Govender leads way
SOUTH African karate stalwart Hanshi Eric Govender is among the international luminaries of martial arts following his promotion to the 8th dan black belt in the sport.
Govender, 62, was presented with his Hachidan (8th dan) by World Union of Karate-Do Federation (WUKF) president Dr Liviu Crisan of Romania.
A Queensburgh resident,he started karate in 1969 and founded the International Federation of Funakoshi Shotokan Karate South Africa (IFFSK) in 1984. It has more than 30 dojos across the country.
Govender runs two dojos in Queensburgh and Chatsworth.
His journey into judo and karate started under the guidance of the late Robbie Reddy and the late Subbiah Naidoo in the “Raku” dojo in Bayview, Chatsworth.
“The rank of 8th Dan awarded to me by a living legend of karate in the world, Dr Liviu Crisan, president of the World Karate-Do Federation, makes my journey of blood, sweat and tears over 52 years very gratifying.
“It also brings much joy that I have been accepted by the World Union of Karate-Do Federations to be a provisional member of WUKF South Africa amongst many other well-known karate leaders in the country,” he said
Govender’s son, Sensei Malvin Govender, the IFFSK technical director, paid tribute to his father on his milestone.
“It is an honour to be under a leader that has vast and exceptional technical knowledge of the ancient traditional aspect of karate which was founded by the Japanese,” he said.