Date of birth: December 26, 1993
Age: 13
Place of birth: El Paso, Texas
Residence: El Paso, Texas
Ethnic origin: French and Spanish
Style: Tae Kwon Do
School: Top Team
Instructor: Isaac Nanez and Jacob Tapia
Year started in martial arts: 1999
Year received black belt: 2002
Team: GOP and Top Team
Sport karate coach: Chris Gallio and Jacob Tapia
Favorite technique: Roundhouse kick to gainer
First national win: 2002 Yellow Rose Nationals
Toughest forms/weapons opponent: Ashley Artese and Kristi Corbett
Sport karate world titles:
2006 - 17 and under Girls’ Choreographed Musical Forms World Champion
2006 - 12-14 Girls’ Hard Creative Forms World Champion
2005 - 11 and under Girls’ Creative Forms World Champion
2004 - 11 and under Girls’ Creative Forms World Champion
2003 - 11 and under Girls’ Creative Forms World Champion
Other martial arts accomplishments: 2005 Flo Hymar Award
Sport karate career highlight: Making the Grand Finale at her first Super Grands against Ashley Artese
Martial arts goal #1: To be the best sport karate forms person ever
Martial arts goal # 2: To never reach her peak
Martial arts goal # 3: To become a really good kickboxer
Non-martial arts goal: To be in the movies
Favorite tournaments: Super Grands and West-Pac
Favorite Super Grands: Houston in 2003, where she won her first title and it was in Texas
Favorite sport karate players:
Present forms: Jerico Catura and Justin Lewis
Past forms: Ashley Artese
Present fighting: Regena Thompson, Brandon Bertsch
Past fighting: Isaac Nanez, Mike Stevens, Jacob Tapia
Most admired martial artists: Isaac Nanez, Ashley Artese, Daniela Barrientos, Edwin Alejandro and Jerico Catura
Most admired person: Her parents, David and Dotty Caldwell, her mentor - Dr. Eli Ben-Joseph, Noah and Deanna Bertsch
Favorite food: Spaghetti
Favorite movie: The Benchwarmers and National Treasure
Favorite actor: Gabe Nunez
Favorite magazine: Sport Karate Magazine
Favorite book: Harry Potter series
Favorite music: Anything but country
Favorite hobby: Working out at HPC, Gymnastics at Elite, track, friends, music
Favorite sports: Martial Arts, gymnastics, track and shopping
Address: 6817 Wisper Canyon, El Paso, TX 79912
Phone No.: (915) 587-7039
Email: dottyandmia@hotmail.com

Cute as a “bugs ear”! I clearly recall the first time I set eyes on Mia Caldwell. It was in the Super Grands World Games Grand Finale in Panama City, Florida in 2002. In her rookie attendance the mere eight year old talented little girl excelled to win the daytime runner-up position in junior girls’ musical forms that earned her the right to take on another rookie for the tile, Ashley Artese, who was exactly twice her age. Their performances were stellar; the goose bump type where choreography was king and surprisingly they each used conservative classical musical routines never missing a beat. Artese won by a mere one one-hundredth and there appeared a few tears to go with the loss, but Caldwell never looked back after that initial year. Since 2002 she’s reigned as the petite forms queen never failing to win her girls’ creative forms division with four world titles in a row. 2006 was a special year for Caldwell. After three years since 2002 as runner-up in girls’ musical forms, she finally pulled off a world title in the division that first brought her notoriety.

She remains a powerhouse force to be reckoned with in many divisions and leaves little for her adversaries in creative forms division as she moves along in her age bracket.

She’s a stand-out competitor not just because of her talent, but her performance traits as well. Hardly an event goes by but what photographers haven’t been afforded the opportunity to snap a shot or two as Caldwell holds out her patented sidekick with or without kama weapons in hand seemingly to say “I’m holding my kick so you can take my picture.” Her seriousness expression is evident as well, as she never seems to crack a smile with virtually no facial expression in competition except for an occasional kiai. Her serious stoic look leaves you with the impression she’s either mad at the world or just too serious for her diminutive stature, but this seems to add to the intensity of her form. However after competition (especially after winning) a broad smile exposes the reality that she’s not total seriousness. Her shyness and seriousness over the years has left her as somewhat of a junior enigma, but as late she has a lot more to say about everything. Ahh yes, I see there’s the word “teen” at the end of her age. That might partly explain it, but Mia’s explanation is that her training has given her the courage to be more self confident.

At age five her mother did the motherly thing and put her daughter in ballet lessons. Mia did ok but kept telling her teacher that she wanted to take karate lessons next door. The teacher got so exasperated with her wanting to do something other than ballet that she had Mia choose one or the other. Well despite how the mom must have felt, her petite little ballet dancer wound up in the martial arts instead of the dance arts. There she excelled not giving any immediate thoughts to competition. Then she noticed some fellow students doing competition routines taught by an occasional visiting instructor. These challenging and difficult maneuvers appealed to her so she simply walked up to the instructor, Isaac Nanez, and said she wanted him to train her. Five years and five world titles later she is quick to credit Nanez with her creative forms education.

She represents her original Top Team as well as nationally noted Team GOP and travels to a variety of local and national tournaments. She has found the El Gran Jaguar tournament in Guatemala most fascinating where a different culture abounds and with her return this year to the event, she discovered that the Guatemalan kids look at her as a veteran champion wanting autographs and having their picture taken with her.

I was amused to find that this five time forms champion also has a sport karate fighting goal to be a “really good kickboxer”. I wonder how that’s going over with the former “ballet” mom?

Besides a continued run for world champion karate titles, Mia has her sights set on the movies meanwhile being an honor society student in school and the celebrated fastest track runner in the 100 meters in her hometown of El Paso, Texas.

Upon interviewing the young champion I can only find one fault.... she can’t seem to make up her mind. Did you see the amount of people’s names she gave us as her “favorites” listed above? I had to make up a story and tell her my computer had no more room as she kept adding and changing names. She must either admire a lot of people or is quickly becoming the sport karate socialite. In any case Mia is around to stay awhile and intends on dominating her divisions throughout her teenage years and win many more world titles in the meantime.