By Yelibenwork Ayele

Hideki Okamoto, founder of the Association for Supporting African AIDS Children, is planning to work with the relevant ministry of the Ethiopian government to give karate training for children in orphanages and hospitals.

Hideki Okamoto, a Japanese karate instructor from the Japan Karate Association, was due to arrive here on Wednesday from Gabbon but was detained there because airport personnel in Gabon were on strike. The Reporter spoke to Reda Bavraoui, a Morocan businessman and karate practitioner, who had invited Okamoto.

With Okamoto, Bavraoui has a small project. "It is not only karate. He will come and provide teaching and lecturing on karate for free for a group of black belts. But we also have a small project which is karate more on the human side. We want to see how we can propose karate training in some of the hospitals and orphanages here."

Bavraoui thinks that if they train and like it, karate will be a lot of fun and entertainment for orphans and children in hospitals. It is very good for their body and the brain and it will raise their self-esteem.

"It is like using karate for charity and humanitarian work," said Reda Bouraoui, who was here this week to train Ethiopian black belts for three days. "When I come here occasionally for training, I like to focus on the basics and to reinforce the main spirit of karate around discipline, honesty, and integrity"

Karate-do, in Japanese, means way of empty hand or hands with no weapon. "Basically, your hand is a weapon. You can use it us a hammer or a sword," said Bouraoui.

The most important aspect of karate is strengthening the brain and the body. When it comes to the body, it is not about fighting, it is about controlling the heart beat so that the practitioner avoids panic.

"Many people who know that I practice karate ask if I have ever fought. But it is not like that. Because you practice karate, you avoid fight." A karate practitioner knows how to control his emotions and how to avoid panic. Therefore, he can manage conflicts without physical confrontation.

"And it does not mean that a karate practitioner is stronger than one who is not. There are many good fighters who are not karate practitioners. But a karate player will have the brain and emotional stability to avoid panic. That is the big difference."

Reda Bouraoui is the regional vice president of Pepsi International and manages the Pepsi business in Mouritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libia, Sudan. He comes to Ethiopia every three months on business. He has practiced karate for 25 years.

"I love karate for the spirit of it, not for fighting. I need it for my business because business is full of stress and pressure, negative emotions. Karate provides relief from stress and gives mental strength and physical strength to support oneself."

Karate has a lot of principles of human value like honor, respect, integrity and diligence. "I could be staying in my suite now, but I am here, I have the opportunity to share, to train and I do not miss it. That is the spirit of karate."