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Prince Mukuna, Harare Bureau
INTERNATIONAL Karate Organisation Nakamura Kyokushinkai instructors left the country for South Africa yesterday in company of two Japanese Masters for a five-day karate seminar.

The five-day international seminar is aimed at standardising local karate to meet the international grades with the local instructors learning and adapting from the Grandmasters.

The seminar will be held around South African cities, with the first seminar set for Pretoria followed by Port Elizabeth and the tour winds up in Cape Town.

Shihan Tawanda Mufundisi said they would grab the opportunity with both hands and standardise the local instructors.

“This is a golden opportunity which has come at a very important time where Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole will learn from the Japanese who are pioneers of karate and upgrade our standards to meet their levels.

“Mostly such opportunities like this are hard to come by, it’s an advantage to be invited to such a seminar as the fees are usually unaffordable,” he said.
Mufundisi said 10 black belt fighters are likely to attend the seminar with other fighters still to come on board.

“We are likely to have 10 black-belt fighters who are going to attend the seminar with others still to confirm. These black-belt fighters are also instructors at different karate institutions which will enable them to train and portray what they have learnt to their students,” said Mufundisi.

Among the 10 black belt instructors on the tour are Sempai Gabriel Mukombero and Sensei Malvern Chomusora who are also fighters.

Mukombero is the current Zimbabwe middleweight champion and the first gold medalist holder of IKO Nakamura Zimbabwe Championship 2018 while Chomusora is the multiple middleweight champion.