NEVER before has Funakoshi Karate International Camperdown Dojo had three generations of the same family training.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That all changed on Monday night when Pam Bateman, grandson Hudson and daughter Amanda Whitewood all stepped into the dojo to train together.
Pam and Amanda recently stepped out of a 20-year retirement to get back into the sport that the youngest generation has embraced.
Amanda has returned to training and the dojo’s tournament squad, while her son joined the Kinder Karate program, which introduces four to six year olds to the martial art after school, in 2016.
Funakoshi Karate instructor Peter Conroy said the family connection was something very rare in martial arts circles.
“It’s extraordinary. It’s a first for me and other martial arts instructors I have spoken to have said the same thing,” he said.
“It’s like winning the lottery to have three generations training at the same time. Most of the time it’s someone who has trained three different generations.”
Conroy said it was a testament to the sport’s drawing power that the three generations could all train at the same time.
“Karate has the capacity, which other sports such as football and cricket don’t have, to have all three generations participating at the same time,” he said.
Sean Hardeman
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
