Organisers envisage bright future as 65 Lagos children get Karate tutorials

The Karate Championship, held at the National Stadium, Surulere, also featured wheelchair championship, which is an aspect of Karate that enables special sports athletes to compete in the sport like their able-bodied counterparts.

The event featured various Lagos karate clubs, including Supreme Shotokan, International Karate Academy, Emma Marshal Art Academy, Ejim Martial Art Academy, Adil Martial Art Academy, Gold Academy, Zabac Academy and Dojo Craft Academy.

The children were graded in different levels of Karate with their parents on ground to encourage them.

Speaking on the programme, coordinator of the event and vice president of Nigeria Karate Federation, Sensei Ayo Idowu said the championship, which is a catch them young tournament, would be a yearly event.

“The turn out of children in the championship was not encouraging. This is why the association will not relent in organising more competitions and training to promote Karate in Lagos.

“There is need to keep creating awareness of Karate. The programme yielded positive results, as we are able to discover more talents and enlighten the kids more on Karate.

“We believe the turn out will be better next year as Nigeria need to be at the world map of Karate in the nearest future based on the talents in the country,” he said.