Reid hopes double gold will spur karate career

NICHOLAI Reid has not had the easiest of paths as a member of Jamaica’s combined martial arts team, winning his first individual gold medal at the International Sport Karate Association United States Open at age 31 in 2023.

However, he hopes winning double gold at last year’s International Sports Kickboxing Association Amateur Members Association (ISKA AMA) World Championships in Brisbane, Australia will be the turning point as he prepares for Madrid, Spain, November 5-7.

Reid won double gold last year in an unconventional manner of fighting in two weight divisions, -75kg and -80kg, significantly higher than his intended -70kg.

“It wasn’t on purpose, but I made it,” he mused. “I intended to fight at -70kg, didn’t make the weight, so I won gold at -75kg in light contact and semi-contact at -80kg because there were not enough competitors in semi-contact at -75kg,” he recounted.

ISKA light heavyweight fighters tend to reach almost six feet tall. Reid, a natural middleweight, often finds it tough against taller and bigger opponents, especially Europeans, resulting in his being topsy-turvy at the scale.

Having joined Akino Lindsay, Richard Stone and Nicholas Dusard as Jamaican male fighters to have achieved double gold, Reid is aiming for consistency, hoping to add to his first ISKA AMA World Championships gold won in Vienna, Austria, in 2024.

Reid fought as a light heavyweight at the ISKA AMA World Champs in Munich, Germany, in 2023, after winning the middleweight title at the US Open. However, he did his best to win silver in points-sparring and bronze in continuous sparring, going down in the second round to the eventual silver medallist, a French fighter beaten by Dusard in the final.

“It has been a bit hot and cold. I am still trying to figure out where I want to be in order to be consistent. Preparing for Madrid, I believe I am fitter than last year. It’s just to go out and perform,” he said.