Shunkenkan pupils pass grading

Three members of Shunkenkan Ju-Jitsu are all smiles after they passed their recent belt grading.

Jonathan Carolus, JP van Rooyen and Gerrit Sandrock traveled to the Tonkinkan Dojo in Benoni where they were personally graded by seventh dan Shihon Tonkin in the Jikishin-ju-jitsu style.

Jonathan and JP moved onto orange belt while Gerrit received a yellow belt.

Their sensei Adriaan van der Werken said he was proud of his pupils and how well they done in Benoni.

“They did very well and members from other clubs approached them regularly to inquire about where they train. They did the club and themselves proud. Ju jitsu is not easy, it takes a lot of hard work,” he said.

One common reason the members said they joined the club was for self defence, JP was robbed twice at gunpoint before he had enough of being a victim.

“When I was being robbed, I couldn’t think on my feet but training in ju-jitsu has helped me a lot and I am confident that I will be able to protect myself in dangerous situations,” he said.

Gerrit, who is close friends with Sensei Adriaan, was always interested in the martial arts and joined the club two years ago.

“It was the best decision because I have learned tactics and skills to defend myself,” he said.

Jonathan, who works in security decided to join the club for self defence purposes and wanted to learn more than just street fighting.

“It is good to know that my progress in the martial art has been acknowledged because I have started to enjoy learning ju-jitsu,” he said.