Category: Archived

WSKF Development Championships – 2016

25 Sep
Otto Rogowski 0 Comment Archived , , ,

On Saturday, 17th September 2016, WSKF South Africa once again hosted a very successful Development Tournament in Vanderbijlpark.

More than 240 karateka between the ages of 5 and 21 took part in this event and presented a high level of competition in front of a full stadium of spectators. Teams from the various WSKF dojos in Gauteng and North West Province competed.

The tournament included kata, kumite and team kata divisions as well as a nunchaku demonstration and a kumite demonstration.

       

Sensei Mike Dukas expressed his thanks to the various instructors for the many hours they put in to train the karateka for this event. He also stated that he is very proud of every member who participated. He felt proud of the good manners, discipline and great spirit displayed by competitors and officials alike. “This is what karate is about”

                      

This championship is held every two years to encourage young karateka to enter their first tournament and to give the more experienced karateka a chance to compete against other dojos.  It also gives referees and judges an opportunity to improve their judging skills.  It is also the start of the preparations for the more experienced WSKF members who will be representing WSKF South Africa at the World WSKF Karate Championships in Tokyo, Japan in August next year.

We look forward to more interaction between karateka of the various WSKF dojos in the future.

WSKF South Africa National Black Belt Grading – 2016

14 Jun
Otto Rogowski 0 Comment Archived

During the historic visit of our chief instructor, Kasuya Sensei, we are very proud to announce that the following people attained various Dan grading status as follows.

Kasuya sensei stated that the standard of the grading was good

We take this opportunity of congratulating the members who were successful in attaining their Dan Grading conducted by Kasuya Sensei:

Carlos Contreiras Gouveia Rokudan

Wayne Degnan Yondan

Stephan Steyn Yondan

Zilla Steyn Yondan

Maryna Lottering Yondan

Cobus Nienaber Sandan

Kylie Marnitz Nidan

Andre Kruger Shodan

William Van Blerk Shodan

John Van der Sandt Shodan

Elana Smalberger Shodan

Liam Aylward Shodan

Alexandra Correia Shodan

Paula Correia Shodan

Rudi Van Wyk Shodan

Karin Lombaard Shodan

Aaliyah Lala Shodan

Vivek Jugdeo Shodan

Renier Basson Shodan

Michael Klopper Shodan

Sechaba Motshweneng Shodan

WSKF South Africa hosts our World Chief Instructor – Hitoshi Kasuya Sensei – 2016

25 May
Otto Rogowski 0 Comment Archived ,

WSKF South Africa, under the leadership of Michael Dukas Sensei, was recently honoured to host Hitoshi Kasuya Sensei, (8th Dan) the Chief Instructor of The World Shotokan Karate-Do Federation and one of the leading Shotokan karate instructors in the world.

 

Kasuya Sensei is a former protégé of Master Nakayama Sensei who had an important impact on him because of his scientific approach to karate and his ability to challenge his students.

 

Kasuya Sensei is acknowledged and respected worldwide for his unique teaching method, scientific approach and dynamic technical skill. He emphasizes rotational dynamics and a thinking, analytical approach to Shotokan karate.

 

During his short visit to South Africa, Kasuya Sensei presented a number of training seminars – a session each for junior Grades (White to Green belts) and a session each dedicated to more senior Grades (Blue to Black) belts in Pretoria and Vanderbijlpark respectively as well as special training session for WSKF South Africa instructors. Those who attended were inspired by the world-renowned Karate Master who has excelled in both kata (set forms) and kumite (sparring) throughout his karate career spanning several decades.

Michael Dukas Sensei, (7th Dan) Chief Instructor of WSKF South Africa and Vice President of WSKF in Africa has known Kasuya Sensei for many years and recalls training with him in Japan as early as (date?) where he witnessed first-hand one of most versatile karateka of all time. Kasuya Sensei was a member of Japan’s national team until 1982.

 

Currently he is active as an instructor and referee. Kasuya Sensei is also in great demand on the seminar circuit and spends a large part of his year abroad teaching seminars in the different WSKF member countries. [The World Shotokan Karate-Do Federation (WSKF) has members in 75 countries.

 

 

Dukas Sensei says, “We are very pleased that Kasuya Sensei managed to find time in his very busy schedule to visit South Africa. I am sure that our members who attended the seminars gained a lot of knowledge and insight from this exceptional opportunity. I hope they appreciate our Chief Instructor’s excellent contribution and that they will apply his teachings on the various karate techniques and karate etiquette in particular for the improvement of their own karate and to the benefit of karate in general.

We look forward to the World WSKF Championships which will be held in Tokyo, Japan in August 2017.”

Berg Gasshuku – 2016

04 May
Otto Rogowski 0 Comment Archived , ,

WSKF SA hosted the senior Gasshuku in April. The beautiful Injisuthi in the Central Drakensberg was the chosen venue.

Most students stayed in the self-catering chalets, with the more adventurous students deciding to camp out at the adjacent campsite.

The Gasshuku was well supported by students from the various WSKF dojos around Gauteng.
The training started on Saturday morning with a vigorous 5.5km hike through the Drakensberg mountains to the dojo. This is one of the most beautiful natural dojos nested between the mountains and alongside a flowing river!

 

All students were very excited to have the first training session presented by the well missed Bryan Dukas Sensei. The session was tough with a strong focus on Kihon, improving leg strength and repetition. Bryan Dukas Sensei high level of enthusiasm and spirit set the tone for the remaining training sessions.
John Rust Sensei presented the next session with his usual dynamic view on kumite training. Students trained in pairs and focused on improving their target and reaction time. The importance of correct distance was emphasized during kumite.

A fundamental session focusing on correct hip rotation and application was presented by Mike Dukas Sensei. A good portion of this session was focused on correcting the basics and ensuring a good understanding of correct hip technique. The session was concluded with yoko geri-keage (side snap kick) training focusing on correct hip action and timing.
Marius Jordaan Sensei taught a hard session on basic kumite combinations and re-emphasized the technical points presented in the earlier sessions. Students had to maintain strong techniques through repetition.
The training was concluded with the final session presented by Bryan Dukas Sensei. Students stepped into the river for the final special session of hara (lower abdomen) training and then applying these principles to the kata Tekki Shodan.

The tired group then took on the 5.5km hike back to the campsite. A pit stop for a quick swim in the river was welcomed to relieve the sore muscles.
Saturday evening was reserved for some much needed socializing with everyone enjoying good company and conversation around the braai place.
A nunchakus session was presented by Marius Jordaan Sensei on Sunday morning. The basic principles were taught, followed by more complex combinations. The class concluded with a very interesting nunchaku kata.

It was interesting to see the consistency between all the sessions presented by the Shihankai with the general Gasshuku theme focusing on effective Kihon through repetition. Correct Kihon could then be applied in both kumite and kata.

Students departed on Sunday morning, leaving with happy hips and high spirits!

WSKF National Instructors Seminar – 2016

25 Feb
Otto Rogowski 0 Comment Archived

The annual WSKF SA National Instructors’ Seminar was held at the Vereeniging dojo on 29 and 30 January this year.

The seminar was held over two days to allow time for detail discussion and training on the WSKF grading syllabus, teaching methods and technical points under the supervision of WSKF SA Chief Instructor Mike Dukas Shihan, assisted by Marius Jordaan Sensei (WSKF SA Assistant Chief Instructor and Shihankai Member) and John Rust Sensei (WSKF SA Shihankai Member  and Technical Director).
A large number of instructors and representatives from various regions in South Africa attended this event.
Also attending was the Chief Instructor of WSKF Karate Angola, Carlos Contreiras Sensei. Unfortunately, not all dojo heads and instructors were able to attend, and they – and especially Bryan Sensei, who is currently visiting in Australia – were greatly missed.

The objective of this seminar is to:
1.    Standardise the WSKF grading syllabus for all belt levels.
2.    Assist instructors in refining karate teaching methods.
3.    Impart technical expertise among all instructors and invited karateka.
4.    Obtain feedback from dojo heads on the progress of their dojos and regions.

It is also an opportunity for WSKF SA members to interact and learn from each other.
The seminar was followed by the WSKF SA annual general meeting and the dojo heads meeting.
The seminar was very successful but with so many aspects to address, attendees once again concluded that two days are not enough to cover everything in-depth. We look forward to applying all the new skills and techniques learned.
Do not miss the next seminar and the next unique opportunity to accelerate your training and hone your karate training and teaching skills. Ichi-go ichi-e    一期一会

WSKF South Africa Japan Tour – 2015

25 Oct
Otto Rogowski 0 Comment Archived , , , ,

Members of the World Shotokan Karate Federation (WSKF) South Africa recently returned from Japan where they attended the 12th WSKF World Karate Championships.

Seminar

During the two weeks the team spent in Japan, members also attended a rigorous three-day karate seminar presented by renowned karate master and World Chief Instructor WSKF, Kasuya Sensei. During the seminar, members got the opportunity to train with top karateka from around the world.

Dan grading

Another highlight of this trip was definitely the dan gradings which were held after the seminar. Kasuya Sensei once again conveyed his satisfaction with the excellent standard of our members who graded. Congratulations to Martin Pretorius Sensei who graded to Yondan (4th Dan), and Muhammad Lala, Tristan Basel and Zanro Burger who graded to Shodan (1st Dan).

Their performance in these gradings exhibited good technique and karate spirit and drew many positive responses from the attendees from other countries. We congratulated the karateka expressing the hope that they will endeavour to train harder so as to achieve their goals in karate.

Referees course

Senior members, Mike Sensei, Andrio Sensei and Martin Sensei completed a high-level referee course. They officiated during the World Championships where they executed their refereeing duties in an outstanding manner.

Championships

The championships, which were held at the Tokyo Budokan – the world-famous arena for martial arts – went well for most of our members.

      

The standard of the competitors, representing 35 countries, was very high.

Congratulations to all WSKF South Africa team members who once again showed that the standard of our karate is comparable to the best in the world and whose excellent behaviour gained us a lot of respect from our hosts and the other competitors.

Congratulations also to the following members on their individual achievements:

Bryan Sensei              Silver medal in Men’s Open Kata
Simone Sensei            Silver medal in Women’s Kumite
Elize Sensei                Bronze medal in Women’s Veteran Kata
Jéan Roodt                 Competed in the finals of the Men’s Open Kata

And then two exceptional achievements that made us all very proud:

•   Mike Sensei was awarded a medal as “ Best Referee”  at the Championships.

•   WSKF South Africa received the trophy for “Best Branch 2015”.

Congratulations to all who helped to make this achievement a reality. WSKF South Africa is very proud of this achievement.

Sayonara party

After the championships Kasuya Sensei and his staff hosted a prestigious function on the 58th floor of the Sunshine Prince Hotel in Ikebukuro in celebration of the 25th year anniversary of WSKF. This event was attended by dignitaries and team members from the participating countries.

   

More training and some sightseeing

The team members also got the opportunity to attend a few special training sessions -amongst others with the University Team in Yokohama. Some of the members were also privileged to meet Ibusuki Sensei. A true legend and one of the few remaining students of Gichin Funakoshi – the founder of Shotokan Karate.

Tokyo is a beautiful city to explore and in the little free time, we had everyone enjoy some really good times, eating out, shopping and exploring Tokyo and its surroundings. Amongst many others, we visited Meiji Shrine, Kamakura (where there is a memorial to Gichin Funakoshi), Asakusa and Harajuku (a favourite shopping and hang-out spot for teenagers).

This was truly an unforgettable experience and I am sure that all the tour members will want to extend a special thank you to our Shihankai and especially Sensei Mike and Sensei Bryan who made this trip of a lifetime a reality. Domo arigato gozaimasu!

The future

We received the exciting news that Kasuya Sensei will be visiting South Africa in May 2016. This will present a unique opportunity to train with – and even for some to grade with – our WSKF Chief Instructor.

We are looking forward to the next WSKF World Championships in 2017. The team selected to participate in this event should be announced early in the New Year. There is an only a limited number of places available so be sure to start training now and book early.

WSKF South Africa National Black Belt Grading – 2015

25 Oct
Otto Rogowski 0 Comment Archived

We are proud to announce the results of the National Dan Grading that took place on 10th October 2015 in Vanderbijlpark.

The Grading Panel is proud of every one of the participants and feels that the standard of karate was good.

 

Graded to Shodan:

Angeleki Albanis
Pieter De Koning
Veronica Patterson
Justin Van Jaarsveld
Christiaan Van Wyk

Graded to Nidan:

Wenette Jordaan
Mark Coetzer
Mikell Van der Linde
Savannah Hauser
Deon Van den Berg
Banie Niehaus
Candace Degnan
Karin Swanepoel

Graded to Sandan:

Elize Zywotkiewicz
Gary Van Jaarsveld

World Youth Karate Games – 2015

03 Sep
Otto Rogowski 0 Comment Archived

It is with great pride that we announce that 2 of our members excelled in the world youth karate games held in Croatia recently.

This is the biggest karate tournament for Children, Youth and Cadets in the world. These championships are hosted by WKF (World Karate Federation) which is the World All Styles Karate Body, recognised by the Olympic committee.

Brandon Shepherd won a Bronze Medal in the Under 21 Kumite Division.

Lebo Matshwaneng won a Bronze Medal in the Children’s Friendship Kumite Challenge.

This is the first time since 1994 that a member from Sedibeng has finished among the top 3 athletes. This is huge achievement for WSKF and Dukas Karate Institute.

Brandon now has his eye fixed on being selected for the South African team in 2020 when karate will make its’s first ever appearance in the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Gauteng Karate Federation Development Tournament – June 2015

25 Jun
Otto Rogowski 0 Comment Archived

Medal winners from WSKF South Africa that represented Sedibeng region at the Gauteng all styles development tournament that took place in Johannesburg during June 2015.

Left to right at back: Tristan Basel, Aayliah Lala, Dehan Kruger, Marelie Botha, Muhammad Lala, Front: Sasha Rogowski, Declan Gerber

These karateka will now be eligible to represent Gauteng province at the South African development championships to be held in Durban.
We wish them every success at these championships.