Larchmont Student's Karate Skills Take Him to Hollywood

Larchmont's Danny Etkin turned 10 this week—and it might be a year he won't soon forget.

A black belt in karate, Etkin's training has helped him get to Hollywood, where he will walk the red carpet at the premiere of The Karate Kid, a film that opens in theaters July 11.

Etkin received this opportunity when The Karate Kid Challenge was created to promote the movie, encouraging martial arts youth and their coaches to try and become the next Danielson and Mr. Miyagi. Hundreds of karate kids went to the 10 open auditions held at various Six Flags theme parks across the country. Each audition declared a winner, and Etkin and his coach, Matt Emig, claimed the title for New Jersey—they performed a 90-second extreme form exhibition, filled with synchronized tricks and stunts.

From there, video of Etkin's performance was put on Yahoo!'s Web site along with the other nine winners, where a public vote was held to decide who was worthy of the Karate Kid title. Etkin's routine made the top three, which qualifies him to fly out to the movie's premiere and learn if he is the overall winner.

If he wins the contest, a private screening of the film will be held for him and his friends.

Etkin discovered his talent at the age of 4 and has quickly emerged as a top national competitor in both his age group and higher levels. Last year, at the age of 9, he received 5 NASKA (North American Sports Karate Association) world titles, including one in the 10-11 age level. He currently trains at 100 Percent Performance, a martial arts school in Glastonbury, Connecticut.

"I'm really excited because all the people that I've been watching in movies will be there," Etkin said. "There's a really good chance that I can meet Jackie Chan, who's amazing at karate."

Etkin leaves this morning to fly to Boston, where he will compete in the New England Open. From there, he heads to California to attend the Monday night premiere of the movie.

As a result of his martial arts involvement, Etkin has developed into a fine example off the mats, too.

"You learn tremendous discipline [doing martial arts], and I think his teachers at Murray Avenue School would say that Danny's karate discipline shows up in the classroom," said his mother, Liz Etkin, at their home yesterday as they prepared for their trip.

Even with all the competitive success of her son, Ms. Etkin appreciates the social aspect of the sport.

"He has incredible friendships on the karate circuit," she said. "He became best buddies with his biggest competitor. They duke it out on the mats and then they high five each other and have a great time at the beach afterwards."

Check out a video of Etkin performing a Traditional Forms routine at the Gator Nationals 2010 Nighttime Show, courtesy of ZenInc.

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