LEE KHOTLELE
The Turkish trio are well-known in the karate fraternity and will be in the country for a week. Ian le Roux, the Karate South Africa director of coaching, says the camp will help both seniors and juniors grow and develop their skills.
“They’re brilliant coaches. The purpose of this activity list is to create development and exposure opportunities to the athletes of the KSA senior squad as well as for preparation for the various national and international tournaments,” he tells Courant.
They are highly rated coaches specialising in Kumite. Ucan was several times national champion in Turkey while Kandaz is the two-time silver medalist in the European Championship.
Alagas, who competes in the Kumite -70 kg division, is a multiple world and European champion and ranks first in the world in his weight division.
Among participants who have been invited to be part of the training camp, there will be the members of the South African team to partake in the African Championship.
“We’ve got the primary group. Our Free State High Performance group of athletes, those that are part of the Free State Karate High performance programme are the first target group,” adds Le Roux.
“We have also invited a few young, top and promising athletes (karate) to come and train with us.”
There will be two training sessions per day; two hours in the morning (8:00 until 10:30) and two hours in the afternoon (16:00 until 18:00) from Monday to Friday. The Saturday’s session will run from 8:00-12:00.
