He considers friendships amongst sincere Karate Ka as another blessing. No matter what style
or school, good Karate Ka always respect each other.
Sensei Bakkies represented the South African All Styles Karate team in two World Championships. In 1972 in Paris, France, he advanced to the quarter finals in the individual fighting division - there was no kata division at this tournament and no weight or age categories - just one big
open Kumite division. In the 1975 World Championships in Long Beach, USA, he only took part
in the team event, the South African team losing narrowly to England, the eventual World
Champions, with the English team featuring well known Karate Ka such as Terry O'Neill,
Tickey Donovan and Brian Fitkin.
After his sporting career he decided that Karate was a Martial Art and that the way sport karate
was headed, together with commercial exploitation, would lead to the disapearance of lethal
fighting skills, traditional 'mind forging' training intensity, intrinsic values and personal
development. Traditional Karate was the only