No breaking bricks at Goju Ryu

With a children-friendly way of conducting his class, Sensei Chè Jagger has continued the proud tradition of Paul Andrè and Aubrey Pieterse who founded Goju Ryu Karate Centre.

“Karate is not all about competitions and accolades, it is a lifelong study of the martial art,” said Chè.

Chè started Karate at the age of six as a school activity when he attended La Salle College.

This was to deal with incessant bullying he had to endure at home and school.

“As the youngest child in my family I was often bullied but the discipline that karate offered helped me deal with it,” he said.

Che received his first black belt in 1989 as a 14-year-old with the help of instructor Paul. He currently has a third dan in karate.

After taking a break from martial arts in 1991 and 1992 to concentrate on his school work and personal life, he returned during his post matric year and continued with karate.

“When I was young, I was so engrossed in karate I had bad social skills. Being that La Salle College was a boys school at the time, boys were the only gender I socialized with and I couldn’t relate to the opposite gender. I decided to take a break from the dojo,” he said.

Pupils take a year to progress to the next level at the Karate centre, this is to ensure the pupils are fully equipped and understand the technical aspect of each level.

“There is no instant gratification at the centre. It is no use having a 12-year-old black belt but when it comes to protecting themselves in the streets, they cannot do anything. We prefer spending more time teaching them the technical aspects of martial arts,” said Chè.

The classes at the centre are based on age and not level. This is to instil discipline and hierarchy within the pupils.

“This is to teach the pupils more responsibility and to respect authority. The older pupils are responsible for teaching the younger ones and assist during class,” he said.

Chè wants to bring back the classical and traditional aspects of martial arts which made the West Rand a powerhouse in producing national athletes.

“We need to go beyond the sports context. Martial art has become too game orientated which is not a bad thing but you have youngsters that can’t handle the physical side of the sport,” he said.