After living in England for 21 years and occasionally visiting where I grew up in South Africa, I decided to make the most of my most recent trip back and connect with some old karate friends that I haven’t seen for many, many years.
Brief History
I originally started training at 9 years old in 1981 at a dojo west of Johannesburg called the Kilburn Karate (later Florida Karate Academy) under Sensei Paul André. As a beginner I quickly looked up to a brown belt who was my age and impressed me with his speed, focus and humble demeanour. His name was Mario Sequeira and we soon became friends, even though we were already acquainted at school. Little did I know that this would be the start of a lifelong karate journey and friendship. Another student at the time was Ché Jagger, who was younger than us and I remember him being joyful and energetic, as well as skillful.
By the time we were teenagers Mario had a two year break from karate due to health reasons. During this time I had begun to train in another dojo further west in Krugersdorp under Sensei Johan Roets. Eventually both Mario and I ended up grading to our black belts as teenagers under the late Sensei Teruo Chinen. I believe Ché followed suit rather quickly.
Due to a motorcycle accident in 1989, my own training was halted, although I did return on the odd occasion. By the time I came to the England in 2000, my training had stopped altogether. In 2010 I trained for a while again, but returned full time at Cambridge Goju Ryu in 2014.
Throughout all this time Mario and Ché never stopped training and Mario recently celebrated 40 years of karate. Sensei Mario (now Godan) has run his dojo at Palm Court Karate (Johannesburg) since 1992 as a full time Sensei with hundreds of students. Sensei Ché (also Godan) runs his dojo (not far from Mario) at the Goju Ryu Karate Centre.
By the time we were teenagers Mario had a two year break from karate due to health reasons. During this time I had begun to train in another dojo further west in Krugersdorp under Sensei Johan Roets. Eventually both Mario and I ended up grading to our black belts as teenagers under the late Sensei Teruo Chinen. I believe Ché followed suit rather quickly.
Due to a motorcycle accident in 1989, my own training was halted, although I did return on the odd occasion. By the time I came to the England in 2000, my training had stopped altogether. In 2010 I trained for a while again, but returned full time at Cambridge Goju Ryu in 2014.
Throughout all this time Mario and Ché never stopped training and Mario recently celebrated 40 years of karate. Sensei Mario (now Godan) has run his dojo at Palm Court Karate (Johannesburg) since 1992 as a full time Sensei with hundreds of students. Sensei Ché (also Godan) runs his dojo (not far from Mario) at the Goju Ryu Karate Centre.
The Visit and the Training
Although we have kept in touch, I don’t believe we had seen each other since at least 1992. I had recently mentioned wanting to visit but wanted to keep it as much of a surprise as possible. I went to South Africa for personal reasons, but made a point of packing my gi because I thought it was time we met again, in the dojo.
Upon entering Palm Court Karate Centre for the first time on the Tuesday evening, I felt that it was exactly how I imagined it to be. Lots of history on the walls and the dojo well equipped. It spoke of Sensei Mario’s passion for karate and it had a welcoming calmness. Sensei Mario’s wife Zenobia recognised me and welcomed me straight away while he was teaching class. As soon as he noticed I had arrived, he came over and I couldn’t help thinking how that brown belt as a boy had become quite an imposing figure. It was really nice moment and I felt our past reconnecting. After a brief chat he tended to his students once again and then finished the class. The class that followed was Nidan (2nd Dan) and above and since my Gi was already on, I thought it would have been rude not to join! Sensei gave me a warm welcome to the class. He explained about our history and said that he was intrigued to see what differences there would be, or that have developed over the years because we no longer train under the same association. Over time some subtle differences become inevitable, especially within the kata. I did find these to be so slight and what was clear is that the essence of Goju Ryu remains intact no matter what. Sensei Mario also made an interesting point, saying that he can tell if somebody trained karate as a child, or if they started later on in life - irrelevant of grade. In his view, a person’s karate has an “accent” if they start later on, whereas those who trained as children (and are now adults) don’t have an “accent” and that their karate looks similar (even though we have different physiques and statures).
The class focused on Kururunfa kata which we had been speaking about in our distant communications most recently. As expected there were some slight details that differed, but what was immediately apparent was Sensei Mario’s knowledge and understanding of the kata, which one can always learn from. I also noticed how he naturally commanded respect from his students, whilst at the same time wasn’t shy of little humour. One particular comment that made me chuckle whilst demonstrating was “why do you pick up all my bad habits and none of the good ones??” (with a rye smile on his face). The consensus seemed to be to train hard, but be human and kind too, a nice balance of Go (hard) and Ju (soft).
Upon entering Palm Court Karate Centre for the first time on the Tuesday evening, I felt that it was exactly how I imagined it to be. Lots of history on the walls and the dojo well equipped. It spoke of Sensei Mario’s passion for karate and it had a welcoming calmness. Sensei Mario’s wife Zenobia recognised me and welcomed me straight away while he was teaching class. As soon as he noticed I had arrived, he came over and I couldn’t help thinking how that brown belt as a boy had become quite an imposing figure. It was really nice moment and I felt our past reconnecting. After a brief chat he tended to his students once again and then finished the class. The class that followed was Nidan (2nd Dan) and above and since my Gi was already on, I thought it would have been rude not to join! Sensei gave me a warm welcome to the class. He explained about our history and said that he was intrigued to see what differences there would be, or that have developed over the years because we no longer train under the same association. Over time some subtle differences become inevitable, especially within the kata. I did find these to be so slight and what was clear is that the essence of Goju Ryu remains intact no matter what. Sensei Mario also made an interesting point, saying that he can tell if somebody trained karate as a child, or if they started later on in life - irrelevant of grade. In his view, a person’s karate has an “accent” if they start later on, whereas those who trained as children (and are now adults) don’t have an “accent” and that their karate looks similar (even though we have different physiques and statures).
The class focused on Kururunfa kata which we had been speaking about in our distant communications most recently. As expected there were some slight details that differed, but what was immediately apparent was Sensei Mario’s knowledge and understanding of the kata, which one can always learn from. I also noticed how he naturally commanded respect from his students, whilst at the same time wasn’t shy of little humour. One particular comment that made me chuckle whilst demonstrating was “why do you pick up all my bad habits and none of the good ones??” (with a rye smile on his face). The consensus seemed to be to train hard, but be human and kind too, a nice balance of Go (hard) and Ju (soft).
What is also impressive is that some of the adult students have been in the dojo since they were children and are instructors in their own right, one of which has been with Sensei Mario since he was 5 years old and is now Yondan (4th Dan).
In class we focused on aspects of the kata in some ways that were new to me and then moved onto bunkai (practical self-defence applications of the kata). The fluidity and ease with which Sensei Mario demonstrated his bunkai reminded me of how he has dedicated 40 years of his life to karate. He then encouraged us to consider the concepts that he spoke of and formulate our own ideas based on these. I found this to be an interesting approach as it showed his confidence in who he was teaching. It also encouraged students to think “outside the box” and analyse what they are doing.
In class we focused on aspects of the kata in some ways that were new to me and then moved onto bunkai (practical self-defence applications of the kata). The fluidity and ease with which Sensei Mario demonstrated his bunkai reminded me of how he has dedicated 40 years of his life to karate. He then encouraged us to consider the concepts that he spoke of and formulate our own ideas based on these. I found this to be an interesting approach as it showed his confidence in who he was teaching. It also encouraged students to think “outside the box” and analyse what they are doing.
When class concluded I presented Sensei Mario with a portrait of Miyagi Sensei for his new dojo that he is building - a small token of my appreciation of a lifelong friendship and how he (unwittingly and from afar) inspired me to step back into the dojo again after years of being absent. As many of us know, the hardest part can be walking through that door.
Catching up with Lifelong Friends
After class we spent some time catching up and reliving the old Florida Karate days in the 1980’s. We were surrounded by many skilled karateka at the time, many of whom excelled at national and international tournaments and were highly respected. When smiling about my return to the dojo 8 years ago, Mario pointed out that him, Ché and myself are the only ones from those days that are still training now (including our Senseis from that time). I was surprised as well as slightly honoured to be amongst Mario and Ché in this “category”. I said that I regretted not returning to karate sooner, to which Mario responded “I think it’s all for a reason, maybe if you did carry on, or come back sooner, you might not be training now…”
Two days later I returned to the dojo and we had quite a grueling yet enjoyable Hojo Undo (supplementary training) class that was based around several of our katas. I was then due to meet both Sensei Mario and Sensei Ché one morning for a small session and catch up, as well as see first hand the incredible dojo that Sensei Mario is building (which includes a traditional garden dojo with makiwara in the African sun). Unfortunately, however, this didn’t materialise due to some unforeseen circumstances which forced me to change my plans at the last minute.
Besides the actual karate experience that I could bring back with me from the trip, what I also learned is that karate really does create lifelong friendships (paraphrasing Mario). I often refer to the people I train with in the UK (and on various gasshuku) as my karate family. It brings home that karate is not just about fitness or self-defence, but also about these friendships we make. Upon returning to the UK and teaching my own students, I couldn’t help but think that one day some of them might be Senseis in their own right and that they might meet up again from afar and reflect upon their time now, as young students in the dojo. Well I hope that they will be as lucky as I feel I have been in this respect.
Sensei Fabio Giovannoni
Two days later I returned to the dojo and we had quite a grueling yet enjoyable Hojo Undo (supplementary training) class that was based around several of our katas. I was then due to meet both Sensei Mario and Sensei Ché one morning for a small session and catch up, as well as see first hand the incredible dojo that Sensei Mario is building (which includes a traditional garden dojo with makiwara in the African sun). Unfortunately, however, this didn’t materialise due to some unforeseen circumstances which forced me to change my plans at the last minute.
Besides the actual karate experience that I could bring back with me from the trip, what I also learned is that karate really does create lifelong friendships (paraphrasing Mario). I often refer to the people I train with in the UK (and on various gasshuku) as my karate family. It brings home that karate is not just about fitness or self-defence, but also about these friendships we make. Upon returning to the UK and teaching my own students, I couldn’t help but think that one day some of them might be Senseis in their own right and that they might meet up again from afar and reflect upon their time now, as young students in the dojo. Well I hope that they will be as lucky as I feel I have been in this respect.
Sensei Fabio Giovannoni
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