Instructor uses kickboxing to fight against crime and substance abuse

A 37-year-old kickboxing instructor from Khutsong dreams of seeing a local youngster become a world champion.
Sam Sathikge grew up with the sport and aims to give back to the community by involving young people in the
sport. “I want to see the sport grow and I want to influence youngsters to avoid crime and substance abuse,” he says.
Sam made his acquaintance with kickboxing in the township in around 1992, at the age of 12. He was inspired
by the late Edward Mkhabela, a former world champion from Khutsong who resigned from the sport after losing his
title. Sam has been training ever since and became an instructor when he achieved his black belt in 1997. Sadly, his dream was rudely interrupted by the demarcation saga of 2006, during which the building of the gym where he used to train was demolished by protesters. When Sam attended Edward’s funeral in 2015, however, he met up with his senior instructor and a former opponent of the deceased. He encouraged Sam to start a new kickboxing team and said he would inform him of tournaments where they could compete. They recently competed in the “Jungle War” SA Championships in Pretoria, where he took the first position in the series and the second place in the semi contact
fighting competition. His assistant instructor, Thabo Maringa trumped him for the first prize in the semi contact
fighting and they both walked away with gold medals. His team will be competing at the Arnold Classic Expo Tournament at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 21 to 29 May. Here, South African fighters will be challenging the Namibians to select a national squad that will compete in Atlanta in the USA in October. Sam will be fighting against his opponent, Lesley Haobe. Sam now has 12 students that he is training and, for now, they train
at the Khutsong Youth Centre. They are still struggling to find permanent premises, however. For those who are interested in joining the squad, there is a joining fee and a monthly subscription. Contact him on Facebook: Sam Sathikge, email: samsathikge1@gmail.com, 060 3789 236, Assistant instructor Thabo Maringa 081 8288 187.