Belgium Open Championship,04 May 2014

 

The beautiful trophies at the Belgium Opens

Congratulations to Eric Bortels Sensei and his Belgium team who planned and organised a tournament for JKS and G Karate (Integrated Karate Federation) on 4 May 2014. The tournament consisted of a traditional championship and a championship for disabled karateka. To those who don't know, G Karate is a tournament with a system developed by Eric Bortels Sensei for disabled karateka. It is divided into many categories or sections that strive to cater for all types of disabilities.

Eric Bortels Sensei organizing the "Walkers" into rows before the Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony

The tournament kicked off with the “Walkers” division. I have a lot of experience in tournaments, but I did not know the complexity of dividing and planning the different sections until it was explained to me by Eric. The “Walkers” division considered people having the following categories of disabilities: autism, down syndrome, blindness, physically handicapped and mentally handicapped. After the "Walkers” division a trophy ceremony was held and trophies were handed out to the winners of the different categories.

The wheelchair demonstration that followed was a surprising treat, with 23 wheelchairs in the hall performing Heian Shodan in unison. I looked around at all the people watching the demonstration and didn't feel too bad seeing that I wasn't the only one wiping a tear pretending I had something in my eye.

Wheel Chair Demonstration participants with their "Buddy" to assist them

Next up was the wheelchair division that consisted of three categories. Category 1 being for the most mentally and physically disabled and Category 3 for people only physically disabled. A New concept of doing kumite was developed where the disabled practitioner is attacked 5 times and must execute 5 different ways of defending. Competitors were rated according to a score system and the highest scorer wins.

Winners in the Electric Wheelchair division

The tournament had an excellent attendance and was well organised, congratulations are in order to all attendees, organizers, competitors and helping hands. For me it was at times very emotional to see how much effort and enthusiasm the disabled karateka had in their performances. I left Belgium with enthusiasm and will strive to implement the same system in South Africa.

Congratulations Eric Bortels Sensei and your team for a wonderful and exciting championship. Good luck for the future and may your enthusiasm touch the hearts of many more!

Andre Kok Sensei