RIYADH — Two karate trainers are in the Kingdom to give professional training to the sport's practitioners. The Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation are behind the move to help bring Hideto Tsuchiya and Kiyohiko Tosa to tour Saudi Arabia. The two trainers, who have both won the Asian Karate Championship title, will be in the Kingdom till Dec. 26. The two trainers will give lectures at karate clubs in Riyadh, Jeddah, Tabuk and Abha. Dr. Ibrahim Al-Gannas, President of Saudi Arabian Karate Federation, hosted a ceremony for the two trainers at the federation's headquarters Saturday. At the ceremony, Yasunari Morino, the Charge D'Affairs of the Embassy of Japan, presented a gift to the Karate Federation as a token of appreciation for their collaboration. The gift consists of 39 karate costumes, brought from Japan, along with martial arts tutorials on DVDs and instructors' manuals. Yasunari Morino appreciated the long-standing and fruitful cooperation between the Embassy of Japan and the Saudi Arabian Karate Federation to promote the Japanese traditional martial art throughout the Kingdom. The embassy every year organizes, in collaboration with the federation, a national competition — “Ambassador's Cup for Karate”. The embassy also introduced martial arts to the Saudi public during the 2011 Janadriyah Festival, where Japan was the guest country. In Japan, karate is considered a sport that can contribute to the mental development of children with discipline and enhancing concentration. While teaching the physical skills, karate instructors also emphasize on the players' attitude and code of conduct.
