Kareem Panton: Kung Fu Master
Evon Benjamin
Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Panton demonstrates the Black tiger Kung Fu moves, as well as a c****ination of moves from Pieces from a Lost Monkey. (Photos: Lionel Rookwood)
When we were 11, the most Kung Fu action we'd ever seen was Goku unleashing a kamehameha blast against Freiza. However, there are some TEENS among us who have become accustomed to the life of defeating opponents in c****at from all around the world, rising from the ruins of battle to become an undefeated contender in the world of martial arts. One such TEEN exists among us. Standing at 5' 10" and 135 lbs, his name is Kareem Panton and he is a Kung Fu master, one of the youngest in the world.

Kareem started on his path of Kung Fu when he was 11.
"Watching Kung Fu movies such as Iron Monkey with my father and doing karate, I always wanted to see what it was really about." He then enrolled in Karate with a friend and after achieving a black belt in Karate, he chose to expand his field of expertise, moving on to Monkey Boxing and then taking over the WORLD! (just kidding). But what makes Kareem stand out is the fact that he has never been defeated internationally, in his age group, since he started Kung Fu at age 11.

Kareem specialises in a type of Kung Fu called 'monkey boxing' (Northern Shaolin Kung Fu and more specifically Hou Quan Monkey Boxing or Monkey kung Fu), which is a fighting style mimicking the movements of a monkey. His first experience with monkey boxing was at the Hilton Hotel in 2003 where Joshua Jureidini, a Kung Fu fighter was at an exhibition, and after that 'it's history' as they say.

In 2005 he competed in the International Kung Fu Tournament and defeated everyone in his class, winning to a standing ovation from the audience. Since then, Kareem has been competing against the best in the world and beating them all, however, it hasn't been an easy journey for Kareem.


Monkey Kung Fu is one of the most difficult martial arts techniques to master. In fact, one almost has to become a monkey to do well at this style. Kareem has overcome all the obstacles involved in learning this style and has grown to become one of the youngest champions in the Monkey Kung Fu world.

From his early days at Vaz Prepatory School, and then moving on to Campion College, at 14 years old, he somehow finds time to balance both Kung Fu training at Wing Lung Kung Fu School and studies at Campion, receiving prizes for being a role model to his fellow students at school: "My friends and I use one of our many free periods during school to study and so far it has been working out well for us."

Kareem doesn't think about Kung Fu all the time, he likes to go to the movies, chat on Messenger® and according to his father, he's still learning the basics of virtual DJ.

Though he loves Kung Fu, making it a career is not on his list of things of do, rather, he is aiming for a career in medicine. Nonetheless, he says it will always be a part of his life. TEENage hinted to him about the possibility of opening his own 'Kwoon', as the place for learning Monkey Boxing is called, but to our disappointment, the senior Panton brought us back to reality.

Kareem embodies what every TEEN is capable of when they are determined and willing to give their all in whatever endeavour they pursue. Also being a TEEN of African descent, he has not allowed the troubled past to affect his future in a negative way but has risen to the challenge and forced us to expand our horizons.

Who is to say that the next World Kung Fu expert won't have the last name Panton?