Lightweight Pretoria powerhouse is winning hearts and minds teaching the art of judo and possibly unearthing the next generation of stars
Charné Griesel teaches youngsters the basics of judo in Eersterust in Tshwane. Picture: Supplied
Sport made a huge difference to her life. “I had no choice but to focus and by the time I was seven I was already an expert at time-management,” she says, laughing. The Mamelodi move floundered eventually through a lack of sustainability. But before then, fate flew onto the scene. And, says Griesel, the dynamics are diverse in an area where sheer survival is often a struggle. “A lot of them are also doing kick-boxing during the week. It’s crazy ... our youngest members are about five years old and then we have full-grown adults, so we’re not doing it only for kids, it’s a whole community thing and each and every one of them have different background stories.”