The Kyalami Shotakan Karate Dojo has worked to fight through the challenges posed by the lockdown.
Mari Du Preez, a Sandan (a third-degree black belt) senior instructor at the Kyalami Shotokan Karate Dojo and national coach for Shotokan South Africa (Shotokan-ZA), said the dojo has exciting plans for the year.
Her dojo opened in 2017 and is a part of the Elmarie Van Zyl Karate Group. The dojo is affiliated to Shotokan South Africa and serves as its headquarters. Students as young as four years old all the way up to 77 train at the dojo.
Du Preez explained that Covid-19 impacted their traditional ways of going about business but once they got the hang of online classes, they started grading kids online as well. “In May last year, we saw an advert for the On The Web World Online Championships to be arranged by Chirs Galea, from the Mediterranean Karate Alliance (MKA) in Malta,” said Du Preez.
“That gave us the chance to get the Shotokan-ZA national team and some additional students training again towards a tangible goal. Of our 38 competitors who competed, nine were medallists and 18 placed in the top 10 of their divisions in this International All Styles Championship.”
She added that lockdown has required them to tweak their class schedules to stay within curfew and Covid-19 infections on the rise, while their weekly online classes provide an alternative for training at the dojo.
While Covid-19 has contributed to plans being disturbed, they are still looking forward to upcoming competitions, “The WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) Afro-Asia Challenge Online Championships will be taking place this month on 31 January and our dojo will have three students competing.
“The Mediterranean Karate Alliance’s online A-Class Advanced Kata Championships, will take place on 11 April. This competition is only for brown and black belts. Shotokan-ZA will be entering 26 competitors, nine of which are from our dojo.”
Du Preez hopes that Covid-19 infection levels will fall and lockdown restrictions would be lifted in the near future.
Details: Kyalami Shotokan Karate Dojo www.kyalamikarate.co.za.
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