About 140 young martial artists from all over Africa will compete in the first Africa Youth Kung Fu Championship, at the Filia School in Goodwood, this weekend.
Contestants aged 10 to 19 from South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Mauritius will compete in a variety of events during the two-day event.
Gold, silver and bronze medals are up for grabs along with a cash prize for the winning country.
The championship is coordinated by the M.J.Li Kungfu Foundation and The Western Cape Chin Woo Kungfu Association, and supported by, among others, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Department of Culture and Sport.
“We will all be united this week, taking a stand against racism, racial oppression, as well as xenophobia because all of the athletes, over the two days, will be united under the African banner. It will be a perfect representation of the continent,” said championship host Muhammad Junaid Chafeker (M.J.Li).
The Legends of Kung Fu World Martial Arts champion said he would like to see the championship held annually, creating a safe, enjoyable and competitive environment for youth across Africa.
“Many times circumstances and conditions for our African youth are not always in their favour and many of them will perhaps not go on to go train in China or compete all over the world,” he said.
“But if we can bring a small version of an international championship to Africa, then I think it will go a long way towards developing talent. It will give us a good opportunity to see what raw talent is like on the African continent.“
Thirty-five youngsters from Mitchell’s Plain, Bellville, Paarl, Bonteheuwel, Langa, and Gugulethu make up the SA team. They were selected from 180 students of the martial art who have been training for the past year and a half.
Competitors from other African countries were selected for the championship in October last year when they took part in the African Kung Fu Championship, in Botswana.
Sinawo Yola, 19, of Gugulethu, captains the SA team. He said he had started learning kung fu in 2016 and was looking forward to seeing locals coming out to support the team.
International grandmasters Jimmy Wong and Chistophe Clarke will be at the championship, helping Mr Chafeker launch a “legacy campaign” during the competition.
“In essence, the legacy campaign is firstly to unite our African youth under the banner of Chinese kung fu and secondly to equip our women and our disadvantaged youth with the basic self defence skills as found in kung fu,” he said.
Tickets are available at 081 711 1211.