Karate tournament held at Orlando East Communal Hall

Shito-Ryu Karate-Do KOFUKAN held its first Shito-Ryu Alliance Karate Tournament at the Orlando East Communal Hall on May 4 to raise awareness and let people be aware of Karate and that anyone can partake in it.

Shito-Ryu Alliance was established in 2023 by instructors who shared a common goal which was to uplift the style of Shito-Ryu Karate in South Africa.

Sensei Thabo, the Chief instructor of Shito-Ryu joined forces with Sensei Rodney Nair a Ryu practitioner, Sensei Vernon Visagie and Shihan Patrick Ross, members of the Shito-Ryu Alliance South Africa.

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This Karate tournament brought so much excitement to all Karatekas, parents, and spectators who came in numbers to witness such a rare event taking place in Soweto and they loved and supported it.

Thabo Molubi the Karate instructor indicated that they managed to get about 270 entries for that tournament.

“It was such an honour to host a tournament of this magnitude that comprised Karate talent from Southern Africa right in Soweto. The tournament kicked off with all kata events from all the development athletes,” said Molubi.

The event was supported by the Karatekas Academy which came from the Western Cape and other Karate clubs that came from Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.

“We worked very hard for this tournament and I am extremely happy with the results. I am so happy to see Karate getting the recognition it deserves in the township,” said Molubi.

The Development team Kata boys from KOFUKAN South Africa, Ongezile Moseta, Janu Visagie and Reinhart came first and clinched gold medals in their division.

Team kata girls, Karabo Maduna, Karabelo Maduna, and Ane Putter came second in their division and bagged silver medals.

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All kumite divisions were interesting and brought all the hype in the arena although the competition was tough.

Team Botswana battled with team South Africa in the finals where they both did exceptionally well but unfortunately, South Africa missed out on the gold medal to Botswana and settled for the silver medal.

In total KOFUKAN South Africa won seven gold medals, 13 silver medals, and 13 bronze medals. All the athletes who took part in this Shito-Ryu Alliance tournament won medals.

Anyone interested in joining the karate team can contact Sensei Thabo Molubi on 079-921-3600.