A Sensei from a local karate dojo in Parkmore has been bringing the ancient art to the community for 40 years.
Sensei Gary McLean from the Macson Dojo, a mixed martial arts (MMA) centre based at the Field and Study centre in Parkmore is the head instructor.
Mclean said the word karate broken-down means, empty (kara) hand (te) and teaches the art of self-defence with no weapons.
He grew up on the East Rand and his passion for martial arts developed at an early age.
“I did judo when I was in primary school – judo means ‘the gentle way’ and in the strict sense of the word is different from karate although both are martial arts.”
In 1990 Mclean became a Sensei, opened his own dojo and has been teaching karate for the past 28 years.
“I was originally taught in a branch of karate named Shotokan, which is a very ancient style of karate originating in Japan and is under auspices of the Japanese Karate Association (JKA). He said it is the branch of karate that he teaches at present.
However, the Macson Dojo teaches MMA. He teaches a mixture of karate, judo and kickboxing and has a black belt in all three disciplines. He teaches around 100 students at his club and said anyone can do karate. “It’s very beneficial and never too late to start learning.”
He jokingly said the main challenges he faces is getting the parents to stop interfering while he teaches his young students.
“I overcome this by telling the parents to please leave the dojo and do 10 pushups in the car park.
“On a more serious note, the most rewarding aspect of being involved in and teaching karate over the past three decades is how my students have progressed in their sense of self-worth. Our style of karate emphasises five maxims, which are repeated at the end of every lesson.”
He said the five maxims are character, sincerity, effort, etiquette and self-control. The Macson Dojo recently hosted its club competition for all juniors in MMA.
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