Here Wes teaches martial arts to Basotho children in the mountains of Lesotho.
BLACK BELT PROFESSOR
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“I am thankful to the Sports Department of the university for affording me the opportunity to minister to our university students through Korean martial arts, and for the students to then minister to others.”
has a gentle spirit and deep roots in the soil
Since Wes (far right) started the Christian Taekwondo Club on the campus in Mahikeng, five NWU students have been awarded National Development Colours from Martial Arts South Africa.
There’s more to extraordinary professor of Soil Science Wes Gestring than meets the eye. He holds a black belt, first dan, in Taekwondo, a Korean martial art, and has encouraged many students take up the sport too.
Appointed in July of 2008 as an extraordinary professor at Crop Sciences on the campus in Mahikeng, Wes teaches all levels of soil science modules and supervises final-year research projects and postgraduate students.
Martial arts in Mahikeng
In the same year that he joined the NWU, he received his black belt, first dan, and in August 2009 he started the Christian Taekwondo Club on the campus. Since then, more than 70 students have taken up the sport.
In 2016, the club began participating in tournaments throughout South Africa and five NWU students have been awarded National Development Colours from Martial Arts South Africa (MASA),
effectively qualifying them for participation in international tournaments.
Reach out to communities
Wes has an avid interest in community development and says his goal is to teach martial arts from a Christian perspective and focus on developing Christian character within his students.
“I have incorporated Korean martial arts in community outreach projects. We have taken martial arts to communities in Southern Africa so that children can enjoy learning martial arts and hear the gospel at the same time.
In 2016, we taught martial arts to children in the town of Six Hundred here in the North West Province, and during our previous university break we went to the mountains of Lesotho where we used martial arts to present the gospel to Basotho children in the Katse area,” he says.
