I started my karate journey in primary school and it changed my mindset and my life.

The area where I live isn’t filled with positivity. A lot of children are changed by their surroundings and circumstances at home. Many children don’t finish school and end up gambling or joining gangs. They don’t have anything to focus on and become influenced by the negativity of the area, choosing the wrong path in life. I know a few people who were in the same grade as me in primary school who are now on the streets. 

My parents, school, and karate helped me focus on what I wanted to achieve for myself, and filter out the negatives I was surrounded with on a daily basis. When I started karate I was extremely excited! I looked forward to every training session we had at school. Through karate my time always was occupied –  after every training session at school I would come back home and work on what we were taught – to keep myself sharp – until the next lesson at school. Karate is a fantastic sport for children to learn discipline. That is definitely what I needed at school, and just in general, because where I come from it’s easier for a child without the discipline to get pulled into the life of gambling, gangsterism, and drugs. 

It was a big achievement for me when Sensei Bruce invited me to come and train at Claremont dojo. There were a bunch of students who trained at the dojo who were serious about their karate and really good at it too. I was so excited to be one of those students, and to know that I also train at the dojo! Because of this, my weekends were occupied, and this is a great blessing in the area where I live.

Now I am an instructor at the primary school where my karate journey started, and this feels amazing. I’m really happy to see how far I’ve come. Teaching karate to students of my community and sharing my story with them is something that brings me great joy. 

The children at Capricorn Primary are shocked to hear that I use to attend Capricorn Primary and that I started my karate journey there as well. I share with them all my achievements and the opportunities I got through karate. I tell them that all of these things can also be achieved by them one day too. I tell them Confidence, Respect and Control is what they need to demonstrate at home, school, and at karate, in order for them to go further in karate than I am today.

It really is an absolute pleasure to be a student at Samurai Claremont and to share the gift of karate with the children of my community.

OSAAA

LUCHIANO JACOBS | 2nd Dan Black Belt