Karate news
Karate teacher helps mens team earn third place at world championships
15/10/2006DELRAY BEACH — Ronald Browne has collected numerous medals and trophies in several major championship tournaments during his 20-year martial arts career.
But for the Delray Beach resident, one of the biggest moments of his career came during a recent trip to Japan.
For the first time, he competed in the World Shitoryu Karate Championships in Tokyo, Japan. He helped the United States earn a third-place finish in the men's team kumite (sparring) competition.
Browne, 33, said the world championships, on Sept. 16-18, not only gave him an opportunity to compete with the world's best, but helped him gain more knowledge about various fighting styles.
"I think the level of the athletes was very high," he said. "It was a tough competition."
The tournament continued what has been an impressive year for Browne, who won a team kumite title at the USA National Karate Federation championships in July at Fort Lauderdale. In January, he earned individual second-place finishes in kumite and kata (forms) at the Florida Citrus Cup in Coconut Creek.
For Browne, practicing karate has been a way of life since he was a young boy in Venezuela.
Watching his father and his oldest brother practice and compete in karate fueled Brown's interest in the sport. He started competing in karate when he was 11.
"I think we have it in our blood," said Browne, whose son Gabriel, 8, and daughter, Brianna, 6, now practice karate.
Browne, who moved to the U.S. 11 years ago, has studied various styles of karate, including the shitoryu and shotokan karate. He describes shotokan karate as a powerful, long-distance style of fighting, while shitoryu karate is more of an artistic style where fighters compete at a closer proximity.
When Browne is not training or competing, he enjoys teaching karate to kids and adults. He recently moved his martial arts school, Southeast Japanese Karate, from Boca Raton to The Fitness Studio Downtown in Delray Beach, and he teaches classes four days a week.
Browne also runs an irrigation business that he started two years ago, and he enjoys doing kite surfing in his spare time. But he said his main focus is trying to expand the school's enrollment, and to try to help his students understand how the physical and mental disciplines from karate can be applied to other parts of life.
"Karate is something I take and apply on a regular basis. I enjoy teaching a lot. I enjoy teaching the kids; I enjoy passing on what I've learned."
Browne, a black belt, taught his first classes as an 18-year-old in Venezuela. When he moved to the U.S., he focused on competitions, but he returned to teaching five years ago. Browne said he wants his students "to learn basically what karate means."
"This is not a sport. It's a martial art," he said. "I (try) to build martial artists."
At 33, Browne often finds himself competing against younger opponents, but he said he wants to compete for a few more years. He said he likely will focus on competing in forms events, but will continue to do sparring.
He will be competing later this month in New York, and he will compete next month in the Copa de Shoko Sato Shitoryu Championships in Venezuela.
"I feel that I can give more," he said. "I think I can give myself another four years or so, depending on how I feel. "
Provided by: www.palmbeachpost.com
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