Karate Boys in Africa – Karate is for self-defense
2. Proof of Effort
I finished working at school, and I was going home. I found a smiling boy flashing his white teeth and walked towards me from afar.
“Sensei! Do you remember me?“
he said. I replied,
“Huh, what kind of Pig Pen are you?“
Although, I thought I might have seen that face before.
He proclaimed while showing his fist,
“As we promised, I have continued every day!“
And I rememberedーit’s Karate boy A. He wore his pure smile, as if he had already achieved something. That reminded me of a phrase “oneness of body and mind“.
However, the period we promised was one month. So I asked him what he was doing for a few months.
“Kid, what the hell have you been doing?“
He replied, “I was busy with cultivating so I couldn’t come to school.“
That was common in Zambia.
Although they are not farmers, ordinary families have their fields and livestock. Children are good manpower for parents.
Some of them even say “children are pension”. Indeed, they have a lot of children in Africa.
“Is your mother fine?” I asked.
“Yes, sensei.“
I added, “That’s good. She must be very proud of you, such a good man.“
Are there boys cultivating for their families in Japan, I wondered?
About that promise; it was obvious that Karate boy A did fist push ups everyday once I saw his fists.
Photo of karate boy’s hands taken few weeks later.
African life
It is not a rare scene that children work on cultivation.
It seems to be easy job since they make it seem easy. However, it was not possible for me to do it everyday, even though I peacefully grew up in Japan. When I helped them at the field, I felt it.
Sunlight in Africa is strong and painful as it stings your skin. It is really tough to swing a hoe, barefoot, and dig in the ground in that environment.
It no longer matters whether he surely continued homework “everyday” though, as I could see he put in a lot of effort. Also it’s admirable that he came back to me as we promised even after few months.
Be faithful to the dream of youth.
I found something shiny creature-like in Karate boy A’s eyes.
Probably, it was always there. I just didn’t try to see it.
It had been a while but clearly something warm from my heart ran through whole my body.
Next page: African Young Power
