A Merebank Secondary School learner recently made her country exceptionally proud when she represented South Africa as part of the Protea team for the UFAK Region South Championships in Swakopmund, Namibia, and emerged third in her division.
Nataniah Naidu (17) has a brown belt in karate and is a student of the Ninfu ShitoRyu in Merebank. She was placed third in her division in the kumite under 48kg category and will receive her Protea Colours at an elegant awards ceremony on Saturday, 20 July.
Nataniah said that karate made her aware of her strengths and weaknesses, and has helped her gain immense confidence.
She said: “I started karate at a young age due to me being shy and bullied at school. My parents thought this sport would be instrumental in helping me. Karate is my passion and has developed me into the person I am today. I am now strong, confident and physically fit. I will continue training to become better and hope to one day compete in the Olympics or the World Championship.
“Apart from karate, I enjoy singing, drawing and spending time with my family. I sometimes get a chance to showcase my voice at church. I’m grateful to my family, who have been my biggest support structure. My brother, Rylee, who is also a karateka and a KZN team athlete, is my number-one supporter. He spends numerous hours training and assisting me. My grandmother is also at every tournament and I am blessed to have her in my life.”
Nataniah salutes Shihan Craig, Renshi Brando Pillay and Sensei Njabulo Mthembu on their dedication and support towards building and uplifting the youth of the community and for mentoring, supporting, training and coaching her so that she could make her country proud.
Nataniah’s mum, Keroshnie, who also attended Ninfu ShitoRyu in her younger days, said that enrolling her children in karate was the best decision she made. “I’m super proud of Nataniah and all her accomplishments. She is a respectful, humble and hardworking child. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for her,” she said.
Nataniah’s dad, Greg, who runs a fire protection company, said that he was a proud parent as he could see the culmination of all Nataniah’s hard work paying off.
Shihan Craig Kisten Pillay of the Ninfu ShitoRyu Dojo said that although they have had numerous KZN and SA champions over the 50 years, Nataniah was only the second karateka and first female from the dojo to represent the country at an international event.
“Nataniah was hard working, dedicated and had the discipline to excel at the highest level of karate,” he said.
