* The Royal Horse Artillery gunner had the chance to compete for Malawi in the London 2012 Olympics, but instead went to Afghanistan for the second time
* When the Army’s senior leadership learned of his actions, Sgt Guba received a General Officer Commanding (GOC) Commendation for selfless commitment
By Duncan Mlanjira
The exploits of UK-based Malawian taekwondo Master, Yamikani Guba — who was honoured with the accolade of 2023 Sportsman of the Year at the Malawi Sport Awards Gala in February 16 for winning 15 medals in 2023 of 6 gold medals, 6 silver and 3 bronze — are not going unnoticed as he earned recognition and was highly featured in Black History Month.
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Just this year along, he has already attained his third gold medal which he won at the Ultimate Open Championship 2024 in Vets +87kgs held at the Metrodome Lesuire Centre, Sheffield in March.
He other two gold medals were attained at the Army Open Championship in UK in February in WT Poomsae Masters category and +87kgs kyorugi (fighting) at the championships held at the Army Combat Centre in Aldershot — with his next games are in this month of April at the Dome Open Championships.
Guba, who holds a Malawian passport and has represented Malawi at international level, was recognized in a feature by blackhistorymonth.org.uk under the headline; ‘It’s all about selfless commitment’ — acknowledging that he chose to go to the war in Afghanistan at the expense of competing at the Olympic Games representing Malawi.
It’s not a choice most of us will ever have to make, said the report by Harriet Steer. But this was the reality for Sergeant (Sgt) Yamikani Guba in 2011.
Writes Steer: The Royal Horse Artillery gunner had the chance to compete for Malawi in the London 2012 Olympics, but instead went to Afghanistan for the second time.
When the Army’s senior leadership learned of his actions, Sgt Guba received a General Officer Commanding (GOC) Commendation for selfless commitment.
“My first deployment was quite challenging as I was fresh from training – I joined the Army in 2007 and went to Afghanistan a year later.
“But I was doing something I loved so I got used to it. And although I’d had that experience I wanted to go again and deploy with everyone else in my Regiment.”
Having always wanted to join the British Army, Sgt Guba has now been to Afghanistan three times, and taken part in overseas exercises in Europe, Canada, Kenya and South Korea among others.
He’s now able to use that experience in his new role as a Detachment Commander.
“My new regiment 4th Regiment Royal Artillery – ‘The Fighting Fourth’ – is more supportive of my sports career than ever — thanks to the great support of my Chain of Command, the Army Martial Arts Association and Army Sports, I’ve been able to balance my day job with training and competing,” said Sgt Guba.
With over 250 medals to his name – more than 190 of which are gold – Sgt Guba is both a professional soldier and a professional athlete.
Although he’s a black belt in Judo, Kendo and Karate, his main sport is Taekwondo where he’s a 5th Dan Black Belt and has been team captain for both the Army and UK Armed Forces – combined Army, Navy and RAF – teams for more than a decade.
He’s the only Senior non-commissioned officer in the UK Armed Forces to be competing for Taekwondo at such a high level.
“My sporting career has been massively helped by being in the British Army. I wouldn’t have been able to manage by myself. The Army provides me so much – financial assistance, time, training facilities – it’s had a big impact on my achievements.”
Sgt Guba was on the BAE Systems Sports Scholarship for three years and has been on the Army’s elite sports programme – the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme – since 2019.
“You have to reapply to the scheme every year and it’s not just about participating in different events – you have to prove you have been winning them,” he explained. “The national governing body scrutinise all the applications, looking at what has been achieved across all applicants from the entire UK Armed Forces (UKAF). It’s a long process.”
But, he says, it’s worth it for the access to professional support and world-class amenities at Northumbria University in Newcastle, where he can use not only most of the sports facilities on campus, but also benefit from strength and conditioning training, physiotherapy, and coaches in nutrition, lifestyle and sports psychology.
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He says it’s easier to manage his day job in the Army and his training commitments in his current rank: “I typically spend half my day at work and half my day training.
“I’ve occasionally gone straight from a military training exercise to a Taekwondo competition, which takes a lot of preparation! But everyone has understood.”
The combined support has helped him win big, with 13 medals this year [2023] in both national and international competitions representing the Army and UKAF teams, including the European Masters Games in Finland and the Dutch Open.
Sgt Guba still has plans to make the Olympic Games one day, but is also focusing on broadening his Taekwondo skillset. He is being put through his grading, coaching and skills course by the Army – all of which he uses back in Malawi to teach at his local club.
“I’m the only professional heavyweight athlete in this sport in Malawi, so I’m hoping to get the call up for the next African competition and qualify for the Olympics,” he concluded.
Guba was recognised by the selectors of the Malawi Sport Awards for winning 15 medals in 2023 of 6 gold medals, 6 silver and 3 bronze — with the gold attained at Ultimate Taekwondo Championships in January; Midlands Open Taekwondo Championships in March; Army Open Taekwondo Championships also in March held at the Army Combat Centre in Aldershort in the Vets +87 category; Seniors at the Scottish Open Championships in September and Vets +87 category at the England Open Championships in November held at Leeds Beckett University.
The silver medals were at the 50th Anniversary Dutch Open Taekwondo Championships in March in Eindhoven in the Netherlands in March 23 which is used as the World Taekwondo Ranking event; at the Inter-Services Championships in June; at the European Masters Games 2023 held in Finland in July and Vets +87 category & Seniors at the Scottish Open Championships in September.
Guba was also nominated for the 2019 Malawi Sport Awards’ Sportsman of the Year alongside men’s footballer Gabadinho Mhango and women footballer Tabitha Chawinga but the award went to Tabitha.
The phenomenon athlete learnt his Martial Arts at Blantyre Youth Centre (BYC) at the age of 10 at the inspiration of his family members and he later relocated to UK in 2004 to study the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM-postgraduate).
He went on to join the British Army in 2007 where he was recruited in the British Army Martial Arts team in 2008 — competing in both Taekwondo and Kendo at international and national level.
He is the only highly-graded personnel in UK Armed Forces Taekwondo team and his most recent and notable achievement is his grading to Kukkiwon World Taekwondo 5th Dan/ Degree black belt attained last year.
He is captain for the British Army Taekwondo team since 2010 and he now over 250 accolades on his trophy trove that include medals, awards, trophies and recognitions in martial arts in general both at international and British national competitions.
