THE Guyana Karate College (GKC) will host the IKD Guyana Caribbean Karate Cup from August 23 to 25 at Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

To date, over 100 athletes from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, and Venezuela confirmed their participation, while Guyana, according to a release, will field approximately 100 karatekas.
The regional karatekas will compete in individual events like kata, which is a choreographed pattern of movements, as well as kumite or sparring.

There will also be several team events, including kata, kumite, along with bunkai (formal application of kata) and enbu (practical applications of bunkai fighting techniques) events. Participants will compete for medals, and the country with the highest gold medal count will win the coveted Caribbean Cup trophy.

Speaking about the upcoming tournament, Guyanese Shuseki Shihan (World Karate Master) Frank Woon-A-Tai, 9th Dan, M.S., head of the International Karate Daigaku (IKD) organisation with 70 regions in 50 countries worldwide said, “This will be another milestone in the history of traditional karate in Guyana and the region. Several eighth and seventh dan masters will be attending to support fair judging, and competition will be fierce.”

“However, I respectfully appeal to all competitors and spectators to remember that the aim of the Art of Karate is not in winning or losing, but in the development of the character of all participants. We teach discipline and the strongest karate along with moulding good citizens – Character, Sincerity, Effort, Etiquette and the Most Important Rule – Self Control,” Woon-A-Tai noted.

Admission is $500 and the GKC expects the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall to be packed to full capacity. The action begins at 09:00hrs. on Saturday, August 23, with all kata, enbu and bunkai events. Beginning at the same time on Sunday, August 24, will be kumite events along with bunkai and enbu demonstrations.
The opening march-on ceremony will also take place on Sunday.