Team Member

SENSEI

Hafez

1) How old were you when you started karate?
I was 16 when I started karate in Kolej Islam Sultan Alam Shah (KISAS), Klang. Due to my small
stature that time I was prone to bullies. Watching Miyagi Sensei who has similar size with me in
Karate Kid movie, I started to realise that size does not matter in karate.

2) why karate? Not other martial art
I would say I truly fell in love with karate after I watched my group of seniors performed Nipaipo kata and later explained the “bunkai” into simple, practical self-defense techniques. After many years, I started to understand that karate is not about punches and kicks, but it is way of life, which is the “DO” part in “karate-do”. Techniques wise, karate suits me better as it strengthened my techniques through repeated basics and stability. By having strong basics, karate helps me to adopt well when I learnt other martial arts.

3) what are you grateful to karate for?
From karate I learn to recognise my own strengths and weaknesses, control my temper, sharpen my
focus and senses, be more objective, as well as doing good for others. Learning karate is not about
being strong physically but most importantly make me more peaceful internally and be resilient to
face various challenges in life.

4) what did you wish to do differently?
I wish I could be more creative in teaching the art as the current generations especially the young are not so used to old-school methods. However, this does not mean that I would sacrifice the quality expected from this art.

5) what is your wish for your students and the future of the dojo/tska
I wish all my students to become better than me in all aspects – in karate and in life. That would be my ultimate satisfaction and success after dedicating my lifetime in this art. I also do not limit my students to explore other styles of karate or other martial arts in pursuit to make their karate
stronger and better. My hope for TSKA is to continue to be a respectful association and to organise
various activities that could enhance students’ knowledge in this art.

6) what is your significant moment in karate
There were 2 that I still remember: The first was the success to attract hall-filled of new students
when I launched karate class in my University matriculation centre in late 90s. The second was the
success in co-organising the first and largest martial arts week festival (MAFEST 2000) in the
University combining all martial arts clubs through series of tournaments, demonstrations,
exhibitions, talk series, forums and cross-trainings, which I had chance to promote karate to the
public.

7) what legacy do you want to leave behind
I want to be remembered not only as a karate instructor but a trusted friend and mentor to his
students. If God willing, I also wish to own a small dojo one day that could be handed down to my
sons to continue spreading the art.