Kenya Karate host the World in Malindi for International Club Championships

Martial arts in many a parts of the world has been popularised since the 1970s and 1980s thanks to the Oriental movies with the likes of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Hollywood actors like  Jean Claude van Damme and Wesley Snipes. Most often than not it is a young boy's dream to be able to throw those kicks and punches but with the discipline and rigorous training, it is never anyone's cup of tea.

Karate in Kenya - Image courtesy of www.mullychildrensfamily.org 

This month (March 25th -31st ,2011) though, the Kenya Karate Federation is about to make many dreams come true for the hundreds who put in days and months of training at their local clubs.  Having won the bid to host the International Karate Club Championships last year, the Federation is making a good case for non-traditional Kenyan sports. The unsung truth though is that Kenya has achieved favourable continental success in another technique of martial arts Tae-kwo-ndo with a couple of medals in the last 15 years or so at the All-Africa Games and major tournaments.

The tragedy (as is usually the case in Kenyan sports) is that not much investment has been made in inculcating these disciplines into the fabric of not just your common man on the street but the youth and sports clubs around the country. Most of these have the sport more for fitness or defensive training - which makes it quite popular with disciplined forces and security firms.

However, the Kenya Karate Federation which has had past luminaries such as Karimbhai, and with its current Chairman media-savvy Caleb Atemi (who previously worked with NSSF) are hoping to endear themselves to Kenyan martial arts enthusiasts with the upcoming club championships. Incorporating the kata and kumite  forms of the Karate (Shotokan) form of art, they are sights to behold and worth watching. 

Hoping to secure funds from the major Kenyan corporate firms and a media partner, the club championships will be used as a training and selection platform for the Kenyan national team for the All Africa Games. The championships shall be held at the Blue Marlin Hotel in Malindi. We at SportsKenya hope to send one of our contributors( where possible) and capture a few interesting stories from that side of town. For more info, check this link.

COMPASSION NOTE:
Seeing as it is, this sport originated from the Orients with Japan being a focal point. With the latest double tragedy of earthquake and tsunami, our prayers to those affected. We also hope as one of the proponents Sensei Gichen Funakoshi sought to spread the art across the world to counter loss of Japanese clubs , teachers and students. For those who can make it, Kenya and indeed the world shall forever be endeared to your participation.