2009/07/04
THE martial arts has had a special attraction for Mervyn Gounden since 1984 and for 25 years he has relished being part of a sport which has taught him valuable lessons in life.
The 41-year-old Braelyn, East London resident said he decided to take up karate during a period when “we lived in dangerous times”.
“The only way we could survive was to take up karate and watching Bruce Lee movies was also, in a sense, inspiring,” he said.
The fifth Dan black belt proponent was graded in Tokyo during the World Championship in 2007.
“Many people don’t realise the potential of their bodies and mind and what your body can do in so many ways using your hands and legs,” he said.
“Karate is also all about mind and body coordination and it also raises your confidence levels.
“The exciting part about it is that you know it can be a great self-defence mechanism.”
He encourages people – especially young girls and adults – to consider taking up this sport.
“The world is very vicious out there especially when it comes to children and teenagers and having a means of protecting yourself can be useful,” he said.
He runs the Border JKS Karate Club, which has satellite dojos in Stutterheim and King William’s Town.
He spends much of his time teaching children at three clubs – Braelyn at the Hindu Temple hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Greenfields on Mondays and Wednesdays, while on Saturdays he holds classes at Stutterheim High School.
Most of his students are young and he is particularly proud of 12 of his karatekas who competed in a national championship in Johannesburg last month.
“Six returned with 11 medals, which shows the level and standard of karate is quite high compared to other dojos,” said Gounden.
The medalists were Manyano Bangani, 9, Teshan Gounden, 7, Kwandiwe Takane, 9, Siphokazi Nongena, 25, Jacqueline Schwartz, 14, and Charné Bester, 13.
“We teach awareness and also self-discipline and self-control. Karatekas can do much damage and we place emphasise on the students’ strengths, we build their weakness and create a strong structured human being.”
Gounden says the door is open for more adults to join the club. He says working on his own can be taxing.
“I welcome shotokans to affiliate to us and any training karateka can come and help,” he said.
His club occasionally invites a chief instructor in South Africa to East London to share his knowledge about any new developments in the sport. But finance is a big worry and he would welcome any support from the corporate world.
“We had to pay for flight and accommodation for the chief instructor in SA to come here last month. As a non-profit organisation we would appreciate any sponsorship we can get.”
If you want to join Gounden’s club, contact him on 0844025280. - By KARIEM HASSAN
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