Shotokan Karate-Do of Guyana enjoys successful USA outing

Jul 04, 2017 Sports, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....ccessful-usa-outing/

Nine members from the Shotokan Karate-Do of Guyana (SHOKOGUY) recently returned from USA after successfully attending the 51st Master Camp & International Goodwill Tournament hosted by the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF) held at Camp Green Lane, Pennsylvania, June 9 -16.
The team included Chief Instructor – Sensei Christopher Chaves, Shaqueel Amin, Alex Rodrigues, Ivan Chow-yen and five children namely; Mikasi Warde, Alex Chow-yen, Michael Corbin, Joshua Pitt and Pierre Walcott.
Sensei Chaves reported that the experience was overwhelming and they all felt fortunate to be exposed to training conducted by high ranking guest Masters who are world renowned. A major highlight was the promotion of Master Hiroyoshi Okazaki-Chief Instructor and Chairman of the ISKF. He was promoted to 9th Dan by the ISKF Shihankai.
Classes were conducted by: 9th Dan–Master Yutaka Yuguchi of the USA, Master Masaru Miura from Europe, Master Shunsake Takahashi from Japan, Master Hiroyoshi Okazaki –Chief Instructor of ISKF and Master Hideo Ochi-JKA Germany.
The camp attracted in excess of 350 Karatekas who represented over 40 countries. During the Camp, the International Board of Directors met and head representative for ISKF Guyana Sensei Chaves attended.
Training sessions were held six hours daily in the morning and afternoons. Teaching seminars and lectures were also a feature of the camp that sought to address and cover several personal developmental and building skills. It was decided that the ISKF Pan-American Champion for 2018 will be held in Panama from August 16-19.
The Youth Shiai (children’s competition) saw the competitors being placed into groups – Kata and Kumite. This format promoted unity and friendship among the participating countries. In the end, all participants were awarded medals for their efforts.
In the Brown belt division, Ivan Chow-yen performed credibly and was able to secure second place in both Kata and Kumite.
The open black belt division was very competitive with a large number of participants ranging from 1st Dan black belt to 6th Dan. In Kumite, Shaqueel Amin did very well to enter the quarterfinals by defeating his opponent from Israel. However, he was denied a place in the finals after being disqualified for excessive contact against his US opponent. Alex Rodrigues and Shaqueel Amin were both denied a placed in the Kata finals by early defeats, however, in the Team Kumite Contest, they secured second placed along with an overseas based Guyanese from Barbados. Shaqueel Amin was instrumental in spearheading the Guyana team to the level of success, despite going against more experienced contestants.
SHOKOGUY Chief Instructor Sensei Christopher Chaves was pleased with the performances. He was adamant in conveying the organization’s appreciation to all the parents, members and to the Ministry of Education for assisting them in realizing their attendance and participation at this years’ event. Chaves noted that they are anticipating a much larger contingent for 2018.