MARIGOT—A young seven-member team from the Shindokai Club of St. Martin is preparing to participate in the Coupe de France to be held in Nice, France, on March 10-11, 2017.
The team will be departing on March 8 and returning on March 15.
Shindokai is a new martial arts discipline and form of Karate that was founded in 2007. Its organisation is French and no longer dependent on Japan. The sport is officially recognised in France as Karate Jutsu within the French Federation of Karate (FFK). It is practised in such countries as Asia, Africa, Europe, USA, Brazil, and the Caribbean.
For children scoring is based on points with the first one to reach six points declared the winner. It’s a Karate based on touch, not blows. Grappling is allowed but not throws. Children do one two-minute round while adults go for three two-minute rounds.
Taking the team to France is Shindokai instructor Thierry Guedj. He opened the Shindokai Club five years ago in St. Martin and its members practise at a dojo at the Sandy Ground Cultural Center. The club has approximately 30-35 members and is affiliated to the French Federation of Karate. It has two full time FFK certified instructors.
The team members going to France vary in age from nine years to 15. They will be accompanied by Thierry Guedj and two parents.
“We are training hard to be ready, and doing a lot of cardio to increase the endurance,” Thierry explained. “We have done a competition in December and we have another on February 5 to prepare. We are hoping of course to get on the podium but it is the first time we are going and we don’t know the level of the other competitors in our age group.
“I think it will be hard but the children wear all the protection to avoid injury. For children it’s not bad because they can develop technique, speed and accuracy,” adds Thierry. “When they get to 16 or 18 then they can think about fighting. But I like the philosophy of Shindokai. It teaches life skills, such as discipline and concentration.”
Thierry noted the group is urgently seeking sponsors to help finance the trip. Interested persons or businesses can contact Thierry Guedj directly on (0590690) 54.14.18 or by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
