-in his 60s but fitter than many in their 20s
His name is Compton Winston Dunbar and he was born on January 29, 1947 to the late Stella Thomas and Bertie Dunbar in a little ward called Stanleytown in New Amsterdam, Berbice.
Dunbar has eight siblings, five brothers and three sisters.
He has fathered four children, three girls and one boy.
The boy, who is now walking in the footsteps of his father, is a second Dan Black Belt karateka.
The 63-year-old Dunbar of Wado-Ryu Karate began karate in 1967 at Lithographics Karate Club in La Penitence under instructor Brown Belt Dennis Forde-Singh, a Shotokan karateka.
Back then Dunbar had a deep passion to see the discipline grow and started his own classes at the Providence Community Centre in 1970.
The then Green Belt karateka met with Sensei Alex Waithe who held a First Dan Wado in Ryu Karate and together they formed the new Wado Ryu Karate Club.
Sensei Waithe was a graduate of Professor Tatsuo Suzuki Wado Ryu Karate School in London, England and was instrumental in Dunbar’s introduction to the Wado Ryu Style which is widely considered as the best attacking style in Martial Arts.
In 1971, Dunbar was graded here in Guyana by Japanese to First Dan after successfully meeting the criteria and displaying the necessary skills at the grading examinations.
In 1973 he travelled to London, England and was promoted to Second Dan by 8th Dan Professor Tatsuo Suzuki.
Two years afterwards, Dunbar attended the 1975 World Karate Championships in Los Angeles, United States of America where he competed in the team fighting competition which saw Guyana losing to Canada. Dunbar was the captain of the team which included Charles Woon-a-Tai, Maureen Da Costa Woon-a-Tai, Keith Da Costa, Leslie Brummell, Steven Embrack and Frank Woon-a-Tai as fighter/coach.
“It was my first overseas championship and an eye opener. The experience was very good as I gained a lot from the Japanese team. We developed a lot of hand techniques and I was inspired by a member of the team I only remember as ‘Oichi’ who was on an eight year reign as world champion,” Dunbar recalls.
According to Dunbar, ‘Oichi’ was his idol as he displayed incredibly fast hand speed.
“When I returned from the championships I worked on a lot of hand techniques with my club and we won most of the local championships,” he recounted.
The club’s success is evident even today as his club continues to dominate local championships using superior hand speed.
Dunbar continued to travel to England where he gained most of his experience in fighting at the Professor Tatsuo Suzuki School. While there he met with several great fighters including Tadiyuki Meada and Masafumi Shiomitsu. He attended several championships overseas where he gained much knowledge of the sport.
In 1977, Sensei Dunbar then returned to England this time to acquire a higher grade of Third Dan and was successful after proving himself among some of the best in England.
It took Dunbar 19 years later to get his 4th Dan Degree in England under the watchful eyes of 9th Dan Sensei Masafumi Shiomitsu.
“There is no short cut in martial arts or karate; the sweat you shed is worth more than the black belt you wear because one needs to work and train hard to master the arts.
It doesn’t come easy, it takes years and many hours a day to achieve higher grades,” the soft spoken Dunbar says.
In 2000 Dunbar achieved further recognition as a stalwart in the sport and was awarded Technical Advisor of Wado Ryu Karate in Guyana by Grand Master Hironori Ohtsuka the second.
Dunbar says Master Ohtsuka was very impressed with him and told the media Dunbar’s discipline was the hallmark of his trade.
His last grading examinations was in 2003 and Dunbar, who lives in Mocha Arcadia on the East Bank of Demerara was promoted to 5th Dan by 9th Dan Sensei Masafumi Shiomitsu this time in Canada.
According to Dunbar it was not easy as he had to train and keep up to speed with some of the world’s best Wado Ryu Karatekas in order to pass the examination.
At present Dunbar’s Chief Instructor is Sensei Shiomitsu of Japan who is based in Europe. He is also internationally recognized by WADO-RYU KARATE-DO RENMEI Headquarters in Japan.
Throughout his career Dunbar attended many Wado Ryu Karate courses in England and Canada. He oversees four Dojos in Guyana; Banks DIH, Mae’s, Tuschen Warriors, and Eccles Primary School.
According to Dunbar his greatest satisfaction is his hard working attitude and his discipline which makes him feel very accomplished. He opined that many local karatekas and instructors graded themselves to 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Dan and barely achieved the age of 35 and to achieve those grades it takes 35 to 40 years of training.
“This makes me feel as a stand out in local karate and I am proud because I am internationally recognized,” said Dunbar.
According to Dunbar who trained the likes of Eze Wickham, Ken Danns, Adrian Chesney, Angus Jeffrey, Dianne Ferreira-James, Darren Nurse and Carwyn Holland among others, Guyana needs more championships and activities to enhance the development of the discipline.
The karate expert trains twice daily or more at times when he visits the various Dojos under his technical direction. Despite the many stops he has to make teaching Wado Ryu Karate, Dunbar can be seen afresh at the end of any given day despite his age.
On a previous visit to the Banks Dojo, Dunbar was seen demonstrating with perfection, different fighting techniques and katas to his senior class, after an earlier workout with his junior class. He looked fit and showed no signs of tiredness not withstanding the fact that he had trained already early that morning and conducted an afternoon session at the Eccles Dojo.
“I plan going on until I die because in karate you never finish learning the art form until you die,” Dunbar stated.
Dunbar is showing no signs of slowing down and while in action can easily be mistaken for a youngster with his immense speed.
In the Dojos they call him ‘Sensei’; in his village Mocha Arcadia many children call him ‘Karate Man’ or ‘Chiney’, but because of his exploits locally and internationally along with his dedication, many see him as ‘The Karate Apostle’.
