The Guyana Karate College (GKC) will host the IKD Guyana Caribbean Karate Cup from August 23-25, 2019, at Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. To date, over 100 overseas athletes have confirmed their attendance.
Officials from Canada and competitors from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela are confirmed to participate. Guyana will field approximately 100 athletes, making a total of over 200 participants set to attend.
Athletes 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., and 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 disciplined and the strongest karate along with moulding good citizens- Character, Sincerity, Effort, Etiquette and the Most Important Rule – Self Control.”
Admission is $500 except for overseas delegations considering the above, and the GKC expects the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall to be packed to full capacity.
The action begins at 09:00h 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 (August 24).
