TSHOLOTSHO karate academy will have a squad training, judging and refereeing course this Saturday in preparation for the Champion of Champions Karate tournament to be held in Harare next month.
Ronald Moyo Sports Reporter
The instructor of the academy sensei Greatman Sibanda said the exercise will be conducted by Dragons sankukai chief instructor sensei Elius Mwanaka.
“The exercise is going to be conducted by sensei Elius Mwanaka, he is the chief instructor for all academies under Dragons, so he is the right person to conduct such an exercise,” he said.
“As Tholotsho academy, we hope our sister academy in Bulawayo will come for this exercise.”
Sibanda said they were expecting sempai Branco Manyathela, sensei Patrick Gombwe from Bulawayo academy and the Matabeleland karate coach Innocent Chiwoto to take part in the refereeing and judging course.
“Sempai Branco Manyathela, sensei Patrick Gombwe and Innocent Chiwoto, a well known karate coach in Matabeleland are going to join us specifically for the refereeing and judging course,” he said.
Dragons sunkukai chief instructor Mwanaka told Southern Eye Sport it all was set for the exercise.
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“It is all set for the squad training that will be concentrating on both junior and senior karatekas. Our aim is to prepare teams that will represent Dragons in the Champion of Champions karate tournament that will be staged in Harare on November 30. Soon after the squad training we are going to run a competition for junior athletes to select the team,” Mwanaka said.
He said Saturday will be a very busy day for the Dragons as they will also conduct a refereeing course. “We are also going to have a refereeing course.
“We are expecting people from the area to take advantage of the course. We expect to see them participating fully in this sport in the next coming years,” he said.
The southern region had been quite for a long time, failing to participate in the national tournaments as a result not producing athletes for the national team. Squad training had been suggested by many in the discipline as the solution to improve the sport as it will attract more karatekas.
But some have appealed for the corporate world to boost the sport which is still lagging behind in the country.
Financial constraints are the main challenge that has been haunting karate.
Karate is martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands and brought to the Japanese mainland in the early 20th Century during the time of cultural exchanges between the Japanese and the Ryukyuans.
It has emerged to be one of the most popular sports in the world and it emphasises discipline.
