HELLENE TO FIGHT IN 10th WORLD OPEN KARATE TOURNAMENT IN JAPAN |28 October 2011
Helene will be accompanied by five officials of the Kyokushin karate school. Shihan Phillip Moustache, 6th dan, will head the delegation to the tournament held every four years.
Other tournaments to be held prior to the men’s world tournament are the world youth and world seniors on November 3. The world women’s open tournament will take place on November 4.
The officials from Seychelles will be upgrading their international officiating licences as well as officiate in the tournaments.
The world tournament is an open weight event, meaning fighters can face opponents twice or three times heavier than them with all the fights being conducted under the International Karate Organisation’s full contact rules.
A total of 192 fighters from over 125 countries in the world will fight in the prestigious event after going through the preliminary tournaments earlier this year.
Karatekas from the Kyokushin karate school are the only local fighters who have been competing in Japan every four years since 1987. Local karatekas who have fought in Japan include Phillip Moustache, Gerald Toussaint, Alwyn Chan Lai Seng, Bernard Adeline, Flavien Alphonse, Freddy Dubois and Joel Pinchon. This is the second time Sensei Helene will be fighting in the world tournament.
After the tournament, the karatekas will take part in an international training camp to be conducted by Kyokushin grandmaster Kancho Shokei Matsui at Mt Mitsumine. During the camp, two karatekas –Sensei Francis Françoise and Sensei Phillip Verghese, both 4th dans – will be involved in a grading exam for their 5th dan.
The Kyokushin karate school would like to thank the following organisations for their help extended to them: NSC, Seychelles Karate Federation, Ministry of Health, Wharf Hotel & Marina, SIBA and Coco D’Or Hotel.