Sibling karatekas return from training in Japan
"The floors are very clean, we trained six hours a day but our feet were still clean after every session."
SISTERS Haseena and Raeesa Khan from Durban Girls’ College, flew the South African flag high at the recent annual karate seminar in Wakayama, Japan. The seminar attracts hundreds of karatekas from all over the world. Both Haseena and Raeesa, aged nine and ten, were awarded certificates by the Northern Japan Seiwakai Goju chief instructor, Seichi Fujiwara Shihan and the Japan Karate Federation Goju Kai.
“The training that we were doing in Japan is not different from what we are doing here, however there are new moves that we learnt there. I love everything about karate as it teaches me discipline and to respect everyone,” said nine-year-old Raeesa.
“The people there are very disciplined and very polite. The floors are very clean, we trained six hours a day but our feet were still clean after every session,” said Haseena. Despite the intense training, both girls gave a resounding yes, when asked if they would go be going back. They have been practicing karate for five years.
Timmy Singh, their karate instructor, who also attended the seminar, said she was proud of how the girls coped with the hot temperature and the intense training there.
“Although the training is mainly on instructions, it also helps in honing their skills. It was very intensive, disciplined and rigorous but they really fared well against the others. I want to bring a world class quality to our karate lessons that is why we attend these events in Japan, and train with the best in the world,” Singh said.
Singh has more than 40 years in karate and is the founder of Action Against Abuse South Africa (AAA), an organisation that assist survivors of domestic violence, rape, date rape, sexual harassment, hijackings, bullying to name a few. AAA empowers people with safety and self defense techniques and counselling.
“It is very important especially for females to know how to defend themselves, because of the constant threat of violence. We have seen and assisted many abuse cases, domestic violence, rape and also hijack survivors. We try to incorporate some self defense and safety aspects in our lessons,” she said.
For more information on the self defense classes, contact Timmy Singh on 031 205 2411 or 084 562 7861.
Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
