Ken To Fude No Karate Ryu at Witpoortjie
Leading pupils in the right path is what Lesego Ratala considers his most important job.
It has been a year since Lesego Ratala started the Ken To Fude No Karate Ryu at the Witpoortjie Recreational Centre.
In the year, the karate club has seen his club membership grow from one pupil to more than 50 pupils.
“From that one pupil, the club just expanded and more people heard about the club and wanted to join. The fact that my fees are relatively cheap allowed for a number of pupils to join,” said Ratala.
The club would also invite pupils from Princess Informal Settlements to participate in the training and the coach would fetch the pupils himself from their homes.
“My aim is to teach, its not about the money although I too have to make a living. So I loved to go out and fetch those pupils because they enjoyed being part of the club,” said Ratala.
However, challenges arose when the pupils from Princess could not attend classes regularly due to time constraints as the classes started in the evening.
But that has not detered Ratala from trying to find a solution to bring back those pupils to classes.
“The pupils we teach here are the future generation so I want to impart my knowledge onto them. If I don’t do my part, these children will one day be standing on street corners and robbing the elderly like me. So I have to teach them the right way,” he said.
The club not only teaches karate but also meditation, kickboxing, self-defense and weaponry.
“What makes my dojo different is just the way I teach. We adhere to a syllabus just like other dojos, however, we are not too militant when it comes to following it. We make it relevant to the pupils because we want to build character and the right frame of mind in these young pupils. That is why we don’t focus much on competitions,” said Ratala.
The club operates under Solly Said’s Karate, Kickboxing and Gym banner and training is on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6.45pm.
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