Husband and wife martial artists receive honours
The two instructors are very proud of their club which has in the past, and also recently, received awards for the best club and instructors in Tshwane.
A couple from Centurion received numerous awards for karate in Tokyo, Japan last year.
Andre and Lourencia Kok are instructors at Karate School of Champions dojo in Centurion.
They have both been graded to higher levels in the martial arts.
André has been graded to 8th Dan and Lourencia to 7th.
Both also received the two highest merit awards of Japan Karate Shoto (JKS) SA, the JKS Ambassador trophy and the JKS Bushido trophy for their outstanding performances last year.
More recently, last Saturday, during the Tshwane Regional Championships, the Karate School of Champions took the lead in the medal count winning 27 – 15 gold, six silver and five bronze.
The two instructors are very proud of their club which has in the past, and also recently, received awards for the best club and instructors in Tshwane.
Speaking to Rekord, Laurencia said it took extreme dedication and commitment, besides a lifetime of training to achieve this level of karate.
Over the past two years they have both made tremendous sacrifices by having to travel through to the chief instructor of JKS in Tokyo, Norman Robinson for intensive specialised training in preparation of these gradings.
In 2015 they made their first attempt to attain their gradings, however, it was extremely difficult as the Japanese Shihankai is very reluctant to grade anyone to this high level.
Last year they did more intensified training in preparation of their second attempt.
Andrè not only passed a very gruelling examination under severe scrutiny to graduate to his 8th Dan, but also won two gold medals at the JKS World Championships in Scotland in September last year.
He was also awarded the sportsman of the year trophy for his outstanding achievements for the SA Military Health Services of the SA National Defence Force.
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He is now one of four 8th Dan Westerners in the JKS Karate Federation worldwide and also the youngest in the world.
Lourencia is the only woman to attain the level of 7th Dan worldwide, a significant achievement and one to be extremely proud of.
She can also speak Japanese fluently.
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