Martial artists gather in Israel

Martial artists in Israel

  • 1/26/2012
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    ​Jerusalem's Malcha Stadium was the setting for the 30th European Traditional Karate Championship, held in November 2011. Some 170 martial artists from 15 countries competed in the event, kicked off by a gala opening ceremony in the presence of Mayor Nir Barkat, European ambassadors and other dignitaries.
  • Mayor Nir Barkat addressing the karate championship (Photo: Oriyah Tadmor/Municipality of Jerusalem)
     
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    "We are strongly behind the message of using the tradition of karate to join people regardless of nationality," says Eyal Nir, head of the Traditional Karate Federation of Israel (TKFI).
     
    Nir was the driving force behind the choice of Jerusalem as the setting for the 30th European Traditional Karate Championship, held on November 16-17, 2011.
     
    Some 170 martial artists from 15 countries competed in the event at the Malcha Stadium, kicked off by a gala opening ceremony in the presence of Mayor Nir Barkat, European ambassadors and other dignitaries. Young Israeli karate students participated in a colorful parade of flags to set the mood for the multinational match, which meets every two years in a different country.
     
     Opening of the multinational event at Jerusalem's Malcha Stadium
    Opening of the multinational event at Jerusalem's Malcha Stadium
    (Photo: Oriyah Tadmor/Municipality of Jerusalem)
     
    "It's an international prestigious event, and we were lucky to get help from the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the municipality of Jerusalem," says Nir. "It has a lot of benefits, not just in the sports domain, but for Israel in general. We are now a candidate to host the world championships in 2014, so this was very important for our country."
     
    The competitors included junior martial artists aged 16-19, and seniors aged 19 and up. In addition to Israel, they represented Spain, Russia, Moldova, the United Kingdom, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Macedonia, Czech Republic, Austria, Lithuania, France, Armenia and Cyprus.
     
    The Polish athletes scored the most medals, with the Romanians, Macedonians and Ukrainians not far behind. The Israeli junior team came in third place, and Israelis winning individual third-place awards were Shiri Rinat for women's Ko-Go style and Reuven Sharf for men's Fuku-Go style.
     
    "We got really good feedback - not one complaint," reports Nir. "They all had a great experience. The president of the Polish federation, who is also vice president of the International Traditional Karate Federation [ITKF], stayed in Israel a few extra days with his wife. He called from the Dead Sea to say how grateful he was."
     
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    ​The Tradition Continues
     
    Nir started his campaign to host the event in Israel ahead of a 2009 congress of the ITKF, which took place in Italy. His efforts paid off as members voted to hold the 2011 championships in Jerusalem. "Then we started working," says Nir. "For the last two years, we put our lives aside and worked on making this happen. It didn't happen seamlessly."
     
    However, the championships themselves went smoothly. In addition to the competitive events, athletes and spectators were treated to a martial arts demonstration by Arab and Jewish children from Budo for Peace, a network of 20 martial arts clubs mostly in northern Israel. "This is an organization we cooperate with," says Nir. "They shake hands at the end, and it's symbolic and nice."
     
    A contestant performs for the judges (Photo: Oriyah Tadmor/Municipality of Jerusalem)
    A contestant performs for the judges (Photo: Oriyah Tadmor/Municipality of Jerusalem)
     
    With support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and building on the good feelings engendered by the European championships, TKFI has launched The Tradition Continues, an initiative to promote relations between Israel and the other member countries of the ITKF. "We met with ambassadors from Poland, Lithuania and France and discussed all sorts of activities we'd like to do together starting in 2012," says Nir. "We would like to expand to other countries as well."
     
    Among the programs in this initiative will be Nir's Budo Way lectures and workshops about how to use martial arts philosophy to enhance personal and professional lives. He has so far presented these sessions mainly in Israel and the United States.
     
    "It's natural for me because I've been doing martial arts for years, and also have experience in high-tech and as a teacher and lecturer," says Nir. The Israeli Embassy in France has already expressed an interest in hosting a Budo Way workshop there, for Jewish and non-Jewish audiences, as part of a planned goodwill tournament in Paris.