DESPITE various challenges, Sensei Banzi Gaula, who began taking part in judo in 1994, is still passionate about the sport.
Since judo is an expensive sports code, Gaula failed to take part in multiple tournaments because of the financial challenges that he faced, which resulted in him taking a break from 1999 to 2000.
In 2002, he made a huge comeback and, with hard work, he came first in the Eastern Province group five u/60kg weight division.
Gaula commended his sister, Pretty Vena, and her husband, Mthobeli Vena, and the rest of his family, who motivated and encouraged him to take part in judo, as it was the main sport in his family.
“That was when I did judo as a sport that I love most in all sports codes. The word judo means ‘the gentle way’, revealing that sport builds character, self-control, self-defence, and self-discipline,” said Gaula.
From 2005 to 2008, he was South Africa’s number one in his division and that led to him being selected to be part of the reserve team at Nelson Mandela University in 2006, to take part in the Africa Judo Championship. In 2007, he represented his country in Zone 6 International Tournament in Botswana, where he won gold and silver medals. In 2008, he was selected to participate in the Commonwealth Judo Championships and Olympic Games qualifiers.
“In March 2008, I went to Mozambique for the Zone 6 Judo International tournament, where I won two gold medals,” he said.
Gaula who is the coach at Ushiro Judo Academy, under Sensei Mthobeli Vena, takes pride in one of his students, Pierre Bernard, a South African national athlete, who won a gold medal in the Commonwealth Judo Championships.
