Top martial artists set to compete in Malta

For the first time, the Traditional Karate Federation of Malta will be hosting the European Traditional Karate Championships between June 4 and 5 at the Cottonera Sports Complex.

Organisers of the championships said that 300 persons between athletes, officials and guests, from 28 countries, will make Malta their home in the coming weeks.

The championships are an annual event and last year Macedonia was the host nation. Through this important event, the Traditional Karate Federation of Malta will be making an important contribution to the island's sport tourism. The Kunsill Malti ghall-iSport (KMS) is the main sponsor of the championships.

Speaking at the launching this week, Iden Azzopardi, chairman of the tournament organising committee, called for interested volunteers to come forward and provide assistance during the championships. Around 120 volunteers are needed.

The proper history of Traditional Karate is almost impossible to trace due to the secrecy surrounding the arts as well as the lack of written records. It is known that the martial arts of Okinawa and Japan were influenced in the development of their martial arts by various Chinese sources.

Joe Cassar, Chief Executive Officer of the KMS, said that their association with the championships forms part of the International Participation Local Assistance Scheme, which strives to help local organisations to hold international events as well as to promote sports tourism.

Cassar added that Malta's sports infrastructure is continuously improving. The Cottonera Sports Complex regularly stages international events and for the past months the Marsa Sports Grounds hosted football teams who come over for training camps.

Meanwhile, a number of other martial arts activities will be held during the Euro Championships. These will involve Kumite (Free sparring), Kata (Forms), Enbu (Offence-Defence Technique Demonstration) and Fuku-go (a combination of free sparring and forms). Each category is based on a system of points awarded by judges. In all cases, any form of contact is prohibited and should it occur, points are deducted and in severe cases, athletes are even disqualified.

One may obtain more details on the championship from website - www.karatemalta.com/euro2005