Karate’s initiative to fight Gender-Based Violence, the “Guardian Girls Global Karate Project” was presented in Dublin during the Karate 1-Premier League event in Ireland’s capital.

The successful programme, which has garnered tremendous interest in the presentations held this year in Cairo (Egypt), Rabat (Morocco), Madrid (Spain) and Fukuoka (Japan), was presented Saturday in Dublin by its three creators, the World Karate Federation, the United Nations Population Fund, and the Koyamada International Foundation.

Brilliantly hosted and organised by the Ireland Karate Federation (ONAKAI), the event in Dublin demonstrated the outstanding contribution of the programme when supported unequivocally by the National Karate organisation, as was the case with ONAKAI.   

The event had the participation of the President of the Irish Karate Federation Chris Kelly, Women in Sport Lead with Sport Ireland Nora Stapleton, the Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Japan to Ireland Norimasa Yoshida, the President of KIF Nia Lyte, and WKF General Secretary Toshihisa Nagura. The head of UNFPA's London office Monica Ferro participated via video message.  

The President of the Irish Karate Federation Chris Kelly said:

“This is a very important initiative to promote gender equality and empower women to defend themselves from all forms of gender-based violence across the world. As president, I give my commitment that we will promote this project through the National Federation and in conjunction with our women's sports team and with the help of Sport Ireland.”

Women in Sport Lead with Sport Ireland Nora Stapleton, who participated as a student in the Seminar said:

“I did take part in the Seminar today. We walked through the door and suddenly were thrown onto the mat and straight into it. I think like everybody here today, I certainly learned something new. And I did feel empowered.

“(This initiative) shows how progressive the sport is to be able to design and create a program such as this one. I also think this could be a really great gateway for women and girls to actually get into karate as well as other sports. I look forward to seeing what the future holds and how the program might roll out, whether it's in clubs, communities, schools, or workplaces and think it can be something that can be introduced widely.”

The Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Japan to Ireland Norimasa Yoshida said:

“The demonstration was very nice. Karate was born in Japan and it's a martial art of Japan. For me, karate used to be just about fighting and competing against each other. But I just learned that karate is a martial art with a strong base on self-defence. So that's why karate very much fits into self-protection for women. I hope these activities will strengthen the ties and the relationship between Ireland and Japan in the near future.”

WKF General Secretary Toshihisa Nagura said:

“We started this project last year, almost one year ago in Los Angeles, United States, and then this year we did this initiative in Cairo, Madrid, Rabat, and Fukuoka. And now here in Dublin. Next month, we will have a big seminar in Budapest, Hungary, when we have our World Championships. Next year, we have a plan to establish the so-called Guardian Girls Karate Academy in each country of our 200 National Federations all over the world. And we hope that in each country, National Federations can establish the Guardian Girls Karate Academies.”

The President of KIF Nia Lyte said:

“The benefits of Karate are amazing. Karate gives you confidence and empowerment and it helps you defend yourself or escape from a life-threatening situation. It also helps you mentally, it gives you mental resilience to be able not to freeze but to react. Karate sport training provides women with self-defence skills that allow them to face gender-based violence situations.”

The head of UNFPA's London office Monica Ferro said in her video message:

“Gender-based violence is one of the most prevalent violations in the world. We know this type of violence undermines the health, the dignity, the security, and the autonomy of the survivors. UNFPA is the lead agency working to reduce gender-based violence; this is why today I am thrilled to be supporting this seminar. Karate is a powerful tool to empower women and girls and to grow self-esteem and leadership skills.”   

The Presentation followed the Guardian Girls Karate Seminar held in Dublin today as well. A group of over 30 women from Dublin participated in the women’s self-defence Seminar to empower women against situations of Gender-Based Violence.

Created by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, the Koyamada International Foundation (KIF) and the World Karate Federation (WKF), the Guardian Girls Global Karate Project aims to promote gender equality and empower women and girls to defend themselves from all forms of Gender-Based Violence through Karate training.

 Learn More about the Guardian Girls Karate initiative HERE

(Top picture: From left to right: WKF General Secretary Toshihisa Nagura, the President of the Irish Karate Federation Chris Kelly, Women in Sports lead with Sport Ireland Nora Stapleton, The Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Japan to Ireland Norimasa Yoshida, and The President of KIF Nia Lyte).