Image of Fay Christensen
Image of Fay Christensen
Greg Arana first started practicing karate because his two uncles introduced him to it. At the time he had many relatives involved in karate. He was six years old and karate in Belize wasn't as developed as it is today. Today, his rank is NIEDAN, which is second-degree Black Belt. His instructor’s name is Leonard Nunez. Greg assists Sensei Len, teaching at the Belize City Karate-Do.
In the dojo he tries to teach the students that karate should not be done because it is compulsory, or just from memory, but rather it should be done as a part of them. The most important thing he has learned from doing karate is that only a few people out of many actually excel in the true idea of what karate is; which is for life and not just for the competitions or tournaments.
Nonetheless, Sensei Greg has participated in many karate tournaments. He ranked 4th place in a Pan American competition in Barbados in 1999, and won multiple national tournaments in categories of katas, kumite, and team kata. He has not practiced any other style of karate other than Shotokan, but says he does plan to learn the other unique styles that are present in Belize.
Greg is 22 years old. He started karate at the age of 6, stopped then resumed at the age of 9 and has stuck with it ever since, so he has been practicing karate solidly for 13 years. Aside from his position as Assistant Instructor, Greg works as a Library Assistant at the Leo Bradley Library in Belize City.
Sensei Greg has full intentions of participating in the World Shotocup in 2008 and believes that this is one time that Belize will have a formidable team to bring home a victory.