Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Karate champions set to make SA proud once again
The SA team aims to make it a fourth title at the Kimura Shukokai International tournament
SOUTH Africa will defend their title at the Kimura Shukokai International (KSI) World Championship karate tournament in Stockholm, Sweden, later this month.
The national team, which has won the title at the past three tournaments, flew to Sweden on Thursday with the hope of maintaining their winning streak.
KSI was founded in 1995 after the death of Shigeru Kimura, a travelling martial artist from Japan who trained with students from across the world, including in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa. The South Africa branch is run by Kimura’s most senior South African students.
The world championship is held every two years. In 2016, the South African team took first place after being awarded 46 medals (13 gold, 14 silver, and 19 bronze), beating Finland, who managed 22 medals.
Liam Jeffries, 15, who was part of the 2016 line-up, said: “I feel nervous but at the same time excited to be representing our South African team once again. I have gone through months of rigorous training so I know I am well prepared and will do my best.”
Liam is the junior male kumite (freestyle fighting) champion, and hopes to retain his title.
“After winning gold for kumite in Germany in 2016,
I’m not feeling as pressured this time and I would like to win again to uphold my title as world champ. I know I will have to pull out all the stops if I want to hold on to this title and possibly win gold in the kata division as well,” he said.
Sean Stacey, 21, another kumite fighter who narrowly lost out on a gold medal at the previous event, said: “At the last world champs in 2016 I placed second in kumite and not only have I worked harder this time, I’ve worked smarter.
“I feel calm, confident and ready to compete this year. I look forward to testing my skills with the best in the world. I’m excited about having fun and enjoying the experience.”
Sensei (teacher) Bruce van Rensburg said after successfully defending their title at the past three tournaments South Africa “will be aiming to make it a quadruple”.
“The main goal is to win and to learn with the resolve to always improve.”
The KSI World Championship will take place between Thursday and Saturday. The SA team be return on the following Monday, July 23, hopefully with a fourth gold trophy.