Enab Baladi – Ras al-Ain

The city of Ras al-Ain in northwestern al-Hasakah is witnessing a growing interest in the sport of karate and learning its techniques for several reasons, most notably the increasing attention to health and improving physical fitness, as well as the desire to learn self-defense skills.

Young people, children, and even men are keen to learn karate, which is a new sport to the region, emerging since last year. It combines physical strength and mental focus, and helps build personal discipline and attention.

Positive impact

Mohammed al-Mousa, 40 years old, decided to engage in learning karate and found it to have a positive effect on his life, according to him.

He added to Enab Baladi that karate is not just a physical activity but a comprehensive experience that enhances physical capacities and develops personal discipline.

He mentioned that he noticed a significant improvement in his physical fitness, endurance, emotion control, and stress relief, indicating that he feels more disciplined in all aspects of his life.

As for the teenager Faisal al-Karrat (15 years old), he chose to learn karate to improve his physical fitness since he was looking for an activity that would help him build physical strength.

He said that he started learning the basics like kicks and punches, and then moved on to precise exercises to enhance balance and stability, adding that the training program also included improving physical fitness and increasing strength with exercises like push-ups, rope jumping, and running.

He told Enab Baladi that he has reached an advanced level in karate, which includes sparring and the ability to defend himself when necessary.

Karate is a kind of Japanese martial art that uses hands, feet, knees, and elbows as weapons. It is a defensive sport characterized by high player ethics, and its strict principle is that “Where the morality of karate is missing, there is no karate.”

 

The order of belts varies from school to school or country to country, and the player’s jacket is tied with a belt of different colors to indicate the level of combat skill achieved.

The white belt grade is considered the beginner level, requiring no acceptance or promotion tests, as the player holds the white belt from the first day they enter the karate club.

No belts or specialist committees

Despite the wide interest in karate, most trainees in Ras al-Ain suffer from not receiving belts due to the absence of a committee specialized in evaluating their level and awarding the belts that reflect their progression in the sport.

Murhaf al-Hassoun, who has been training in karate for a full year, complained about not having any belt due to the absence of specialized committees. He said that this lack of formal recognition hinders his and other trainees’ progress and negatively affects their motivation to continue.

He added to Enab Baladi that having a specialized committee would contribute to better organizing the sport and providing appropriate support to the trainees.

He pointed out that this step would help encourage more young people to engage in karate and enhance their athletic level.

People of all ages are interested in learning karate in Ras al-Ain – August 5, 2024 (Enab Baladi)

Absent competition

This sport, like most other sports activities in the region, faces obstacles, particularly with the limited geographical area. It is bordering Turkey and separated from its neighbor Tel Abyad by contact lines with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). It has been controlled by the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) since 2019.

The karate coach at the Youth and Sports Directorate of the Ras al-Ain Local Council, Abdelmutallab Khudr Shlash, told Enab Baladi that karate is seeing interest from all ages, adding that he has about 40 people training daily, from basics to advanced levels.

He mentioned that karate faces the absence of a specialized committee that awards belts to skilled trainees, and competition is absent due to the presence of only one team in Ras al-Ain that cannot participate in northern Syrian tournaments because of the geographical constraints and the difficulty of entry procedures from Turkish territories to northern areas.

Shlash called for the need to activate the Free Syrian Karate Union in the region, which would contribute to developing the sport and raising the level of trainees who have the ability to compete in external championships.

The Directorate of Sports offers these training sessions for free, encouraging participation in an economically and living-challenged reality.

The region has seen the establishment of a sports field, a swimming pool, and a center for mind and intelligence games in 2021. Volleyball has gained popularity in Ras al-Ain and receives interest from young people, with tournaments held at close intervals, some by individual efforts, and some supervised by the Sports Directorate.

The cost of rehabilitating and building the sports field and the Youth and Sports Office exceeded $150,000. Opinions differed regarding the reconstruction of the field and the Youth and Sports Center, with some considering it non-essential given the urgent need to support low-income people and the poor, while others see it as crucial for developing the sports sector and providing its simplest requirements, including fields.