Shotokan Kokusai Karatedo South Africa joins the rest of our country in mourning the passing of former president Nelson R. Mandela.
We dedicate our final event on our karate calendar to the memory of this great man, who always placed the needs of South Africa’s children first.
Rest in peace, Madiba.
From the 29 November to 1 December, SKKSA held its annual Weekend Course at the UKZN Westville Campus Sports Science Centre.
Over 160 of our karateka participated in eight hours of intense and fun karate sessions led by Chief Instructor Sensei Aneel Dowlath and the SKKSA Instructors – Senseis Norman Moodley, Sherwin Hooblal, Niven Baldeo, Anibhushan Maharaj, Yajur Chotai and Prinitha Dowlath.
On Sunday 1st December, kyu examinations were held. Approximately 100 karateka undertook examinations in the White – Purple Belt categories.
At 1pm, the senior examinations began for karateka attempting their 3rd Kyu – 1st Kyu Brown Belts. The 1st Kyu examination marks the final time that an SKKSA karateka gets examined by Chief Instructor Sensei Aneel Dowlath – all Dan Gradings (Black Belt exams) are undertaken by an international panel at the SKISF Swiss Summer Course in Locarno, Switzerland.
SKKSA would like to thank everyone who made our Weekend Course and Examinations a resounding success. We look forward to welcoming you back to our dojos in 2014!
Seiza is a Japanese word that means “proper sitting.” It stems from a tradition in Japanese martial arts, and is found not only in karatedo, but in judo and aikido, amongst other Japanese budō.
Sitting in the seiza position – back upright, legs folded beneath the body, head up and facing forward – is a sign of respect and discipline. It displays the posture of a focussed karateka, whose mind is centred on their training.
We begin and end senior training and major training courses – such as the annual Weekend Course – with this practice, as a way of continuing this Japanese tradition. Seiza allows the karateka to attain focus and adds a sense of formality to the occasion. Furthermore, the eyes are described as being in happo enzan: eight-ways, distant gaze. In other words: being able to take in every angle, seeing everything around you without fixating on any one single object – being alert of the world around you so that you may respond accordingly to any change. It is as much a reactionary and awareness lesson, as it is one of discipline and tradition.
The use of seiza is seen as a form of etiquette and social propriety in many Japanese customs, and its use in classical budō arts like karatedo signifies the traditional values imbued in the art. It’s one of the factors that defines traditional karatedo – that which SKKSA primarily practices – as an art, rather than just a sport.
Seiza is usually followed by the traditional Japanese bow – a signifier of respect between sensei and karateka.
We will be running a series of blog posts called “Explore Karate” that highlight various aspects of the art in a succinct and informative way. We hope you enjoy these posts!
The 2013 Weekend Course begins this evening. Here’s what you need to bring to each session:
Here’s a map of the UKZN Westville Campus. The Weekend Course will be held at the Sports Science Centre Hall.
All the best for this weekend’s training, and have fun!
Oss
The SKKSA team
SKKSA Ottawa Dojo challenges our fellow SKKSA dojos – Amanzimtoti “Toti Tigers”, Stanger, Durban North, Overport, Shallcross, Avoca, Shakaskraal and Stonebridge – to a Bring a Toy to Your Grading Exam campaign.
From the instructor of Ottawa Dojo, Sensei Prinitha Dowlath:
I believe a truly special way to end our karate year, aside from a successful grading, is to support a worthy cause.
To this end, I would like to propose a “Bring a Toy to your Grading Exam” initiative, whereby each person participating in this weekend’s upcoming training seminar brings a new toy to donate to ECR’s Toy Story Initiative.
It does not have to be an expensive toy, just something straight from your heart and packaged with love and care for a child who has never known the joys of playing with a new toy.
Ottawa dojo is known for being a club with a BIG HEART and I know I can count on you all to support this initiative wholeheartedly.
I thus would like to challenge all other dojos to match this initiative!
Let’s put SKKSA on the map as being the organisation of heroes!
[read more about ECR’s Toy Story Campaign on www.ecr.co.za]
Sincerely
Sensei Prinitha Dowlath [Sandan]
Karateka may bring a new toy to the 2013 Weekend Course. A box will be available from the Friday evening session until the end of the examinations on Sunday, 1 December, for collection.
