Jamaica Launches Guardian Girls Karate Seminar
On June 26th, 2024, Jamaica Karate Federation, the governing body of Karate in Jamaica and a official member of the World Karate Federation (WKF) hosted a WKF "Guardian Girls Karate Seminar" at Seido Karate headquarters located at Girl Guides Association in Kingston. The seminar was open to women of all ages and levels at no cost to participants. Attendance was stellar with over fifty female participants eager to learn self-defense techniques and discuss the psychological aspects of abuse and the positive effects that karate can have on the lives of women in Jamaica.
During the seminar, Jamaica Karate’s WKF Certified Guardian Girls Instructor, Danielle Chang introduced the ice-berg theory to discuss the visible and invisible signs of abuse. Ms. Chang delivered a power-point presentation outlining the mental preparation to face extreme situations, strategies to identify threats, make effective decisions under pressure and ensure effective communication. Participants interacted with personal testimonials and learned self-defense techniques with assistance of experienced black belts.
The seminar was fully enjoyable, and many participants expressed interest in learning more. President Tony Robinson expressed gratitude to the World Karate Federation for the training provided to Ms. Chang in 2023 in Madrid, Spain and for the support extended to bring these programs to Jamaican women. Ms. Chang is also set to deliver a Guardian Girls Seminar and Demonstration at the 2024 Caribbean Championships in Curacao this July.
About Guardian Girls Karate (GGK)
In 2022, the "Guardian Girls Global Karate Project" was launched by the Koyamada International Foundation (KIF), the World Karate Federation (WKF), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Los Angeles, CA.
In 2023, the project expanded to Egypt, Spain, Morocco, Japan, the USA, Ireland, and Hungary. Additionally, in December 2023, the WKF hosted the Guardian Girls Karate Instructor Certification Course. Female instructors from Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Jamaica, Germany, Sweden, the USA, and Canada, representing their National Federations, participated in this course. They were certified as Guardian Girls Karate Instructors, enabling them to conduct Guardian Girls Karate Seminars in their respective countries.
In 2024, the "Guardian Girls Karate" (GGK) project was rebranded and relaunched by Guardian Girls International (GGI) and the WKF. As global partners, they aimed to expand the number of GGK instructors through WKF's National Federations in more countries, which will host their own Guardian Girls Karate Seminars taught by certified GGK instructors.