Martial arts training can change your life for the better, says a Steenberg karate sensei who has written a book on the topic.

Ashihara Karate: Sabaki – the essential guide to mastering the art, by Hoosain Narker, was launched at South Peninsula High School hall, in Diep River, on Sunday.

Ashihara Karate is the style of the martial art that the 61-year-old practises while Sabaki is the strategy of that style, he says.

The self-published book caters for beginners to advanced students, he says.

"Karate means ‘empty hands’. But what it means for each individual is as personal and specific as the way that individual goes about pursuing it. For some, karate is a means to learn how to defend oneself against an attacker. For some, it is a way to condition and strengthen the body. Some may be attracted by the inner discipline and development that one finds through training. This book addresses all the above in a clearly defined way.“

Mr Narker published his first book, My Karate Odyssey - A six month journey across north and central America with my doji, backpack and laptop as travelling companions, in 2008, and he continued to write several technical manuals about karate.

His love for martial arts was influenced by the early flood of kung fu movies in the 1970s, and he started karate in 1974.

"Also, I was small and chubby and wanted to obtain a physique like Bruce Lee."

Although he lost the sight of one eye, at the age of 9, when bleach splashed onto it, he continued to pursue his dream. It’s a dream that has now lasted more than 50 years.

“And my school, which I opened in 1980, will reach its 45th anniversary in September,” he says.

Mr Narker says Ashihara Karate goes beyond self defence. “There is nothing secret or mysterious about the principles and philosophy of Ashihara Karate. Basically, the study of this art, like any other art or profession, demands strict control and discipline. A total discipline that encompasses physical, as well as mental control under all conditions and situations.”

Mr Narker says he has trained and taught karate in 60 countries and was a finalist in championships in America.

“I’ve also taught self defence to the US Army and, whilst not tournament-oriented, succeeded in becoming the grand champion at the 1994 SA Taekwondo Championships, after which I represented this country at the World Championships.”

With a six-month tour of America in 1999, Mr Narker won the US Taekwondo Hanmadang Championships and was also placed second in the US Full Contact Knockdown Championships.

“In 2005, together with six students, we won a total of 17 medals at the world championships in Germany. At that event, I became a multiple world champion. In August 2007, under my auspices, the South African team placed third overall at the World Bravery Games held in Turkey.”

There have been further accolades since then, he adds, “including a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Karate Championships with the most recent performance being our team of four at the Indian Ashihara Karate National Championships”.

Asked about his future plans, he says, “Other than continuing to teach karate and making a difference in our communities, I have another manuscript of about 500 pages on the history of the martial arts in South Africa. This covers the effect that apartheid had on the sport as well.”

Ashihara Karate: Sabaki – the essential guide to mastering the art, by Hoosain Narker, was launched at South Peninsula High School hall, in Diep River, on Sunday.

Elias Jacobs (Chujin Karate Eerste River), Peter Klipfel (Seiwakai Karate Table View) and Gaston Bonifazi (Kaizen Martial Arts Mitchells Plain) with copies of Hoosain Narker’s book, Ashihara Karate: Sabaki – the essential guide to mastering the art.