25th SEA Games, Laos

The Lao national karatedo team is hopeful of success at the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane this December after winning a bronze medal in the last games in Thailand in 2007.

Marketing Manager of Lao Asia Pacific Breweries, Mr Kelvin Tan, presented US$10,000 to Vice President of the Lao Karatedo Federation, Dr Sonethanou Thammavong, in Vientiane on Tuesday.

Mr Tan said the funding would go towards assisting karatedo athletes prepare for the games.

Dr Sonethanou said the funding would support the team undertake training and purchase some equipment.

The squad has been training for the games since February, and consists of 14 men and 12 women in various weight divisions.

Later this month the team will enter a training camp at the National Sports Training Centre.

The federation will send some fighters to train in Hanoi , Vietnam from September to November.

They will replace 14 athletes who have been training in Hanoi since April.

The men in the national squad will compete in the 55, 60 to 80kg weight categories at the games, and women in the 47, 53 to over 60kg divisions.

The team will also compete in the dancing event, which consists of singles and team categories, as well as in the fighting event.

Two international karatedo tournaments will be held in Phuket province, Thailand in August in order to test the squad's skills before the games.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

The Lao national karatedo team is training in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi to boost its medal chances at the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane in December.

The squad departed from Vientiane on April 26 and will return in June before competing in the Phuket Thailand Open from June 4-9 and attending an international competition in Bangkok , Thailand , in July.

Senior Consultant with the Lao Karatedo Federation and Director of the Shotokan Karatedo Club, Mr Sonesak Nhansana, said the team will win medals in both upcoming events.

Eleven male and five female karatedo fighters and two coaches are training in Vietnam and they all have previous experience at the SEA Games level.

The federation plans to select 10 of its best fighters to compete in both the singles and team dancing and fighting events at the open.

At last year's Thailand Open the Lao team won a silver and a bronze medal.

Inkhatheb Saythansavanh won a bronze medal in the men's 70kg division at the 24th SEA Games and hopes to compete at the open.

Mr Inkhatheb won a gold medal in the fighting (kumite) event of the men's 70kg category and a silver medal in the open event at the eighth National Games, held in Champassak province last December where he represented Borikhamxay province.

Ms Chansouda is another promising prospect after winning gold medals in the fighting and open events and a silver in the dancing (kata) event at the national games.

The karatedo event at the SEA Games will consist of seven categories for men (55kg, 60kg, 65kg, 65kg, 70kg, 75kg and 80kg) and four weight divisions for female fighters (48kg, 53kg, 60kg and over 60kg).

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

More than 100 martial artists gave a demonstration to a curious crowd at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the National University of Laos on Saturday.

The demonstrators, from the junior and senior categories of various martial arts, comprised 50 judo fighters, and 40 male and 21 female practitioners of aikido. They came from Vietnam , Cambodia , Singapore , Thailand and Laos and performed alongside karatedo teams. They received training for this event from Japanese experts.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Phongsavat Boupha, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Bouangeun Xaphouvong, Japanese Ambassador to Laos Masaaki Miyashita, presidents of the judo aikido and karatedo federations and senior officials watched the performance along with students.

“It is my great pleasure that the Embassy of Japan is hosting this martial arts demonstration here today. I would like to welcome all guests and thank them for coming to this event,” Mr Miyashita said.

Judo is a traditional Japanese martial art dating back to ancient times along with sumo wrestling. It is renowned for its solid manual movements, without the use of any protective gear or equipment. After the Second World War, it gained an international reputation and was practised by millions of people all over the world. For some time it was included in the Olympic Games.

Karatedo is believed to have its origins in Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture of Japan . Again, it doesn't involve the use of any instruments, but there is more emphasis on striking and kicking.

The birth of aikido is relatively recent, dating back to around the 1920s. This martial art is primarily used for self-defence, rather than for attack. It also attaches great importance to harmony between the body and the mind. These martial arts are not simply physical sports, but also emphasise the importance of discipline and self-control.

Some of the players who demonstrated their skills and expertise on Saturday had won SEA Games' medals.

“I am confident that many more of them will obtain medals in the coming SEA Games in Vientiane later this year,” Mr Miyashita said.

He said the Japanese government was continuously contributing to the development of martial arts in Laos by organising annual events and building the Lao-Japan Budo Centre in Vientiane .

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Lao judo and karatedo federations and the Lao Aikido Club for their valuable collaboration with the Embassy of Japan in organising today's event,” he added.

“It's particularly important to mark this event as part of the Mekong-Japan Exchange Year 2009 programme. I hope you enjoy beautiful and powerful performances by Lao martial artists.”

The national judo team will compete at a judo competition to be held in Thailand on April 4. Teams will also take part in the first Asean Martial Arts competition to be held in Thailand at the end of April.

Judo events in the 25th SEA Games will include eight men's categories (55kg, 60kg, 66kg, 73kg, 81kg, 90kg, 100kg and over 100kg), while the eight women's categories are in the 45, 48, 52, 57, 63, 70, 78 and over 78kg weight divisions.

Karatedo events will consist of male combatants in seven categories (55kg, 60kg, 65kg, 65kg, 70kg, 75kg, 80kg) and women fighters in four (48, 53, 60 and over 60kg).

At the 24th SEA Games held in Thailand last year, the Lao judo team won two gold, one silver and three bronze medals, while the karatedo team won a bronze medal.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

(KPL) Thai Embassy in Vientiane has provided 42.7 million kip (THB 171,000) to the Lao National Karatedo Federation to support its preparation for the 25th SEA Games in 2009.

The handover took place last week at the Karatedo Training Centre in Vientiane and was performed by the Secretary of Thai Ambassador to Laos Ms Thanida Maynasaveth and the Secretary of Lao National Karatedo Federation President Mr Phonpadith Dalanouvong.

The federation will have a meeting to exchange lesson with Thai officials to better its preparation in the coming months. It is also expected that the participants will raise the upgrading of Lao referees who will perform at the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane.

Yuuwakai Association helps Lao Karatedo Federation to build new training center



(KPL) The Yuuwakai Association of Japan will provide its grant aid worth about 10 million yen to build the Karatedo training center in Laos.
This was a part of contribution from Yuuwakai Association to improve the standards of Lao Karatedo fighters.

The statement was released during the courtesy visit to Mr. Vilayvong Boudakham, Vice Secretary General of Lao Central Youth Union of Yuuwakai Association delegation led by its president Watanabe Shinichi.

The Yuuwakai association delegation arrived Vientiane on 4 August for a two day working visit to Laos.

The delegation was warmly welcomed by Mr. Phongsavat Bouphan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs who is also honorary president of Lao Karatedo federation.
20% of grant aid will be used to construct the first phase of office and training center, which will begin in September, while the remainder will be use to fund the second and third phases of construction.

Source: kpl

New karatedo committee takes office

More than 100 people watched as the Lao Karatedo Federation announced the formation of a new committee last Sunday at the International Cooperation and Training Centre in Vientiane.



Minister to the Prime Minister's Office and President of the Lao National Sports Committee Dr Phouthong Seng-akhon adopted the measure aimed at improving the organisational structure of the karatedo executive board in April this year.

The new committee conprises five consultants of whom two hold honorary positions. There are also 11 administrators.

“The announcement of this new structure is part of the federation's development plans as required by the Lao National Sports Committee in preparation for the 25 th SEA Games, which Laos will host next year,” federation president Vilayvong Bouddakham said.

At the same time, members of the outgoing executive committee and donors to the federation received certificates of honour and congratulations.

Attendees then watched a karatedo demonstration led by federation advisor Phongsavath Boupha, in which more than 60 fighters took part.

Mr Vilayvong and President of the Yuuwakai Association of Japan, Mr Watanabe Shinichi, signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a karatedo practice centre and office.

Mr Vilayvong said the US$100,000 grant aid from the Yuuwakai Association would provide the federation with better training facilities and encourage more people to take part in the sport.

The association has been providing Japanese karatedo coaches for long term training programmes to help strengthen Lao players' skills.

According to a press release from the federation, the government has set a target for athletes to win 25 gold medals in 25 th SEA Games, including two in karatedo.

The federation plans to expand training for karatedo fighters nationwide in a bid to increase the number of players.

“The Eighth National Games is taking place in Champassak province in December. This is good preparation for Lao athletes taking part in the SEA Games,” Vice President of the Lao National Sports Committee Somphou Vongsa said.

According to 2007 federation figures, Laos has only about 100 karatedo fighters. This is much less than the estimated 25,000 in Vietnam, 10,000 in Myanmar, 3,000 in Cambodia and 100,000 in Thailand.

The federation was first established in 1998 when it was called the Karatedo Association. The Lao National Sports Committee later changed the name to the Lao Karatedo Federation.

Lao karatedo fighters have taken part in many international competitions, including the 22 nd SEA Games in Vietnam (no medal), 23 rd SEA Games in the Philippines (one bronze), the World Karatedo Championships in Germany in 2004 (one bronze) and a meet in Australia in 2006 (no medal).

Karatedo fighters also attended the 13 th Asian universities competition in Vietnam in 2006 (two silver and 10 bronze medals) and the 24 th SEA Games in Thailand in 2007 (one bronze).

By Vientiane Times

Photo: Mr Vilayvong Boutdhakham ( third left ), Mr Phongsavath Boupha ( fourth left ), Mr Watanabe Toshiyuki ( fourth right ) and federation officials gather at the Youth Union on Monday.

The Lao karatedo team is hoping for two gold medals at the 25 th SEA Games in Laos next year, after winning only one bronze medal at the 24 th SEA Games in Thailand last December.

On Monday the Lao Karatedo Federation held a ceremony at the Lao Revolutionary Youth Union to present certificates and black belts (dan) to the federation president and officials.

A representative of the Yuuwakai Association of Japan, Mr Watanabe Toshiyuki, presented certificates and black belts (5 dan, 4 dan and 3 dan) to President of the Lao Karatedo Federation and Deputy Security General of the Lao Revolutionary Youth Union, Mr Vilayvong Boutdhakham, and to the federation's vice presidents, secretary and trainers.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and consultant to the federation Phongsavath Boupha, national team members and members of the Vientiane Secondary School Karatedo Club also attended the ceremony.

“We want to strengthen the hearts of the federation's president and officials to encourage them to continue to improving karatedo in Laos ,” Mr Phongsavath said.

“We thank the Yuuwakai Association and hope Japan will continue to help us develop karatedo in Laos and that our two countries will enjoy friendly cooperation.”

The karatedo team from Vientiane Secondary School gave a demonstration of their skills at the end of the ceremony.

Consultant to the federation Sonesak N.Nhansana supervised an examination of karatedo fighters in several categories at the Lao Telecom Centre Shotokan Karatedo camp on Sunday.

Seven candidates passed the examination and received a black belt and 3 kyu, 7 kyu and 8 kyu belts. They have been training in the sport since March this year. The camp will send a karatedo team to compete in the 8 th National Games in Champassak province in December and the camp's top fighters will join the national team at the 25 th SEA Games in Laos next year.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

The Lao Karatedo Federation is expanding the number of training camps around the country, in an effort to bring fighters up to an international level.

Vientiane has four karatedo training facilities - the 279 Army Camp at Sithong, 105 Army Medical School, Vientiane Secondary School and the Telecom School . The federation will open another camp at the Comcenter Business Administration College next month.




Comcenter students will be able to study for about five years, after which they will receive a certificate and a black dan (or belt).

The federation will also set up training camps in Borikhamxay and Champassak provinces in May.

Karatedo trainers at each camp will prepare young fighters to compete in the 8 th National Games in Champassak province this December.

“We will select the best fighters at the games to join the national team in their preparations for the 25 th SEA Games, to be held in Vientiane next year,” said the Vice President of the Lao Karatedo Federation, Mr Sonesak N. Nhansana.

More than 100 students from Vientiane Secondary School attended a training course to improve their skills last week.

Last Sunday the federation hosted a seminar about competition rules and held an examination for 70 young fighters from the four camps in preparation for the upcoming National Games.

“All the fighters understand the rules and passed the examination,” said Mr Sonesak.

The seminar was attended by professional karetedo fighter Fujikyo Omura, who holds eight dans. Mr Sonesak is the best fighter in Laos , with 4 dans.

At the SEA Games in Thailand last year, Souphansa Inthavongsa won a bronze medal in the men's karatedo 75kg category.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes