Master Woon-A-Tai impressed with progress of GKC

… IKD also making rapid strides
GUYANA’S most decorated karateka 8th Dan Master Frank Woon-A-Tai yesterday gave Chronicle Sport his impression of the progress of the Guyana Karate College (GKC), along with the rapid progress of his very own Canada-based International Karate Daigaku (IKD).
“When I last visited Guyana in November after the 11th International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF) which was held in August, I saw one set of faces and this time around, there are more faces than the last time which tells me the College is growing.
“That in itself highlights the work put in by Sensei Jeffrey Wong who has been taking the students through their paces and I wish to extend heartfelt gratitude to him for the hard work and commitment he has shown towards the GKC.”

The 61-year-old Woon-A-Tai, who began practising the art of karate in 1964, was at the time visiting the GKC’s site at Liliendaal and took the time to commend Wong for spreading the arms of the GKC to the outskirts of Georgetown, following the formation of the Timehri and Anna Regina dojos.
“I visited the Timehri dojo last week and they are very strong – another testament of Sensei Wong’s hard work since the formation of the GKC five years ago. Since knowing him, his unselfish attitude has worked wonders in the karate fraternity here in Guyana and he has been of tremendous assistance in the growing of the GKC in my absence.”
The IKD was formed two months ago in Canada and according to Master Woon-A-Tai, grading examinations for locally based students will be held tomorrow at the MSC pavilion, Saturday in Anna Regina and Sunday at the YMCA dojo.
A special meeting for instructors and trainers will be held today, as Master Woon-A-Tai seeks to discuss and share his plans for the IKD, which he said is progressing at a rapid pace, given the time of its formation.
“Already, we have 18 countries, 24 organisations and 124 dojos from across the world, attached to the IDK, with countries such as French Guiana, Suriname, Venezuela, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Puerto Rico and Jamaica just to name a few, being affiliated to the IKD.”
He added, “In Canada, the homeland of the IKD, we have 8 of 10 provinces affiliated to the IKD which is in no way connected to the ISKF and on a weekly basis, applications are pouring in from countries, with at times two to three applications being received for processing and that in itself is wonderful for the IKD, which is my first Internationally-owned Organisation.”
One of the plans that are in the pipeline for the IKD includes a camp which will be held from June 17 to 21 in Toronto, Canada, where Father Meerabux will conduct a mass and administer the oath of office to the chief instructor of the IDK, Master Woon-A-Tai, and his deputies in his wife Maureen Woon-A-Tai and Trinidad and Tobago’s Dr Dexter Shim.
According to the IKD website, Sensei George Wiggins and the Shotokan Karate Academy of Freeport, Bahamas, have left the ISKF and joined the IKD, while Sensei Marc Cordice, a former Chief Instructor and Founder of St Vincent and the Grenadines, has joined the IKD.
When quizzed on whether he has severed ties permanently with his good friend and founder of the ISKF, Master Teruyuki Okazaki, Master Woon-A-Tai was quick to reply in the negative, saying he saw the need to move karate further and received the blessings of Master Okazaki when he founded the IKD.
Woon- A-Tai, his two sisters and a kind-hearted citizen spread joy in the Tiger Bay area on Good Friday, when they distributed food and clothing to the less fortunate and said this was one of the aims of the IKD.
“Apart from teaching karate to those who are willing to practise the art, one of the aims of the IKD is to reach out to the less fortunate and this will be a continuous project whenever I come to Guyana,” stated a smiling Woon-A-Tai.
Meanwhile, the GKC had scheduled a fund-raising bingo to be held at the National Park on Saturday, but due to the unavailability of the venue, it has been rescheduled to Saturday, May 21 at the same venue.

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