Eight Berbician karatekas were on Sunday graded in a simple exercise held at the New Amsterdam Town Hall in the presence of parents and guardians of the karatekas.
Berbician karatekas who were successfully graded pose with their instructors
Displaying a competitive level of sparring skills and kata (karate form), the small group of karatekas were assessed by Instructor of the Association do Shotokan Karate – Guyana, 7th Dan black belt Master Amir Khouri; who was assisted by local instructors: 6th Dan Black Belt Sensei Clinton Moriah and 5th Dan Black Belt Sensei Hazrat Ali.
Five of the eight karatekas from the New Amsterdam and Blairmont dojos jumped one place; while Daquin Crawford, Cleavand Campbell and Javel Thom jumped two places. Crawford moved from green to purple belt (6 Kyu to 4B Kyu), Campbell from blue to brown (5 Kyu to 3B Kyu), and Thom from purple to brown (4 Kyu to 2B Kyu).
The others who were assessed are Navrisha Harrynarine, who moved from white to yellow (8 Kyu to 7 Kyu); Jaheil Albert, who moved from yellow to orange (7 Kyu to 6 Kyu); Tinan Hughes, who moved from orange to green (7 Kyu to 6 Kyu); and Elijah Sukhoo and Tomera Hughes, who both moved from green to blue (6 Kyu to 5 Kyu).
Sensei Khouri noted that two objectives of the programme related to the GKC wanting to promote the disciplined art of fighting by encouraging youngsters to work at their own pace in the ancient art, and to develop modern strategies in conducting training sessions and practical examinations.
He is encouraging persons to participate in the sport, noting that it helps persons to become disciplined, apart from their receiving numerous health benefits.
However, the Sensei urges that persons do background checks of the trainers before joining a dojo.
While karate is an ancient art form, it has developed modern strategies in the conduct of training sessions and practical examinations.
Guyana falls under the International Karate Daigaku (IKD). (Andrew Carmichael)
