Local karatekas shine in Tunisia
“Sand is a much more difficult surface on which to move, and it requires extra leg strength which the karateka had to get used to."
Jesse Sim of Edenvale excelled at the second African Beach Games where he won two bronze medals for karate.
Held in Tunisia, at the end of June, the games saw more than 50 countries compete in 30 events that included men’s and women’s beach games, across 16 disciplines.
The 24-year-old said it was an honour to be selected by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) to represent his country in the karate code.
Jesse’s selection was based on his number one ranking in Karate South Africa, the fact that he was a bronze medallist at the previous UFAK African continental karate championships and that he is ranked number two in his division in Africa.
“Our dojo is extremely proud of sensei Jesse and his achievements,” said coach shihan Russell Sim.
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“He has worked hard to get to the number one position in South Africa in two different divisions, and being selected by SASCOC to represent his country on the international stage is high praise for what he has achieved.
“Preparation for the Beach Games was difficult, as tournaments are normally held indoors and the athletes compete on a matted smooth surface, but the Beach Games take place on the beach.”
Russell said sand is a surface that karate athletes seldom practise on.
To do this volleyball courts were hired to allow Jesse to get used to the surface.
“Sand is a much more difficult surface on which to move, and it requires extra leg strength which the karateka had to get used to.
“It is very difficult to get traction on sand and to push from one stance to another continuously is exhausting,” said Russell.
Despite being exhausted after his training on the sand, Jesse was well prepared.
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He competed against the top karate countries in Africa, and he ended up competing in the bronze medal match against Nigeria.
“It was a closely contested bout, but Jesse ended up with a considerably higher score than his opponent, thereby winning the bronze medal for South Africa, said Russell.
Despite being a fantastic result for Jesse it was also evidence of his number one status in South African karate circles.
Russell said the crowning achievement was his selection to represent South Africa at the World Beach Games to be held in Bali, Indonesia, later this year.”
Jesse, together with his teammates, sensei Bongi Ngwenya and sensei Slade Taylor, went on to win bronze in the team kata division while in Tunisia.
Despite some fierce competition, they placed third overall. Algeria took first place and Morocco second.
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Russell said, “Team kata is a very difficult discipline in which three athletes perform their kata at the same time, striving to be in perfect unison with each other while still moving at full speed and full power.”
He said this discipline takes hours of practice, and the team has been working together for more than three years.
“They know each other so well that they can anticipate when their teammates are going to transition to the next movement in the kata,” said Russell.
Although one member of the team was unable to go to Tunisia, a replacement was brought in to assist.
“As a dojo, we are very thankful that he stepped up to the challenge, as the team ended up winning the bronze medal, ranking them third in Africa.”
