| Sensei Bomani: Pioneer of martial arts in Tanzania | Send to a friend |
| Thursday, 22 April 2010 21:22 |
Picture this. It is 1973. The world is buzzing; not from volcanoes or earthquakes. We are 37 years behind issues of environment. Terrorism is around yes, but it is not September 11 nor al Queda bombs on American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998, either. In 1973 planes are being hijacked and a year earlier Israeli athletes were executed during Munich Olympics. CIA helped topple and kill President elect Salvador Allende in Chile. The era of Nixon Watergate in the US, Vietnamese war and Black Panthers hunted; some exiled to Africa and Tanzania. Times of high moral ground, when Dr Walter Rodney’s classical book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa is released with a prologue by Tanzanian Minister of Economy, Abdulrahman Babu. Yet Babu is soon detained because Zanzibar leader Mr Abeid Karume has just been assassinated. Yes, it is 1973 with riots and strikes in factories and secondary schools across Tanzania. Students and workers demand better leadership. So much is happening. In this tumultuous mood, liberation movements in Mozambique, Angola, South Rhodesia, Namibia, South Africa, and Cape Verde challenge colonialism. A sad casualty in 1973 is Amilcar Cabral brilliant leader of the Guinea Bissau campaign. So much happening. July 1973, Chinese actor and martial artist, Bruce Lee, dies suddenly in Hongkong. The news shock the world since he is only 32 years old. As Bruce Lee passes away, Enter the Dragon, is released. It is historical. Enter the Dragon reaches Tanzania and is a huge event. I am one of many youths mesmerised after watching it at the Empire Cinema; a few seconds from the Askari Monument centre of Dar es Salaam. Having seen Enter the Dragon me and my friends start training martial arts. Bruce Lee and Kung fu becomes hero and fashion; a song by a Jamaican singer, Carl Douglas can be heard everywhere. “Everybody Kung fu fighting. Ha!” Around this time a young African American called Nantambu Camara Bomani sets up the first martial arts school in Tanzania. Sensei (teacher)Bomani becomes our new role model. He teaches us that Bruce Lee is a fantasy; that to become a great fighter like that means more than screaming and high kicks. You need discipline to train, understand yourself and eat well. Respect other people; leave the seat for older people in buses and public places, but most of all love your society. “Yes, Sensei Bomani was like that,” recalls Charles Da Costa who as a teenager studied under Bomani in New York back in 1977. Nowadays Da Costa, runs his own Kungfu academy in Denmark. Like everyone else he was heavily influenced by teachings of Sensei Bomani who died aged 63, August last year in Ghana. Back in 1974 when I began training with Bomani we would talk a lot. He would express his love for Africa and say how life in America was so superficial. He quickly learnt Kiswahili and married Fathia, a Kariakoo lady. Fellow American, Floyd Webb, wrote in his blog recently: “He walked among the common people of Tanzania with respect and love, having married a Tanzanian woman and living in the community instead of the usual expatriate abodes, separate and apart from the real community.” Last Monday the school Sensei Bomani established at Zanaki in Dar Es Salaam celebrated thirty seven years. During his time Bomani had only a few high ranking students. Today there are at least fifty black belt (the advanced rank in Karate) graduates plus schools (dojos) in Mwanza, Arusha, Moshi and Mbeya. According to Sensei Malekia who leads the dojos, approximately 8,000 Tanzanians have graduated from Goju Ryu Karate since Bomani’s days. Karate, which means empty hands (i.e. defending yourself without relying on weapons) in Japanese, keeps you fit and healthy. For younger people it is especially beneficial for developing a strong mental attitude. Sensei Malekia says because of the prevalence of drugs and vagrancy amongst Tanzanian youth, they have set up daily classes at an affordable fee programmed in three categories, i.e. children, youth and adults. “Children who cannot afford are given a free start, “ he says. Bomani’s legacy is not only stamped in Tanzania. He also taught fighters of Nelson Mandela’s ANC and helped establish various schools in the USA. For more info contact Sensei Malekia 0784 775454. Email: kilimanjaro1967@hotmail.com Blog: www.freddymacha.blogspot.com |
No comments:
Post a Comment