They don’t give out an Academy Award for acting in martial arts, but if they did, you can bet Taralyn Wilmer would have one stuffed in among all the other trophies she’s accumulated over the past nine years. The 14-year-old Beloit Turner High School freshman has placed in 76 martial arts contests and is already a member of the American Karate Association Hall of Fame. She has an entire wall in her family’s home devoted to her success, with trophies on shelves from floor to ceiling. Another wall displays the myriad of custom medals she has received.
Her most recent hardware came June 25 in the American Open Martial Arts competition held in Atlanta, Ga. She finished first in both Tae Kwon Do Form and Okinawan Karate Form as well as second in Team Form and third in Creative Form. Karate competitors compete in two disciplines —sparring (kumite) and forms (kata), which also has its own divisions, including one for “extreme” forms. “That’s basically forms with a lot of flashy gymnastics moves thrown in,” said Taralyn.
While she has competed in board-breaking, her specialty is traditional forms, an orchestrated series of both offensive and defensive techniques. While judges are experts at scrutinizing competitors’ grace, power and technical precision, they are also influenced by attitude.
That’s where Taralyn’s acting ability comes in. Quiet and reserved off the mat, she appears to channel Bruce Lee on it. “I have to show intensity in front of the judges,” she said. “I have to show it in my eyes. When I’m competing in forms I have to go into character. I’ve learned how to be a different person and that has helped my acting in school.”
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