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Gentleman,
Athlete and Martial Artist
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At
a recent tournament I had the opportunity to see a true
karate master in action. Soon Pretorius is a
master not because of his karate alone but because of
his character. He is an individual who can
perceiver under the most difficult conditions and
demonstrate what true karate is. A true gentleman,
he is what we as karateka should aspire to. His
conduct under fire is what one would expect of a
leader in karate. At the 2002 Shotokan Karate-Do
United Nations World Championship in Spain there was a
group from a country, who will remain nameless, whose performance was less
than
expected and who in response to their poor showing, they
were to take it out with particular venom on Soon
Pretorius. This team had a rather loud approach to
Kata and every move was loudly expressed, almost a
kiaai. As a result Soon as chief judge indicated
to the corner judges to mark them accordingly. As
a result he was marked by the team for particular
scorn. During the event finals when an individual
of that team came up perform in the Kata event they
would march into the competition area turn bow to their own team mates lined up outside
the ring and walk off in protest. On the
evening of the final day of the championship Soon had to leave
to catch a flight and was roundly booed out of the gymnasium
by the offending team. Not only did he keep his
composure but returned five minutes later as he had to
return the property of one of the officials who had left
something in his rental car and proceeded to weather the
storm of their derision again with calm detachment, that
left us all a little humbled.
The rude treatment of a senior karateka by this team was
disgusting, but the dignity with which he comported
himself was a statement about the character of the man
and the true spirit of
karate. J. Mullin |
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