Karate trio shatters age boundaries at world championship

Three proteges of Johannesburg karate grandmaster and instructor Malcolm Dorfman achieved something they never thought possible by winning bronze at the World Shotokan Karate Association Championships in Liverpool, England, on 10 September.

The synchronised Shotokan-style kata executed by King David Victory Park Grade 9 student Ross Raven (15), Greenside High Grade 10 student Dylan Harry (16), and Parktown Boys Grade 11 student Matthew Pine (17) resulted in them being placed third in the junior men (under 21) team kata, ahead of Belgium and behind the Czech Republic and winners England at the M&S Bank Arena.

“They did pretty well because going against youngsters of 20 when they are 15, 16, and 17 is very difficult,” says Dorfman, who owns Dorfman Karate in Johannesburg with his son, karate master Shane. “There are maturity and physical differences. To come out with bronze medals was quite a feat.”

He says the host nation were quite old in comparison to his South African proteges. “You could see a physical difference.”

Dorfman doesn’t take all the credit for his charges’ performance, saying, “Shane’s students are my students, and my students are Shane’s students.”

Raven attends all Dorfman’s classes at Dorfman Karate’s Parktown dojo, but actually belongs to Dorfman Karate’s Melrose dojo spearheaded by Shane.

“Malcolm has given me a new look at karate,” Raven says. “He’s helped me understand the meaning of it. He’s shown me how it correlates with life.”

Raven says it’s unbelievable to have won bronze at a championships contested by 24 countries, saying, “We never thought we could.”

He says Dorfman, the first 9th Dan Westerner in a Japan-based mainstream Shotokan organisation, pushed their limits further than they imagined possible in the lead-up to the championships. “Malcolm drove every aspect of everything we did. It was tough.”

Wanting them to get experience of competing against other countries, Dorfman entered Raven, Harry, and Pine in the junior category to do their kata in unison. Every country was allowed to enter one team.

Similar to synchronised skating, they performed their kata together at the championships in front of seven judges, who scored their performance.

“Virtually every single European country participated along with the United States and South Africa,” Dorfman says. “Some teams were bigger than others. Obviously, it was easier for the European teams to get there. South Africa’s disadvantage is distance. If you take the Europeans, for instance, a team in Switzerland can have an international with Germany by getting onto the train and just travelling across the border, so these guys have such international exposure. Our guys may be just as good, but they don’t have the same experience. We train amongst ourselves.”

To prepare his three championships-bound karateka, Dorfman focused on the tournament in his regular classes during the week and gave the trio special classes on Fridays and the odd Saturdays. “They also practised on their own to make sure that they were working in sync. They were very diligent in their approach. I shared my experience and advice, which they took gladly. They also listened well. When somebody listens well, they do well.”

At the championship, aside from the team kata, Raven competed in the youth men individual kumite, while Harry and Pine competed in the cadet men individual kumite. The latter captained the Karatenomichi World Federation South African cadet team at the championships.

Harry and Pine started attending Dorfman’s classes when they were about five. “I was asked by a friend who had a nursery school if I would come and give the nursery school kids some karate,” Dorfman recalls. “Two boys stood head and shoulders above the others. The other kids were inattentive, playing the fool. So, I phoned their parents and said, ‘I’ve noticed something special about your kids. Please bring them to my dojo.’ I’ve been teaching their kids ever since.”

The duo has won many titles, and been South African champions in their age group almost every year.

Asked what he would like to see Raven, Harry, and Pine achieve in karate, Dorfman says, “This will be up to them. Number one, they have the talent. Number two, both Shane and I can give them the expert intuition that we’ve accumulated over decades of top international exposure. Number three, do they actually have the desire to rise to the top as adults?”

As an example, Dorfman has been dedicated to karate every day for the past 55 years. “Shane [a 7th Dan] followed in my footsteps, but my other son didn’t, even though he was fantastic, a World Junior Champion, but at 18, he decided he wanted to pursue another path,” he says.