New Dimensions

The next Johannesburg Karate Gasshuku will be held on 8 September 2018. For more information, you can go to the website to get more details. There is no doubt that anyone who is a karateka earns our respect. There have been many movies depicting the sheer brilliance of individuals defending themselves against attackers with martial arts techniques, usually bare-handed. One particular film star that comes to mind is my favorite, Jackie Chan. I love watching the guy going bananas ducking and diving and kicking his way out of several attackers. I just Googled some facts about Jackie Chan and discovered that he is a black belt in Hapkido and also knows other martial arts as well. To the uninformed like me, it all seems like karate, but I am probably insulting the martial arts purists when I make statements like that. However one looks at the sport of karate and martial arts you have to agree on one thing. You don't mess with those guys because you are going to get your bu...

50 years on a good reason to celebrate. Five decades have passed since Okinawan Goju Ryu was introduced to South Africa by a remarkable man, sensei James Rousseau.  His journey through this period has created a wake of profound energy, immense interest in what he nurtured and a legacy that has crossed boundries, spilling over into branches that today continue to practice some form of what he brought to this country. Today we look back at all that has gone before and stand proudly beneath the great tree that has grown from the tiny seed planted in 1966 when sensei James established himself in South Africa as the founder of Okinawan Goju Ryu with the grade of Sandan. Sensei James began his karate training in the Shotokan system in 1961 and received Shodan ranking in 1964. During one of his trips to Japan he became acquainted with Goju Ryu and decided to concentrate his training in this system.  He relates many interesting experiences, crediting his wife Wendy for her su...