The ‘odd couple’ of sport talk diversity and danger

FEATURE

Chalk and cheese, oil and water, cats and dogs are just a few things that you wouldn’t expect to mix well, but last week two sportsmen from very different disciplines met up to promote a new book and chat about how people’s perceptions can often be very wrong. Our reporter SIMON HUTCHINSON met up with the duo to learn more about how karate and motor sports are a lot more similar than you would think

At 38 years old, Biggleswade resident Frank Nezhadpournia is midway through his career having reached fifth grade black belt in Shotokan Karate.

He has already published three books and his fourth is expected on bookshelves at the end of August.

On the other side of the world, 19-year-old racing car driver Jono Lester is also midway through his career. He has raced single seaters, touring cars and sports cars in New Zealand and Australia and next year he will be racing for Austrian team Lechner in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.

So what connects the duo? Nothing really. Well, nothing obvious anyway. You have to scratch a little below the surface to see how the unlikely duo struck up a friendship which has led to Kiwi speedster Jono writing the foreword for Frank’s latest book ‘The Advanced Shotokan Kata Manual’.

“I’ve got a lot in common with Jono despite the fact we compete in completely different sports on opposite sides of the planet,” said Frank.

“We’ve both had to battle to show the benefits of karate and motor racing and people have listened.

"We are both passionate and competitive in our fields and our friendship has just developed from there.

“Jono contacted me a little while ago to say he was coming over for a visit while he was test driving a Porsche so I have taken him along to one of my classes to show him what I do and hopefully he will return the favour.”

The friendship was struck a couple of years ago via social networking website Facebook and was based around their sporting prowess with both being able to relate to how people think that the sports in which they compete can be deemed dangerous.

Frank has been campaigning tirelessly to have karate included in the Olympics despite strong opposition due to safety issues and there being no recognised sporting body.

He started training 30 years ago and has progressed to being an instructor running more than 25 classes a week across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.

From there he has worked with youth groups, housing associations, women’s organisations and young offenders and has run over 500 courses over the last three years as well as setting up schools in Denmark and Germany.

Motor racing has come under the spotlight in recent weeks after the death of Formula Two driver Henry Surtees in a freak accident at Brands Hatch and then the injury sustained by Formula One driver Felipe Massa in Hungary over the weekend when a spring from Ruben Barrichello’s car hit the Ferrari driver, fracturing his skull.

But despite the recent incidents, Jono remains confident that the sport is safe.

“I’ve grown up around motor sport and my grandparents founded the Manfield Autocourse so it was only natural that I’d take up the sport,” he said.

“A lot of people think that motor sports are bad because of pollution but like Frank I speak my mind on the subject. I am a young face and a bit more ‘with it’ than some people so it is good to get my point of view across.

“I’m certainly more interested in karate having met Frank.

"There are a lot of similarities between our sports especially with mental focus, the passion involved and both our sports require a lot of commitment.

“I like what Frank does for the people of Bedfordshire and I’m sure that I’ll be able to take him around the track one day, but he won’t be driving the car though.”