Sixty students will be tested tomorrow at the National Gymnasium in the holistic development of martial arts. Among the schools participating in the grading and a workshop tomorrow and Sunday are Harpy Eagle, Little Diamond Karate Club and Kuru Kuru Karate Club.
According to Professor Christopher Francis, Goodwill Ambassador to the Caribbean on Martial Arts, “their documents will be sent abroad to evaluate the ranks they are to receive and it’s different to martial arts that anybody would know.”
Professor Francis said that a number of factors will be taken into account such the end-of-term results, parental testimony on the student’s conduct and behaviour at home, the instructor’s written report on the training of the student and the whole aspect of learning and the whole discipline at the dojo.
Francis said that the grading tomorrow will take those aspects into consideration before the student is promoted.
He said too that on Sunday the martial arts schools in Guyana will participate in a workshop organised to address the issue of martial arts as a part of the curriculum for CSEC under physical education. According to him, no one has yet attempted the discipline of martial arts at the examinations.
“My responsibility as Goodwill Ambassador for the Caribbean is to ensure that martial artists in every Caribbean country understand that they have the opportunity to do martial arts even at the university as an Associate Degree of sports.”
Martial arts, he said, is not a backyard sport and should not be treated as such.
Francis said that he has just concluded his second PhD from the University of Asian Martial Arts Studies in the United States.
“So martial arts is really a huge thing outside the Caribbean and I am trying to get the people here to understand. So I am here to educate the people and work along with every martial artist in this country and throughout the Caribbean to build a better standard for martial arts.”
Since the programme started nine years ago Francis said that a total of 340 students have been trained and 109 of them are currently in secondary school.
Locally the programme is overlooked by Sensei Garfield Newton of the Black Hawks Martial Arts Club.
