Lone fighter triumphs – The National

Martin dedicates win to local karate clubs

By NAOMI KALATE
A LONE fighter from the Sepik Karate Association has been crowned fighter of the tournament in a recent Lae Karate Association-sanctioned competition at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Outdoor Stadium.
Eddie Victor Martin showed tremendous full contact skills while going up against fighters from Lae, winning gold in the 55kg male kumite at the Lae Karate Full contact tournament over the Easter weekend.

**TKoju Karate club’s Rayson Bandu (left) in action against Sepik’s Eddie Victor Martin during the full contact 65kg kumite. – Nationalpics by NAOMI KALATE**

“Winning the medals and becoming the fighter of the tournament is an achievement that I will forever be grateful for,” Martin said.
“I will always remember this day because I travelled far and through an arduous journey to come to Lae.
“I was supposed to bring my whole team with me to attend this event, however due to financial issues, I was forced to leave them behind taking this journey alone to Lae. It’s disappointing but in the end it pays off.
“I have asked for assistance but I have not received any response so I had to find my way to Lae alone.
“Travelling to Lae to attend this competition wasn’t easy because I travelled on a dingy and with strong winds, we encountered big waves on our way to Madang. It took three days for me to travel to Lae.”
Martin said he would be celebrating this victory with his local association in Angoram.
“As a black belt holder, my dream is to train youths to be black belt holders and take part in karate competitions so they become good role models in their communities,” he said.
The 36-year-old built an interest in the code following his father Sensei Martin Gabriel’s influence. His father was a former president of the Lae Karate Association.
Over the last 16 years Martin trained under Sensei Rickinson Mekere, late Sensei Henry Mekere, Max Spicy and others.
Martin was twelve years old when he developed a keen interest in karate and started training with his father from 1999 to 2015.
“Getting to this level and attaining the black belt is not easy. I have bruises, cuts and swollen legs but in the end I have reaped what I have sown and I got my black belt in 2019,” he said.
Martin represented Morobe in two PNG Games – 2012 in Kokopo and 2014 in Lae and represented PNG in the 2015 Pacific Games held in Port Moresby, including various regional tournaments.
Martin left Morobe in 2016 to his home in Angoram, East Sepik and was appointed a director and instructor for the local association.
He is based in Wewak and facilitates trainings at the Somare Stadium.