The Guardian Girls Karate project was unveiled Saturday as the inaugural self-defence seminar and mental health session were celebrated in Los Angeles (United States).
Created by the World Karate Federation (WKF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Koyamada International Foundation (KIF), the Guardian Girls Karate project aims at empowering girls and women to fight situations of gender-based violence through Karate training.
After the official presentation and signing of the MoU on Friday at the residence of the Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles, the Pilot Event of the Guardian Girls Karate project took place Saturday at the Terasaki Budokan of Los Angeles.
Over 40 women participated in the first self-defence seminar of the programme. Coordinated by head instructor and three-time World champion Elisa Au, the seminar also had the participation of Olympians Sakura Kokumai and Irina Zaretska, and three-time World Champion Douglas Brose who joined the activity as assistant instructors.
The participants had the opportunity to learn several effective and useful self-defence techniques to face situations of physical and mental gender-based violence.
After the seminar, a women’s mental health session was held at Terasaki Budokan. The event was attended by the Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles Kenko Sone, KIF Global co-founder Shin Koyamada, UNFPA Chief Strategic Partnership Mariarosa Cutillo, WKF General Secretary Toshihisa Nagura, and WKF President Antonio Espinós.
Source and image: www.wkf.net
