Bakwadi, the first Black African kata champion
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday June 9, 2017 15:17
Bakwadi was also part of the men’s kata team that brought home a gold medal. Yesterday, Bakwadi sat down with Mmegi Sport to talk about his flourishing karate career.
“Winning a gold medal at UFAK is an amazing feeling and I have long waited for this moment. I have been working hard for it. The good thing about kata is that you get better with age,” he says.
Bakwadi says the medal is a first for the country and he becomes the first ‘black’ African title holder. Over the years, the title was won by athletes from the Arab countries such as Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt.
Boasting with confidence as he makes himself comfortable in a swivel chair across a large boardroom table, he takes a deep breath before opening up about his amazing journey. Bakwadi was born 32 years ago in Gaborone. He did his primary school at Ithuteng Primary School. It was during his primary school days that he started karate.
“My brother Mpho was a member of Samurai Club, which was based at Gaborone Secondary School under Shukukai. He dragged me one day to training and I did not like it. He literally had to pay me to go there by giving me combi fare,” he remembers with a smile.
He says it got to a point where he went for training even when he was not given the fare.
In 2000, Bakwadi was graded to black belt, which was his first major achievement. Despite that, his first junior national call up was in 1999 during the Zone VI Championships where he was the only athlete to win a kata medal. In 2003, he attended the Hayashi-Ha World Championships in Sweden where he scooped gold in both kata and kumite.
“It was my first major international tournament that was attended by countries such as Japan and athletes from around the world. Hayashi-Ha World Championships is a big tournament when compared to Hayashi-Ha World Open Championships,” he says.
Bakwadi made his debut at the All Africa Games in 2007 as part of team kata together with Nonofho Keokilwe and Tebogo Molapong. The team finished in the third place and he also won bronze for individual kata.
The athlete has always been part of the national team and always brought medals home.
Due to his passion for the sport, he sponsored himself to compete at the All Africa Games in 2012. That was a period when Botswana Karate Association was bankrupt. Bakwadi continued digging deep into his pockets to attend the US Open when best of the best karatekas attend. “It is a big platform where you compete against the best.
I lost in the first round to the American champion. I proceeded to the karate league in Dubai Open in the United Arab Emirates, where I finished 11th. It was a major milestone for me and the Botswana karate,” he says.
Bakwadi says training is very important when it comes to karate. He says in order for the local athletes to excel at international competitions, they should have training camps outside the country. Bakwadi says local karatekas need training exposure not tournament exposure.
FACT FILE
FULL NAMES: Ofentse Oshima Bakwadi
PLACE OF BIRTH: Gaborone
DATE OF BIRTH: 17/01/1985
SPORT: Karate
MEAL: Lerotse and mogatla