MOSSEL BAY SPORT NEWS - Vorne Coetzee was the top karateka in 2019 and Waydene Michaels top in 2020 at the Western Province JKA Championships in their respective age groups.
Both women were chosen to compete in Johannesburg in the SA JKA Championship in 2020, but the tournament was cancelled due to Covid 19.
Both are grand champions in their divisions through winning both kata and kumite at the very tough WP JKA Championships.
As soon as contact sport gets the go-ahead from government the two will compete at the SA JKA Championship in Johannesburg, hopefully in October.
Over the past 35 years Mossel Bay sensei Michael Coetzee has produced a large number of WP, Boland and Eden All Syles and WP JKA champions.
Many of his students were also included in the JKA national team to compete at the JKA World Championship in Japan, but due to lack of finances and sponsors no one could ever make it there. Even in the years of isolation Michael produced top SA All Styles champions, with the like of Carl Beukes, Jeswayne James, Samuel Kiewiet, the late Darryl Meyer and many more. They would have all been included in the National All Styles (Springbok karate) team.
Diaz JKA also won the Western and Eastern Cape Shotokan championships for four years in a row. No one could beat them. They have won the Mossel Bay Sports Festival karate division since the inception of the Mossel Bay Sports Festival.
Too many champs to mention
Currently Michael has too many SA JKA champions in his dojo, Diaz JKA Karate, to mention them all.
All five of his children are SA JKA champions. His late daughter Megan could not make it to the 2004 World Champs in Japan due to Grade 12 final exam preparations.
His student and assistant instructor Simone Brugger (2nd Dan) also qualified for the senior ladies' final trials for the JKA World Champs this year in Japan, but the tournament was cancelled due to Covid-19. Simone trained with Michael when she achieved her 1st and and 2nd Dan from the SA JKA chief instructor.
Michael also passed tough theoretical and practical exams in October 2018 to become an international instructor.
Mossel Bay should be proud to have an international JKA instructor, as only a handful of Black Belts across the globe have managed this achievement. He was also invited to teach in New Zealand last year but due to Covid-19, could not make it there.
He was also assistant coach of the SA JKA team that came second to Japan at the 2004 JKA World Champs in Japan.
In 2014 he trained and instructed in Nairobi (Kenya) with sensei Okuma 7th Dan (Japan) and sensei Edward Mtshali 7th Dan from SA.
Michael says his success started with karate masters such as Dawid Fourie, William Boy Bana, Sam Williams, John "Die Dier", the late Cyril Petersen and the late Nic du Plessis. Michael's success is the product of what he puts in.
He is a 6th Dan Black Belt and can produce world class karateka. Michael is also known as the "Tiger" of Western Cape JKA Karate.
Anyone interested in self defence and becoming world class competitors is welcome to contact Michael (083 535 4175).
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