The Sunday Mail
Deputy Sports Editor
UNLIKE most sportsmen and women around the world, the coronavirus and the accompanying lockdowns has had the most profound effect on Kobudo champion and Hall of Famer Wilfred Mashaya.
While it has certainly affected his 2020 calendar year, which included trips to Spain, Japan, Malta and Russia among a host of other countries, the 37-year-old has not wavered in his quest for perfection.
“As a warrior with a vision to get better every day, I have not stopped training at all.
“In fact, I have broadened my training and incorporated a few new styles, like Ninjitsu, Karate and self-defence into my daily routine.
“Yes, the coronavirus is very real and a very big deal, but I will need to be ready for whatever challenge that comes my way when the smoke clears,” Mashaya said.
The 21-day lockdown imposed by Government to curb the spread of the virus and safeguard the public has afforded Mashaya a rare commodity — time.
Time to heal and, more importantly, time to reflect both on the journey travelled and that which still has to be traversed.
During his moments of meditation, one particular conversation keeps playing over and over again in his mind.
“I think it was back in 2018, and I was fresh off winning a bunch of international accolades and received an invitation from the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Kirsty Coventry.
“There, we spoke on a number of things, and chief amongst those was the need to give back and maybe start an academy.
“It is a conversation I have been playing over and over in my head and one that brings me joy as that dream is well on its way to coming true.
“That very same year (2018), I opened my first academy, starting with one dojo in Mufakose, where I grew up.
“We now have a second base at Morris Depot; plans are underway to have at least a dojo in Mutare, Bulawayo and Masvingo,” he said.
Only a month ago Mashaya’s academy, hosted their grading ceremony, attracting quite a sizeable crowd which included men, women and children of all ages.
“I think it was back in 2016, soon after a successful trip to Russia, that I was appointed the Zimbabwe Kobudo ambassador and was tasked with spreading Kobudo across the country,” said the “Zim ninja”, as Mashaya is popularly known in martial arts circles.
“Since then, I have been trying to do all I can to develop this sport, and the response has varied from year to year.
“The grading exercise was the culmination of years of effort I put into training people in Kobudo, and solely based on the response we got from that exercise. We are on the right track,” he said.
The subject of retirement also occasionally creeps up.
“There is no retirement in martial arts.
“It is a religion, a way of life and something you can do for the entirety of your life.
“That is exactly what I plan on doing,” Mashaya said.
