Fourways karate kids bag medal

Fourways Martial Arts Academy participated in the Karate South Africa National Championships on 2 to 3 March in Durban and 23 to 24 March in Cape Town.

Eight provinces were represented and the showpiece also served as a ranking system for other championships this year such as Zone 6, African Cup, WKF youth league and World Championships.

In the two national championships, the academy bagged 24 medals including 10 gold, nine silver and five bronze. Instructor at the academy, Steff Biagioni, highlighted the importance of the tournaments.

“The tournaments will also be used as a selection process for the upcoming world championships which will be held in Chile later in the year,” he said.

One of the stars of the academy was 13-year-old Alessandro Biagioni who claimed two gold medals in the kata and unison categories and a silver in kumite. “Based on his winnings, he’s got a good opportunity of going to compete on a world stage,” Steff said.

Nuru Minyukutu–Gutto claimed a bronze medal in the Kumite challenge while Thea Langenhorst was awarded a gold medal in the Unison category. The academy was quite dominant in the Unison category with Aiden Zeeman and Malcolm Driesel winning silver medals respectively while Alessandro Biagioni won a gold medal in Kata and Unison.

The academy is also preparing for a number of top tournaments in the upcoming months starting off with the Zone 6 International Championships to be held in Namibia which will feature sub-Saharan countries, followed by the African Cup in Botswana and the Youth League Championship in Croatia. “These are all selection process tournaments, the kids need to work hard and be selected and go represent the nation,” Steff concluded.

The academy also hosted their 17th Annual Senior and Children’s Karate Training Camp this year with instructors from ISMAA that have had on an average over 40 years of experience.

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