• Sports

For the love of karate

Enzo Amuele







The martial arts school Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate was established by Sensei Hennie De Vries in 1979. Now being in existence for 42 years, the school has over 220 students in both Windhoek and Walvis Bay.

Okinawa, Japan, is the birthplace of karate, while Goju-Ryu is one of the four original karate styles.

It is Japanese for "hard-soft style", and is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques.

The school teaches traditional Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate as developed for self-defence. Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate Namibia (OGKN) prides itself on practicing traditional karate.

“Our goal is practical, real-world self-defence whilst placing a strong emphasis on karate’s core values: Courtesy, honesty, integrity, loyalty, discipline and respect,” the school said.

At OGKN, they believe that karate-do training benefits all practitioners, regardless of their age, race, gender, or nationality.

According to sensei Carl van der Merwe, the school enrols members from the age of six.

“There is no maximum age. We had a student who started at the age of 58 years and obtained his black belt. Some of our senior students are more than 50 years old.

“My direct teacher is a ninth degree black belt and is 76 years old. His direct teacher is 85. They still train every day”, he said.

Separate classes

The school has separate classes for children’s beginners, juniors and advanced; teen beginners to intermediate; adults, and finally senior students.

Benefits of martial arts

Concentration: “We have multiple examples where the school results of students improved due to better concentration.”

Reflexes: “A reaction that can save your life - like in traffic.”

Awareness: “Noticing what is happening around you, as we practice in karate classes.”

Coordination: “Vital for many everyday actions like driving a vehicle.”

Discipline: “It is not a team sport, you can find many excuses not to go and train. In team sports, you do not want to let your teammates down so you are motivated to go and train.”

Full body workout: “Karate involves blocking, punching and kicking, so all the muscles are used.”