Harry has karate coursing through his veins

BRIAN JOSSELOWITZ

 Pictured :Harry Pieterkosky, 65, at his dojo at home in Milnerton.

PICTURE: MONIQUE DUVAL

Pieterkosky was born in Johannesburg, but moved to Cape Town when he was 10. He grew up in Sea Point.

“I was a handicapped child with limited use of my arms as a result of a type of polio and I was very overweight,” Pieterkosky said. “When I was 12 my [older] brother started karate and I became fascinated with the katas (sequence of movements) and I used to train with him so when he took me to the dojo they accepted me, even though they had not trained children before. So I began karate when I was 13.”

His senseis were Hugh St John Thompson, his wife Marty and his brother Dennis who trained in Japan and at various times Japanese instructors taught at the dojo. After a short stint in Japan, Thompson introduced the Goju Ryu format and Pieterkosky was in the first group to get a black belt in this martial arts style.

In 1968 Pieterkosky started teaching the children’s beginners class and in 1973 he started his own dojo in Sea Point and then branched out to Malmesbury, Mooreesburg, Piketberg, Darling and Paarl, but he has handed over the “country schools” to his students and now only teaches in Milnerton. One of his black belt students runs his new dojo in Johannesburg.

He holds 05:00 classes during the week at his Milnerton dojo for students who can’t make the evening classes and on Sunday mornings, students come from as far as Worcester.

“I was awarded Western Province colours three times and also represented the province as a referee and later became the chief referee for the Western Cape. I was also a national selector and in 1973 became the youngest A Class referee in South Africa.”

Karate expertise runs in the family: Harry’s wife Clare (5th Dan), daughters Martine Friedlander (6th Dan) and Daniella Hack (4th Dan) and son Mickey (2nd Dan) all have Western Province colours.

Other students include Matthew Rinkwest, Johan Pietersen and Amos Schreuder and his son Hugo and daughter, Thelma, who have won Boland colours and two brothers Tinus and Wickus Bronkhorst have represented South Africa in kickboxing three times. 

There are weekly karate camps every school holiday for children, university students and adults.

For almost five years Pieterkosky taught karate at the Klein Drakenstein prison youth centre near Paarl and inmates who took part in two international tournaments, all won medals. “I paid the fees while DA MP Michael Bagraim paid for the karate suits, grading and entry fees for outside tournaments they took part in. 

“I also run special weapons classes free for any students in Joe Slovo and DuNoon near Milnerton,” said Pieterkosky who is an 8th Dan Goju Ryu. He has been to Japan four times, the first time in 1980 and he also spent three weeks in England with a senior student where they trained and taught karate.

As an observant Jew – although he did referee at tournaments on a Saturday afternoon – he has resigned as a national selector and referee because he does not want to work on Shabbat. He is a member of the West Coast Chabad Shul where he attends services regularly and for 13 years he attended the Jewish Learning Centre of which he was a founder member.

Pieterkosky has an in-depth knowledge of homeopathy and believes that if he didn’t catch the karate bug he would probably have been a homeopath.

“My family have always said I would drop dead at the dojo or in shul as my life revolves around these two places.”

He stopped taking part in tournaments in 1980 as his shoulders could not handle the impact. But he has never stopped training, “even with bolts” in his back, after a recent spinal operation and he will one day need a knee replacement…