The Shotokan Karate Dojo has decided that not having premises to train at will not hold them back.
The club has been training in the park along Gardiner Avenue next to the Brakpan Swimming Pool.
“We started training at the park when things opened up for us after lockdown,” said dojo master Clive Chidziva.
Working out in the open has provided them with a fair bit of challenges.
“At the park, you often find broken glass, so it makes training difficult. Hopefully, we’ll have a hall soon, so we can train children properly,” said the master.
The master points out that they started because several children were keen to get started.
“We had to start because we couldn’t leave the children loitering around,” he said.
“So we felt it would be better to train in the park than not at all.”
The club is full of newcomers.
“I have a passion to train with children from four years old. We have different training methods for different ages,” said Chidziva.
The trainer also explained that with so many still getting to know the sport, the club is not ready to compete in competitions.
They will only compete in Karate South Africa events when they are graded from white belt to yellow belt.
“They are not ready now, as they are all white belts,” he said.
Chidziva also let it be known most of the children training at the dojo come from an underprivileged background.
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“We need sponsors, so we can get a hall for the children to train,” he said.
“Some children can’t afford uniforms, but they have a passion for karate. So we need anybody willing to help us with a hall and uniforms, so we can be one good team together.”
Looking at the number of youngsters at the club, one can see there is plenty of enthusiasm for their sport.
“Many of their parents cannot afford to buy uniforms or pay the R100 for membership we need to pay for the different bills to run the dojo,” Chidziva.
“But the children are keen on training.”
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