GIRLS LEARNING KARATE

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31323, 20 March 1967, Page 2

GIRLS LEARNING KARATE

Before long Christchurch will have its own supply of “Emma Peels.” “Prospective Emmas” limbered up at the first session of a women’s self-defence course in the city yesterday.

Under their tutor; Mr D. Holloway, the girls did a series of strenuous exercises and prepared for unarmed combat with swift kicks and sharp punches. The first part of the course will be devoted to techniques, kicks and strikes, and the second half to defences against various angles of attack. In spite of hearsay, karate had no mental secrets but was entirely physical, said Mr Holloway. He assured his class that karate was not a matter of “breaking bricks” but of practical self-defence, which combined supple and “speedy delivery techniques.” Physical fitness and stamina were essential, and for perfecting the techniques there was no substitute for practice, he said. Potential attackers would not necessarily be obliging, and exponents of karate had to learn to predict movements. Karate instruction for men was not new, but this was possibly the first course for women in New Zealand, said Mr Holloway, who prefers girls to work with closed fists and hard hits. Initially the girls would be instructed in karate as a practical form of self-defence, and if there was enough enthusiasm, this would be followed by a course of “pure karate.” Mr Holloway was not sure that his trainees would emerge from the course with a “lethal” weapon, but he assured “The Press” that they would emerge with a very useful skill. Mr Holloway said girls could acquire this skill without sacrificing any of their femininity.