From rugby coach to karate master

With his big frame, it is difficult to imagine him doing the swift moves associated with karate. Yet the former Old Hararians fullback has easily carried his 95 kilograms weight and 1.84 meters height into doing the kiba dachi (straddle leg) stance the Kung fu Panda way.

Not only that. The national Under-19 rugby coach is now a karate master and holder of a fifth Dan black belt karateka in Shorin-ryu. “Karate is good for the body and so are the moves. There is less stamping of the ground and the movement of the hips and body feels great,” said Murambiwa.

“One of the greatest things I have loved about this sport is that it takes the pressure off me. It is unlike rugby, where most people will be seeking advice from me. I enjoy learning a lot and karate gives me that chance. I march into the dojo and become a less significant person.”

Karate is wrongly perceived to be a sport that promotes violence, but so is rugby, once described by Winston Churchill as “a hooligan’s game played by gentlemen.” Yet the two have something good in common. Karate is one of the leading sports in teaching respect, while rugby teaches how to face life challenges. Murambiwa has been a beneficiary of both.

“Sport has taught me to be humble,” he said. “I have coached great sides in rugby. I won many games with Prince Edward Tigers, but when we lost, I had to accept that we were no longer Champions. That showed how life could be. One moment you are driving a Mercedes Benz and the next, you could be catching an emergency taxi to town. I have in the process learnt the ability to stand strong and think beyond suicide even if I have had a mansion taken away.”

His passion for karate began two years after independence, having begun to train Shotokan karate in 1982, just a few years before he learnt how to score a try. Transferring from Marondera High School to Prince Edward in his second year of high school made him begin to take rugby seriously.

“The two sports give me a great balance. I get to train to stay fit with karate after coaching rugby. My karate teacher is 63 and he can do more press-ups than I. He does a lot of amazing staff on the mat. So, if I can do half the things he does by the time I am 63, I will be a happy old man,” added Murambiwa.

The 44-year-old has coached the Prince Edward Tigers, the national Under-18 and Under-19 rugby sides. He has also led the junior national team, nicknamed the Young Sables, into getting victories at some international stages like continental tournaments. “Jaws” is currently with the St Georges schoolboys’ technical team, after he left Prince Edward, last year.