South African karate practitioners shotokan do it in Cairo, Egypt
Learners of Beaulieu College, Curro Waterfall and Dainfem College formed part of the team that represented South Africa at an international karate competition in Cairo, Egypt.
Bryce Homby of Beaulieu, Thomas Parry ofDainfem and Deven Morrison of Curro, joined seven other members of the Shotokan-ZA team at the World Union of Karate-Do Federations event. The South Africans were joined by karate practitioners from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait and India. The event included a training camp with some of the world’s best coaches, and when the competition came South Africa did proudly, winning five gold, six silver and three bronze medals.
Deven came third in the kata division. Bryce (16) and Thomas (15) competed in the open men’s kata division. The age group in this division was 15 to 34. Despite being so young, they held their own. Bryce came second and Thomas came third in this difficult division. For free fighting, they were placed in the 15 to 18 years old division, which Bryce won.
The team also made time to visit the Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, the National Museum, the famous Khan el-Khalili market, and enjoyed dinner on the Nile River. The team also spent a day at the seaside town of Alexandria.
“I am very happy with the team’s performance and very proud of each and every member,” said Shotokan-ZA Federation president, sensei Elmarie van Zyl.
“They were outstanding ambassadors for our country. Our next goal is the Full Contact Martial Arts National Championships and trials for brown and black belts, which if selected, [students] will attend the World Martial Arts Championships in the UK in November.”
Source: Fourways Review, 22 February 2019, p20
https://fourwaysreview.co.za/epapers/fr-22-february-2019/#book/19