On August 20th 1971, a team of four men landed in Nairobi from Tokyo. S. Iteiri, Y. Higashi, R. Nisuimoto and Yoshio Tamura were four karate experts flown in courtesy of the Kenya Defense Forces and Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. Tamura and Higashi were posted at the Kenya Prisons while Misuimoto and Iteiri at the Kenya Police. Each pair was assigned to train the public service teams on various karate techniques.
Four years after he arrived, Yoshio Tamura founded the Karate Association of Kenya where he played the role of Technical Director with Isaiah Kiplagat as chair. New recruits came pouring in with Yoshio as the lead instructor training Goju-ryu – a karate style that consists of 12 different patterns that imitate a confrontation with one or many opponents. By 1980, we had a team that represented Kenya at the World Karate Championships. Peter Opiyo, Paul Amol and Stephen Githuthua brought Kenya into a new arena those many years ago.
At the 1991 All Africa Games in Egypt, the Kenya team bagged two silver medals and three bronze medals; Team Kenya had found a new way to represent the country.
What followed was a long silence in our karate achievements but a 13-person team changed this by qualifying for the 2012 World Karate Championships in Paris. For a week, four ladies and nine men faced competitors from 115 nations.
At the 19th World Championships, the Kenyan junior team beat heavy odds to fly the Kenyan flag in the 600-competitor event. Gold medals were won by 12-year-old Monica Wangari and 8-year-old Emmanuel Kamenchu.
The growth of this martial arts sport in Kenya has been slow but steady and with continuous support, our Karate competitors can further scale to greater heights. We applaud all the Ke sportsmen, women and teams that have taken this sport and exceeded expectations.
#KeWachezaji #OurFlagBearers