The impact of Karate in younger ages was further demonstrated on the second day of action at the 2017 WKF Youth Camp & WKF Karate 1 Youth Cup being held in Umag (Croatia). The over 2000 young karatekas from 69 countries on site enjoyed a day marked by the new experiences of Karate’s future stars, and the memorable moments together with the Karate legends acting as instructors.  

The impact of Karate in younger ages was further demonstrated on the second day of action at the 2017 WKF Youth Camp & WKF Karate 1 Youth Cup being held in Umag (Croatia). The over 2000 young karatekas from 69 countries on site enjoyed a day marked by the new experiences of Karate’s future stars, and the memorable moments together with the Karate legends acting as instructors.  

“Our goal is to show the magnitude of Karate; we have 69 countries represented here and everybody is training together, mixing culture, blending experiences and making new friends,” said WKF Athletes Commission Chairman and instructor at the 2017 WKF Youth Camp Davide Benetello. 

At the training sessions scheduled on Wednesday, young karatekas had the opportunity to practice and learn from some of the biggest legends of the sport. Divided into different age categories, the nearly 1500 youngsters participating at the second day of action improved their abilities working with instructors such as Davide Benetello, Luca Valdesi, Antonio Diaz, Douglas Brose, Predrag Stojadinov, Junior Lefevre and Stanislav Horuna. The Karate legends showed youngsters different techniques such as the right stances, distances, kumite combinations or the path to a perfect kata, among many others.  

“Events like this Youth Camp are very important for the betterment of the new generations, of the future stars of the sport, and for me it is a great honour. I hope I can give back something of what Karate has given me in life and transmit it to the kids participating in this camp,” said two-time World champion and instructor Antonio Diaz. 

It was also a special moment for the young participants in the event since they did not only learn secrets from first-class heroes of the sport, but they also had the chance to interact with their idols. Hopeful youngsters were busy after the sessions trying to catch the instructors’ autographs or getting a picture with their favourite senseis, and parents and coaches alike were ready on the sidelines to assist the optimistic young karatekas. 

The WKF Youth Camp will continue on Thursday as the event will transition to the WKF Karate 1 Youth Cup scheduled to start on Friday.