Nat Johnson to change the face of Karate-do in Ghana
The newly elected president of the Ghana Karate-do Federation Mr Nathaniel Johnson says he would increase the number of dojos in the country from 40 to 100 to enable karatekas have access and make a living out of it.
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He revealed that currently the number of dojos--a hall or place where practitioners train and practice karate do-- are inaccessible to practitioners hence the unpopularity of the sport in communities and the country as a whole.
"If we get these dojos in every community for karatekas who will pay to train and learn the sport, then we will create employment for these instructors and administrators who will be part of the dojos," he told the Daily Graphic in an exclusive interview in Accra last Friday.
Mr Johnson says he is focusing his leadership on six pillars which are to deepen the unity among karatekas, strengthen the structures and control of the federation and promote continuous training and development of karate do programmes.
“I will also promote karate in our institutions and schools, create business models aligned with karate to generate revenue for the federation and ensure practitioners are employed in the security agencies,” he stated.
Mr Johnson says the sport is basically for self defense and he seeks to introduce it to kids and the youth in communities to protect themselves against any impending danger.
"I will liaise with the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry for Youth and Sports to add karate do to the school curriculum and syllabus to teach our children how to defend themselves when they are isolated from their communities," he stated.
On the immediate, Mr Johnson hopes to launch a fund raising scheme to source for funds for the sport and collect dues owed the federation by the current dojos in the country.
" Karate do is a least financed sport , so we must seek to raise our own funds, doing that means collecting dues from these existing dojos and constructing new dojos to get more funds, in that case when more members come to practice they make more monies from these dojos and the federation makes more money, " the business entrepreneur told the Daily Graphic.
An astute karateka, Mr Johnson hopes to leverage on his experience, work together with his executives to make karate do an attractive venture for all and sundry.
He also pledged to construct a national dojo that can host international competitions and create awareness of the sport to make it a national pastime.
"If u let people understand and appreciate that karate do is for self defense and protection and let them know the health benefits, they will be on board and the sport will give Ghana medals on the international stage while also raising the flag of Ghana very high on the international scene," he stated.
He appealed to the Ministry and corporate agencies to come on board to make the sport an avenue for great revenue for the state and the unemployed youth in the country.
