The UAE national coach Ebrahim Al Hosni lays stress on raising the mental aspect of athletes. File

Some of the top regional karate champions shared their views about the challenges the game is facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.  They expressed their views during their second webinar of the series being held under the Sharjah International Forum for Martial Arts.

The game’s first-ever online Sharjah International Forum for Martial Sports is being organised by Sharjah Self-Defence Sports Club (SSDSC) under the auspices of Sharjah Sports Council and will continue till June 11.

Besides discussion about challenges, an important announcement was made by the Ahmad Abdul Rahman Al Owais, Chairman of Sharjah Self-Defence Sports Club, that club has decided to set up a specialised wing to train jiu-jitsu athletes to meet the rising need among aspiring stars.

After more than a decade promoting and developing martial arts across the world, the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF) is reaping the rewards with the world’s best jiu-jitsu martial artists fighting in the capital during the competitions hosted by the body.

“The UAE has gradually developed a deep bond with Jiu-Jitsu and the sport’s connection with youngsters is rapidly growing,” said Owais.

Hailing CEO of the UAEJJF Abdul Moneim Al Hashemi, Owais said: “With the continuous support of the wise UAE leadership and the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, we are confident that the athletes will strive to meet the challenge.

“We have some incredible talent and they are motivated to win and make their country proud, and it is our duty to push this sport forward for the betterment of society.”

The UAE national coach Ebrahim Al Hosni laid stress on raising the mental aspect of athletes.

“The UAEJJF is organizing training camps with the best coaches in the world to help the athletes improve. We have had a successful experience of promoting this sport at the grassroots level for the past few years all over the UAE. Sharjah has a need to join the momentum in preparing the players who will be capable of making the UAE proud in the future,” he said.

Saudi Arabia’s Ahmad Saud, Abdul Karim Al Rashid from Jordan, Bahrain’s Mohammad Abu Idris and Kuwait’s Aqeel Yousuf Abu Sakhr also participated in the webinar.

Idris urged the players to stay positive so that they can adopt a training system that suits every circumstance. Jordanian national team member Rashid shared his views on how to deal with injuries during training sessions. “Don’t push your body if there is an injury. It is a better option to carefully monitor the injury than get back into training and then stand to lose more time later in case the injury recurs,” he said.

Saudi Arabia’s top-ranked athlete Saud highlighted the role of training during these times of the pandemic.

“The whole sport world is battling with the implications of the coronavirus outbreak and it has imposed a new sort of system on athletes.

“Despite the challenging times we as athletes should not give up on regular training. The players should develop a plan that allows them to train extensively to achieve their future goals,” he added.