06 Mar 2019

 Sensei Karabo Motsamai, a renowned black belt karateka from Lobatse, said in an interview recently that although he was young when his brother introduced him to the sport, he still has vivid  memories of how he enjoyed learning the basics which included the ‘oi-zuki’ punch and ‘mae-geri’ front kick. 

“My brother, who was also a karateka, taught me the skills and made me enjoy the sport,” Motsamai said.

The now 32-year-old resident of Woodhall said he had to practice at home since there was no karate at Bothakga Primary School. It was only after he enrolled at Letsopa Junior Secondary that he started getting more exposure to karate. He then joined Gums Karate and they travelled all over the country for tournaments. 

“It was there that I learnt the core values of karate, which included among others, discipline,” he said. 

Sensei Motsamai said post-secondary school, he studied carpentry at Lobatse Brigade Centre, and that it was during that time that he attained a Degree in Black Belt. 

However, tragedy struck as the owner of Gums Karate passed away and it was dismantled. 

Because of his passion for karate, Sensei Motsamai said he decided to establish his own academy which he called Walker Karate Academy.

He said the academy was formed in 2000 although it was not officially registered. 

“What we did was just to invite people to come and train with us,” he said. 

Following the formal registration with Japan Karate Association, the academy started attracting more members. 

Sensei Motsamai said he was the only instructor, and that the members paid for membership which enabled him to rent a gym room at the town centre for training.

As time went on, Lobatse saw more karate clubs being formed with some being free of charge. 

That resulted in some members leaving to join the new clubs which left Walker academy with only a handful of members. 

Since he could no longer afford to rent the gym room, Sensei Motsamai approached junior schools for training facilities and Letsopa Secondary School welcomed the academy.

He said he started training there and many other people joined because he had made a decision to be an instructor free of charge. 

He said there was no age limit academy as both young and old were allowed to join. 

He said he was driven by passion to do what he did, and was glad that the results started showing. 

Amongst products from his academy are the 2015 and 2018 sports woman of the year Lame Hetanang. 

Sensei Motsamai said he has produced seven karatekas who went on to represent Botswana in the national team. 

He said his dream was to increase that number to at least 15. 

He said although they got paid by the Botswana Karate Association when they go for tournaments, his wish was that they could have more sponsors as that would boost the confidence of the karatekas. 

“We are limited in terms of equipment like mats and ring among others,” he said. 

He encouraged young people who may have interest in the sport to join karate academies, as the sport has the ability to help someone develop concentration and coordination and also strengthens character. Ends