Horizon Karate Centre earn 26 medals at national championships
Seven karateka come home with gold in both kata and kumite
For success to be standard, a consistency of excellence must be ingrained from a young age.
After three years of waiting, national karate champions were again crowned at the 2022 South African Japanese Karate Association National Championships on May 20 and 21. Held at Ellis Park, the competition recorded roughly 2 000 gee-wearing martial artists aiming for a spot on the podium.
Horizon Karate Centre returned to their Ontdekkers Road dojo with a superb haul of 26 medals earned by 19 different karateka. Friday belonged to the novices, with 15 of 6th Dan Sensei Wendy Wannenburg’s karateka earning medals in their categories.
Saturday was for the elites, with four karateka stepping up from Horizon Karate Centre to claim a medal. In total, Sensei Wendy’s army earned eight gold, eight silver and ten bronze.
“I am very proud of all my students. Hard work always pays off,” said Sensei Wendy.
The medal recipients are aged between six and over 40 years old, and seven of them earned medals in both the kata and kumite section. For the unacquainted, kata is the technical demonstration of the sequential moves associated with each belt, while kumite features one-on-one combat.
Karate is fundamentally a self-defence discipline and Horizon Karate Centre promotes inclusion and respect, regardless of creed.
Encouraging everyone to embrace the karate ethos, Sensei Wendy said, “You are never too old and it is not compulsory to participate competitively. Karate is a way of life and beneficial for everyone.”
