KAREM ISMAIL has become one of the few Egyptians to acquire a four dan in karate. And he has done so at the venerable age of 42. Karate belt colours begin with white, then onto yellow, orange, green, blue, brown and, finally, black. After that comes the dan. In all, there are seven dans to be had. There are only a few people in Egypt who have dans higher than Ismail who took his first dan in 1985, his second in 1988, third in 1992 and fourth in 2004. Parentless by the age of 12, Ismail felt a strong desire to be able to defend himself. The youngest of four boys and a girl, he had all the prerequisites of a good karate player. He started training at the Sahel youth centre after which he shifted to Gezira youth centre before ending up in Zamalek club where he started taking and passing his karate exams. Tall and well built, Ismail played against the best of the times: Mohamed Shaarawi, later to become his coach, Atef Abaza and Murad Assem. Shaarawi advised him to toughen his legs. Ismail did as he was told; the result was a long line of losing opponents. Ismail found himself attracted more to kumite (actual fighting) than kata (imaging that you are fighting an opponent). "I found kumite more interesting," he said. Ismail travelled to the United Arab Emirates in 1994 to work as a lawyer but his love for karate continued. In Dubai, he joined Al-Misri Club where he introduced karate. "I couldn't forget karate. It flows in my blood and I love it." The club formed its first karate team in April 1994 and the club soon started winning medals in kata and kumite. "Karate has never hindered my work," Ismail said. "On the contrary, practising karate makes you less tired because you become used to training hard." Sons Mohab and Hossam seem destined to follow in their father's karate steps. "Of course, I'll teach them karate. It's a nice sport for both boys and girls. It gives you the basics of how to defend yourself. It's also not as bloody as other sports."
