Find out where women can learn karate in Oman

Muscat: Women’s karate centres have opened in the Sultanate’s cities of Bahla, Nizwa and Muscat.
All females over six years of age can join the centres.
“The centres are customised for women only, and the number of members has exceeded 60 in the three branches of the Japan Karate Association in Oman. The Bahla centre has 40 members, and 20 girls have joined in Nizwa, while there are seven enthusiasts in the Muscat branch. The players’ ages are between 6 and 17 years,” said Asma Muhsin, karate coach at the Japan Karate Association women centres.
“In the beginning, we faced rejection from the community due to the belief that this sport is for boys and not suitable for girls, But over time, this conviction was overcome as people started seeing karate as a self-defence technique, and not an offensive sport, and most girls took advantage of this to get rid of their inhibitions, and now have ambitions to become karate champions in the future,” Asma added.
Karate is an Asian system of unarmed combat using hands and feet to deliver and block blows, widely practiced as a sport. It was created in Okinawa, Japan, in the 17th century and gained popularity world over about 1920. Karate is performed barefoot in loose padded clothing, with a coloured belt indicating the level of skill, and involves mental as well as physical training.
“Our goal is to spread karate among the Sultanate’s youth to benefit all society, including females and males, and to strengthen their health and minds,” coach Asma noted. “Community acceptance of this sport is a success for us, as now we have developed a future team at a high level.” Each level requires three months of training to be awarded a new belt. The belt colour levels are yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, and the top level is the black belt.