Premium
Big entry for Mombasa martial arts contest
Kenyan and foreign players in a training session on August 29, 2018 ahead of the fifth edition of the Mombasa Tong -IL-Moo Do International Martial Arts Championship to be held at the Aga Khan Academy next week. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT |
What you need to know:
- Some of the countries expected to be represented are Thailand, United States of America, United Kingdom, Paraguay, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Nepal and the Philippines.
- Others are South Korea, Tanzania, Japan, Republic of the Congo, Uganda, South Africa, Netherlands, Benin, Iran, Germany, Mali, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Argentina, Turkey and hosts Kenya.
A minimum representation from 20 countries is expected at next month’s Mombasa Open Tong-IL Moo-Do International Martial Arts Championships to be held at the Aga Khan Academy.
The championships will run from September 2 to 11.
Kenya Tong-IL Moo-Do Federation chairman Clarence Mwakio said the tournament is open to other martial arts sports including karate, taekwondo, judo, kung-fu, aikido, jiu-jitsu, ninjutsu, hapkido, capoeira, Japanese kendo and wushu.
Some of the countries expected to be represented are Thailand, United States of America, United Kingdom, Paraguay, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Nepal and the Philippines.
Others are South Korea, Tanzania, Japan, Republic of the Congo, Uganda, South Africa, Netherlands, Benin, Iran, Germany, Mali, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Argentina, Turkey and hosts Kenya.
Addressing a press conference at the federation’s headquarters in Mombasa on Monday, Mwakio, who is also the Africa Tong-IL Moo-Do Federation president, said the main event will be held on September 8 and 9.
"The Mombasa event is the first martial arts programme of its kind in Africa.
“The tournament is meant to bring together participants from across the globe for 10 days to take part in training martial arts and learning character education," Mwakio said.
He said the tournament’s organising committee has invited martial arts practitioners to compete in sparring, forms and special techniques.
"Competitors from as young as eight-year-old boys and girls to men and women of up to 55 years shall compete as individuals and teams in various categories in the two days tournament," said Mwakio.
