14/04/2023
This is me.
20 Years ago I was this young, insecure, scared little boy as seen on the left side of the photo. I wasn't good at anything. I tried every single school sport there was. Stuggling to find the perfect one, as I truly sucked at every single one. Tennis, cricket, athletics, chess... You name it. I tried it.
I didn't have alot of friends.
Untill this day, 15/11/2003. The first time I walked into a Dojo.
Right there I knew I belong. As a junior belt I trained in my own beginners class as well as the advanced/senior class. I couldn't get enough of Karate.
After class I would get home and train by myself again. I put my whole heart and soul into Karate. I studied karate books from a very young age. Every school oral was about Karate.
In 2009 I was in Matric, didn't know what exactly I wanted to do with my life. All I knew is I needed karate to be part of it. I was granted the opportunity to start my own Dojo.
Till today I am the proud sensei of Eagles Karate.
I was a competitor, I won hundreds of medals. Always wanted to do better and become the best.
Today I am a 5th Dan instructor and I realize that I am teaching the complete opposite style of Karate that I was used to training as a kid. Medals and trophies are material things. If your aim is only to win medals then you most likely wont make it to blackbelt.
My motto is "Im not teaching you how to fight, I am teaching you to control evil".
Evil as in the obstacles of daily life. To help a child feel they belong. To know that whether you win or lose, you always display respect and character.
If you want to learn how to fight, my Dojos are not the place for you !
I always say, anyone can fight. It's not that hard to throw a punch. If you are lucky you might just land one.
The characteristics I lacked as a karate student is the characteristics I plow into my students. Im not teaching them to be like me, I am teaching them to be better than I ever was.
Karate made me the person I am today. And you will never get me otherwise.
This is me,
Shaun Gough
WJKA 5th Dan
EAGLES KARATE