WEST CHESTER, Ohio — For some of the athletes at Buckner Martial Arts, this has been a summer to remember.
Last week, 12-year-olds Ruby Culligan, Madeline Wissel and Caleb Gossard traveled to Sweden alongside 16-year-old Abbie Feeback to represent Team USA in the World Karate Championships.
"They wanted to put West Chester on the map," said Stephanie Buckner, the owner of the dojo.
WATCH: How the athletes performed at the World Karate Championships
Buckner said she was proud to watch the kids join nearly 150 other athletes competing for Team USA.
"I think it was an amazing honor for them," Buckner said. "I know they took it very seriously — not just to represent themselves, (but) their dojo, their families and their country."
And they didn't just participate; they kicked butt.
Culligan won gold in Kata, Kobudo and Kumite. She and Feeback also won bronze in Individual Kumite.
Gossard placed 10th out of 38 athletes in Kata. It was his first international competition.
Wissel won gold in Team Kumite, bronze in Individual Kumite and bronze in Kobudo.
Buckner said it's a testament to their hard work. The athletes said they practice every day, and sometimes multiple times a day.
"It brought, like, a sense of confidence to me," Feeback said.
The four athletes said it was a special honor to participate in the event.
"We all succeeded in some way, and we were all hyping each other up in some way," Gossard said.
Gossard said it meant more to be there as a group and celebrate together.
"We are like, kind of, family," Gossard said.
While the medals are nice to win, the athletes said it's not the main reason they love martial arts.
"It made me a brave person, also a confident person, and I learned how to have discipline," Culligan said.
They said it's taught them a lot of life skills and helped with self-confidence.
"When I was younger, I did get bullied in kindergarten, and I wasn't very self-confident in myself, so I like that I have a new version of myself and I built myself in the dojo," Feeback said.
Buckner said she's always trying to teach her kids to be better. She said she emphasizes discipline, respect and leadership.
"They came back with a lot of pride and a lot of honor for their community," said Buckner.
