1-Point-Sparring, 4th Sword Fighting, 4th Team Weapons Forms
Andi Gautreaux: 1st Team Weapons Forms, 2nd Forms, 3rd Team Forms
Casidee McDonald: 12-13 Intermediate 1st World Champion Sparring, 3rd Forms, 3rd 1-Point-Sparring, 3rd Weapons Forms, 2nd Sword Fighting
Roman McDonald: 1st World Champion Sparring, 3rd in Forms, 1st in Sword Fighting, 2nd 1-Point-Sparring
Jessica McDonald: 4th Sparring, 4th 1-Point-Sparring, 2nd team Weapons Forms, 3rd Team Forms, 2nd Sword Fighting
Gerard Keel: 16-17 Advance 4th Weapons Forms, 2nd Team Sparring, 2nd Trias Cup Forms
