Karate Association organises grading exercise

The Ghana Karate-Do Association (GKA) last Saturday organised a programme designed to upgrade the performance of karate-kas selected from various clubs across the country

The exercise , held at the Media Centre of the Accra Sports Stadium saw the participants demonstrating their skills in various ways with the view of catching the eyes of the coaches examining them.

In all, a total of 30 athletes converged in Accra for the exercise , but only 16 who paid their participation fees to be examined were upgraded. Of the 16, three made it to 1st Dan, which was the lowest rank, with one of them qualifying to 2nd Dan, while three were upgraded to the 3rd Dan .

Four others who put up splendid performances succeeded in making it to the to 4th Dan ( Dan rankings are indicated by belt colour or stripes on the belt. The dan ranking system is also used to indicate the level of one’s ability within the sport).

Prior to the grading, participants were taken through topics such as history of karate-do and the levels of the karate grading system.

Speaking at the event, Mr Melvin Brown, President of GKA, said the grading system allowed athletes to proceed through levels, or grades, signifying their growth and development.

“A grading represents that a karate-ka has reached a competent level with their current techniques, and are ready to move on to learn and develop more advanced techniques and skill-sets”, he explained .

He said the grading,held annually, was also a way of recognising their performance, explaining that it enhanced progression in the sport, thus helping to maintain standards in the association.

For his part, Mr China Gabriel Oredola, a visiting karate examiner from Benin, said grades from the 5th to 10th dans were awarded on athlete’s personal contributions, such as research, in-depth knowledge of other martial arts, publications, and personal contributions that add to their knowledge.