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Amanzimtoti karateka Peyton earns purple belt at age nine

Pint-sized karateka Peyton Johnstone achieved yet another milestone in her martial arts journey, earning herself a purple belt.

DYNAMITE comes in small packages, proven true once again by nine-year-old karateka Peyton Johnstone, who recently achieved her purple belt at the Amanzimtoti JKA Dojo.

Also read: Amanzimtoti karateka takes on KZN JKA Champs

This year alone, Peyton has delivered knockout performances. Representing KZN and her dojo at the 2025 KZN Japan Karate Association Championship in March, she brought home two gold medals and earned her KZN colours for the third consecutive year. Her winning streak continued at the JKA Africa Cup, where she won another two gold medals.

A young girl in karate Ghi, next to her trophies.
Peyton Johnstone earned her purple belt. She is pictured posing next to her trophies. Photo: Russell Andraos

Her proud grandfather, Russell Andraos, said Peyton remains undefeated in her age division for three years running.

From her humble beginnings entering the world of karate just five years old, Peyton’s journey has been nothing short of inspiring. She’s known around the dojo as a “Pocket Rocket”. As her grandparents and guardians, we couldn’t be happier or prouder watching Peyton train, compete, and grow in confidence and ability. It has been one of the greatest joys of our lives,” said Andraos.

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Nikhil Gopichand

With just over three years in community journalism, he is relatively new to the scene. He has a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English Literature and Psychology. With the South Coast Sun, he focuses on a wide berth of beats, covering human-interest, sports and hard news stories. He has a particular affinity for photography, and a deep love for learning about people and the community.

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