Don’t show off, karatekas told
Published on: Sunday, November 05, 2023
By: Clarence Dol
Jonathan (centre) interacts with one of the contestants in the karate tournament.
RANAU: Karate athletes are urged to use their skills, discipline and knowledge to do good for the community and not show off.
Member of Parliament for Ranau, Datuk Jonathan Yasin said, the highest discipline learned from this sport is patience and it should always be practiced in daily life.
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“This is self-discipline that teaches us to control ourselves, and defend ourselves if there is a bad situation that happens to us through the arts we learn.
“Therefore, I believe that karate is a very good sporting event that is developed in schools and young people are strongly encouraged to participate in this kind of sport,” he said.
Jonathan said this when officiating the 2023 Ranau District Karate Championship organised by the Ranau Shito-Ryu Karate-Do Association held at the Ranau Community Hall on Saturday.
He praised the hard work and high commitment given by the founder of the karate association who has successfully developed the association from the ground up until today.
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He also expressed his appreciation to the organisers, sponsors, contributors and all those involved directly and indirectly who worked hard to ensure the success of the tournament.
“I hope this association will continue to thrive in Ranau, and further provide a positive impact to the young people in this district that they can use throughout their lives,” he said.
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Meanwhile, the President and Coach of Ranau Shito-Ryu Karate-Do Association, Malcom Marwill said, for the first time, the association organised a tournament of this size which attracted more than 350 participants.
“As everyone knows, martial arts is a popular sporting event that contributes medals to the country in any international competition such as gold and silver medals in the recent Asian Games.
“As coaches, we certainly hope that this sporting event will flourish in various divisions and also in any tournament, while polishing the talent and potential of young people.
“We want today’s young people to be able to one day make the name of the state and country proud when participating in any competition on the international stage,” he said.
Malcom said he is hopeful that more young athletes will be born, especially from Ranau who can take the challenge in karate to a higher level, and tournaments like the one held today will be their starting point.
“Events like this are not only a platform where we see potentials that can be honed but also provide opportunities for new talents that will colour the National martial arts stage.
“Thus we need support from many parties such as parents, schools, even from the government and leaders for any activity carried out by the association to empower our children’s skills,” he said.
The programme was also made possible by other agencies such as Ranau Hospital’s blood bank staff who also carried out blood donation campaign activities throughout the programme.
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