LIZARES CROWNED OKAZAKI KARATE CHAMP By: James U. Sy Jr.

Bacolod sent a lone entry at the 1st Okazaki Cup Karate Tournament last Feb. 17, 2008 at the Emilio Aguinaldo Sports Complex, General Luna St., Manila and he snatched the gold for Bacolod in the Men’s Advance Kumite 18 Years Old Above category.

That lone entry was Jon David A. Lizares (B: 1989) of the Advocacy for the Strengthening of Karate-do (ASK)-Bacolod/Bertar Karate Kan (BKK). Lizares, a product of the University of St. La Salle and now studying at De La Salle University-Dasmarinas (Cavite), had to fight his way against 5 matches leading to the championship bout. Not less 30 Karatekas competed in his category.

Because of the volume of the competitors, the category was divided into two groups to expedite the elimination round. Lizares went through 4 matches in his playing area and fought against the best from the other playing area being the 5th and final match.

Lizares is currently a 1st Dan Black Belt in Shotokan Karate. He started training in Karate under Philippine Karatedo Federation (PKF) Bacolod Director, ASK-Bacolod Head Instructor, and BKK Founder/Chief Instructor Edilberto “Bert” A. Arcositas in 2003.

ASK-Bacolod is an affiliate of ASK, a Tacloban City based member of the PKF founded and chaired by Ramon Franco Shihan, Chairman of the PKF Referee Council, 6th Dan Black Belt.

Lizares had competed in and had won medals in several tournaments, one of which was a Karate tournament organized by the Philippine Karate traditional Association (PKTA) last December 2007 where he was crowned champion in his category.

The tournament was organized by the International Shotokan Karate Federation (ISKF) with the participation of Philippine Karate-Do Federation (PKF) accredited clubs.
The tournament was well attended and graced by Okazaki Shihan.

The ISKF is a non-profit traditional Shotokan Karate organization founded by Okazaki, Teruyuki Shihan, a student of Funakoshi, Gichin Sensei, “The father of Modern karate-Do” and the Founder of Shotokan Karate. The PKF is the sole National Sport Association (NSA) for Karate-do recognized by the Philippine Government, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).



John David A. Lizares (right), the Men’s Advance Kumite 18 Years Old Above Champion at the 1st Okazaki Cup Karate Tournament, together with Ramon Franco Shihan, Chairman of the PKF Referee Council, 6th Dan Black Belt.