STUDENT SPOTLIGHT 

WAYNE DALGLISH

MARCH 2003

WAYNE DALGLISH

At just eleven years old, Wayne Dalglish is not only a world champion martial artist, but also a film and television actor. Trained by some of the best martial artists in the country like Casey Marks, Mike Chatarauntabut, and Suzanne Wankett, Wayne has won numerous world titles, has appeared on the ESPN2 broadcast of the US Open for four straight years, has been featured in Black Belt Magazine, and was selected for the prestigious Team Paul Mitchell at age 9. After several successful years making a name for himself on the national sport karate circuit, even starring in his own series of instructional videos on the bo staff, Wayne recently made the move out to L.A. to start acting. He has quickly found success, landing a television guest role, a role in a feature film, and most recently, a starring role in the new Frito Lay Star Wars commercial. For someone who has achieved so much by such a young age, there's no telling what Wayne will achieve next."He's just phenomenal," says Suzann Wancket. "When I got a hold of him, he already had a strong traditional base, wonderful power and speed. Therefore, there wasn't much for me to change." When you hear a description like that, you probably think that Wancket, a sport-karate champion, is describing sport-karate great Jon Valera. Well, you are absolutely, positively wrong. She's actually talking about Wayne Dalglish, a 9-year-old dynamo from St. Paul, Minnesota who has been winning forms and weapons titles left and right. For example, he competed in 25 tournaments in 1999 and won 19 grand championships.

"He's an amazing kid," says Mike Chaturantabut, a former forms and weapons world champion. "I mean, he trains like a madman. When he goes on stage, he is so focused that he blocks out the judges, the audience and everything else." When Dalglish started, however, things weren't quite so positive. "At first, Wayne didn't know how to announce himself at a tournament," says Wancket, who has been training with him in Minnesota for more than three years. "He was so shy." With the Mississippi River in the background, Gemma Nguyen demonstrates a little flexibility. Although she realized that Dalglish - a black belt in taekwondo who's also studied shorin-ryu, jujutsu and wushu - needed some work, Wancket also knew the youngster had a bundle of talent. And it didn't take long for that talent to surface, especially with his dedication. It's not unusual for him to work out for an hour or two before he heads off to school in the morning. After school, he trains at United Karate on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He also trains with Wancket twice a week at her school, Wancket's Art of Karate. "My job is to keep him grounded in his basics," says Wancket, 32. "1 also try to push him in the right direction, just like my instructor did with me." Besides training with Wancket, Dalglish also works out with Steven Horst, Casey and Butch Marks, and Chaturantabut. With all that attention Dalglish has been receiving, you might think that he has an ego the size of Mount Rushmore. Far from it. "He's not conceited," says Wancket. "He's very humble. When he walks into the school, even though he's the star, he comes across as just another student. He respects everyone, and he realizes they're just as important as he is." And what does Dalglish think about all this? "I hope I become as good as Jon Valera, and I'm going to keep doing karate until I'm old," he says.