Goju Ryu honour its students

THE annual Black Belt Grading of Goju Ryu Karate was held last month with six students tested for Shodan (1st Dan Black Belt) and one tested for Sandan (3rd Dan Black Belt ) in front of a panel headed by Sensei Bakkies Laubscher, 8th Dan Black Belt.

Sensei Laubscher, who is also the chief instructor of the IOGKF expressed his satisfaction with the standard of the Namibian Black Belts, who he said compared well with any grading that he performs around the world. The students had to attend an eight hour Gasshuku (training camp/seminar) before the grading, they had to pass a two-hour physical test and also had to pass a written examination to test their knowledge about the history as well as technical aspects of Goju Ryu Karate.The students who were graded were Kathrin Schneider, Sven Hart, Fritz Venzke, Alistair Dieterich, Stefan van der Merwe, Roché Louw (Walvis Bay).All of them were graded as Shodans, while Nico Maritz from Walvis Bay was graded as the Sandan (3rd Dan).The students had to attend an eight hour Gasshuku (training camp/seminar) before the grading, they had to pass a two-hour physical test and also had to pass a written examination to test their knowledge about the history as well as technical aspects of Goju Ryu Karate.The students who were graded were Kathrin Schneider, Sven Hart, Fritz Venzke, Alistair Dieterich, Stefan van der Merwe, Roché Louw (Walvis Bay).All of them were graded as Shodans, while Nico Maritz from Walvis Bay was graded as the Sandan (3rd Dan).