On the 28th and 29th of July the Winelands JKA team made their way to Johannesburg with the rest of the Western Cape team for the annual SA JKA Championships. This year the National Championships were held in conjunction with the Africa Open Championships. Other African countries represented at the occasion included Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The first day of the Championships is traditionally for the Novice competitors (all colour belts) and day 2 for the Elite Competitors (Brown and Black belt divisions). The Winelands team had 12 members in the Western Province team competing in both kata and kumite divisions. At the end of the Championships, Winelands JKA walked away with the following results:

• 8 Gold, 3 Silver, and 2 Bronze Medals for a total of 13 Medals across the 2 days
• 11 Winelands Karate-ka received their SA Colours. Considering there were more than 3000 entries, this is an amazing achievement!

A tournament is only as good as its organizers, and Winelands JKA would like to thank our Chief Instructor Sensei Johan Le Grange, Operational Director Sensei Wendy Wannenburg and Tournament Director Sensei Warren Bainton for such a world-class event. We are so proud to be part of the SA JKA family and honoured to train under such esteemed instructors in South Africa. A special thanks also to Sensei Jon Williams who lead the Western Cape team and prepared our karate-ka thoroughly for the tournament and helping to take Western Cape karate to new heights year after year.

Big Oss!
Sensei Heinrich