For Malcolm and Shane Dorfman’s dojos in Parktown North and Norwood, last year was more of a gap year after 2015’s Karate no Michi World Federation (KWF) world cup and the World Shotokan Karate Association (WSKA) championship.
The two-day Budo Karate International-KWF South African senior and junior championship last June was their first big event of the year. As in previous years, they excelled with 41 gold, 27 silver and 30 bronze medals. After the championship, Malcolm was invited for seminars and classes in Germany that were attended by top karatekas and which will be repeated next year.
National black belt (dan level) grading exams in October were the next major item on the calendar, and several Dorfman brown and black belts tried out for higher grade levels.
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The awards were as follows:
- Jacqui Groves, who is in her 50s, was awarded third dan
- Nechama Brodie and Cathy Pinnock were awarded second dan
- Tony Maunder and Jacques Henrico were awarded first dan.
- Young stars and national team members Dhievesh Thambiran and Damien Wantenaar scored the top marks, attaining first dan, together with first dan recipients and Dorfman members Shai Lipman, Joshua Organ and Ari Lipschitz.
In November last year, KWF America invited Malcolm and Shane to give a seminar in in Phoenix, Arizona, the first international seminar to be given jointly by the father and son team. Senior US and Canadian karatekas attended the seminar, which will be repeated next year.
Malcolm travelled to Tokyo last month at the request of Japanese chief instructor, Mikio Yahara, for the world organisational planning discussions – the first western karateka to instruct the elite Japanese black belt class.
Dorfman members’ successful 2016 events, as well as the prestigious KWF world cup in Malta and the WSKA world championship in Italy, are on the agenda again this year.
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