Fledgling martial arts dojo completes first year of excellence
Grand end-of-year ceremony held to celebrate inaugural graduating class
With a strong ethos and a clear vision, Jissen Martial Arts and Fitness (JMAF) has cemented the first bricks of an unshakable foundation.
After completing their first full year as a dojo, Sensei Norman Collett held a grading and prize-giving to honour the efforts of his select group of students on October 23. With a sense of occasion tingling in their veins, parents, supporters, and the karategi-clad champions celebrated their rise from humble beginnings to most promising athletes in the Sansei Goju-Ryo stable.
Having earned his black belt while fighting in Japan, Norman is proficient in karate, kobudo, jiu-jitsu and kickboxing, among other disciplines. Due to his versatility, he does not focus on any one in particular, but shapes rounded ‘martial artists’. “In Japanese, ‘Jissen’ means ‘practical’. Everything we teach here is aimed a real-world scenarios. If you leave here you are prepared for what dangers the world can throw at you,” said Norman.
Currently, JMAF has just six young students, not including their Sensei himself. Giving themselves reason to celebrate a momentous year, the seven competitors recently returned from the early-October Martial Arts South Africa (MASA) National Championships with 15 medals, including four gold. An additional 16 medals at the provincial championships earlier this year, including seven gold, bring their medal haul to 31.
Once the grading was completed under the cultured eye of black belt Carl Snyman, each student received their new belt plus a custom-designed trophy to commemorate JMAF’s first-ever graduation class. Sensei Norman promised never to replicate the unique trophies so that this group had a priceless reminder of the history and significance of the promising dojo’s first steps.
Through the mantra of ‘blood sweat and tears’, Norman pushes his students to breaking point while helping them realise their inner potential to see past perceived limitations.
Other than the discipline, respect and the mental strength that come naturally with martial arts training, Norman strives to make his students the best young persons they can be. “We do not chase belts. We do not grade to simply move them up a belt, we ensure they are the best they can be in that belt before moving on,” Norman concluded.
