A Corkman, Mr Greg Manning, has been elected secretary general of the Shotokan Karate International European Federation, the body which administers the sport for six million people in 20 countries. He says he went to a meeting in Denmark recently to elect a new secretary general - and found himself with more than 80 per cent of the vote.
During 25 years of involvement in Karate, Mr Manning has been an executive member of the Irish Karate Union and continues to serve as public relations officer for the organisation. He says there are 10,000 members of the union in Ireland, more than 3,000 of them in Munster.
In 1988, at the World Shotokan Karate Do International Championships in Japan, he received an international referee's licence and has since refereed many European and world events. He maintains close links with Japan and with Kanazawa Shihan, the 70-year-old grand master who is currently in Ireland to conduct classes and oversee examinations.