On the 15th and 22nd of October 2022, Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate Namibia (OGKN) hosted their annual 100 kata challenge events in celebration of Okinawan Karate Day.

Karate Day originally started in Naha, Okinawa and takes place annually on the 25th of October, and is hosted in order to celebrate the beauty and grace of Okinawa’s iconic martial art. The event features thousands of karateka of all ages who gather together to perform Kata, a choreographed sequence of individual techniques that is used as one of the fundamental training techniques in traditional Okinawan karate. In 2016, Naha’s Karate Day celebrations were featured in the Guinness World Records for the most people (3973) performing a kata.

Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate Namibia has been actively participating in Okinawan Karate Day since 2014. This year’s events took place on the 15th of October in Walvis Bay and on the 22nd of October in Windhoek and were attended by more than 130 karateka collectively across all the dojos.

This year’s event also served as the annual fundraising event for OGKN. Funds raised will be used to both provide financial support to local instructors/sensei’s as well as to bring senior level international instructors to Namibia in 2023, thereby promoting the continued development of Traditional Okinawan Karate in the country.

Best Attendance Award Winners 2025 - Honbu Dojo

Children Beginners & Junior Class

First Place:
Elifas Matheus

Second Place:
Lucresia Naris
Joel Undji

Third Place:
Anotidaishe Chiripai

Children Advanced Class

First Place:
Ethan Collard

Second Place:
Margaret Flavianu

Third Place:
Megan Kumire
Baeti Muyandulwa
Triti Nair

Adult/Teen Beginners & Intermediate Class

First Place:
Thikameni Inkumbi

Second Place:
Liam Alcock

Third Place:
Steven Bishop
Nathan Tuneeko

Adult/Teen Senior Class

First Place:
Jason Collard

Second Place:
Carli du Plessis

Third Place:
Lumé Karsten

Best Attendance Award Winners 2025 - Shinto Dojo

Beginner Children’s Class

First Place:
Micah Ndyenge

Second Place:
Aiden Masters

Third Place:
Francois De Klerk

Intermediate Children’s Class

First Place:
Cene Viljoen

Second Place:
Connor Bandlow

Third Place:
Paul Thomas Andrew Cocklin

Advanced Children’s Class

First Place:
Laeya Carstens

Second Place:
Thomas Wood

Third Place:
Patrick Leuschner

Adult Class

First Place:
Eli Wood

Second Place:
Wendy Bonitz
Farai Penduka

Third Place:
Daria Burger

A heartfelt thank you goes to all instructors, families, and supporters who contributed to a successful grading.

Okinawa Goju-Ryu Karate Namibia

Goju-Ryu take on 100 Kata for Karate Day

23-Oct-2022