By Janine du Plessis
It is not an easy task winning a karate world championship - and it is even more difficult when you are confined to a wheelchair.
Dirk van der Merwe, 33, with all the odds stacked against him, won first place in the Kata division at the Tenshinkan World Championships out of 25 able-bodied people from the US, Japan and South Africa. Tenshinkan is a type of karate style.
The black belt Sho Dan holder from Villieria was the only disabled participant in the entire event. He also managed to clinch the honourable Kancho Cup, awarded to the participant with the most spirit.
Van der Merwe, who got married two months ago, said the only difference when practising karate as a disabled man was the use of arms.
"Every move the able person makes with their legs, I must first do using my arms to move my chair before continuing with my arm movements."
His father took him to his first karate lesson when he was in Grade 1. "When I was 23 I was involved in a car accident. I was flung from the car. I broke my back and my legs are paralysed," Van der Merwe said.
He said it took him eight years to piece his life back together and get into karate again. "You have to adjust to a totally new lifestyle. You have to learn to do everything with your arms; clothe yourself, bath and how to get around.
"I tried to get a few people to train me again, but they were sceptical about instructing a man in a wheelchair."
All that changed when he met "Shihan" Hans Haupt, a chief instructor, at a wedding in Johannesburg earlier this year.
Haupt was prepared to give him a chance and helped him get a special invite from the world chief instructor, Kancho Mamora Miwa, in Japan to the world championships.
He struggled to get the R46 000 required to get him to Japan, but with the help of friends, sponsorships and sports organisations he raised the money.
In June he left for Japan and went on a week's intensive training called Gashuku, travelling to various Dojo within the country for training sessions.
At the end of the training he was graded again to get his Sho Dan belt, the first level of black belt.
"One of the reasons I really wanted to go to the championships was to receive my black belt from the world chief instructor. It was a true honour," said Van der Merwe.
However, his main ambition was not to win at the championships, but to travel around South Africa teaching other wheelchair-bound people the art of karate.
"I want more disable people in the sport. Karate can help them in their self-esteem."