Hayashi-Ha Grand Master, Seinosuke Mitsuya is expected to arrive in Gaborone today for a week-long visit. This will be the Japanese's first visit here.

Botswana Hayashi-Ha Karate Union said that they expect to learn a lot from the master. He is the highest graded karateka in the style.

Hayash-Ha spokesperson Jerry Ditlhong told Monitor Sport on Friday that they are delighted about the visit. "The man knows everything about Hayashi-Ha and he is here to check on our standards."

He said the Hayashi-Ha team will leave for the World Championships in Barcelona and they hope to benefit from the master's visit.

Ditlhong is optimistic that since they will learn new tricks from Mitsuya, the team will do well at the Barcelona event. "We have also booked him to train the national team even though they have different styles," he said.

The 62-year-old Grand Master is based in Italy. At the age of 14, he began to study karate-do under the guidance of Master Teruo Hayashi. He has contributed immensely to the development of the style in Sweden, France, Spain, Germany and Switzerland. Eight years ago, he became an eighth Dan black-belt under the tutelage of Teruo Hayashi.