The Kenyan Karate team at the recent regional competitions in Kampala, Uganda, brought home two gold, three silver and four bronze trophies.
The team, which included three members of the Nyahururu Karate Club, competed against those from Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zanzibar. It will proceed to the next level of tournaments scheduled to take place in Dar, Tanzania, in July this year.
Speaking to journalists on arrival home, Peter Nyamu said that apart from a few minor bruises, him and his colleagues were as fit as fiddles after the sport which many laymen regard as actually violent. “Karate is a controlled sport and the kicks, hits and blows that you see are done with care not to injure an opponent especially during training. Only during a real life attack when a karateka’s self defence is inevitable a that a karateka may apply reasonable force against the assailant,” said Nyamu, a 4th Kyu grader.
Nyamu explained that more young women have joined the club in apparent view of the frequent assaults and mugging around Nyahururu. His club mates who were with him in Uganda were Jacinta, a 4th Kyu grader also, and the club coach, Michael Mbugua, a 2nd Dan Black Belt holder.
Before the Kampala tournament, all the participating teams were trained by a director of the Japan Karate Association, Sensei Mtshali, a 7th Dan Black Belt holder - the highest in Africa. The Nyahururu Karate Club trains in the evenings at the Nyahururu Social Hall.
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