Northern District Karate, Sydney Australia

SHOTOKAN KARATE COALITION

TRIP OF A LIFETIME Karate students from Evolution Martial Arts have just returned home from Japan and the trip of a lifetime. The team was attending the inaugural Junior Development Training Camp, held at the Meitoku Gijuku High School. Our children from EMA Dojo trained for up to 6 hours daily, and were also involved in Japanese language and cultural study at the School’s International campus. The trip was completed with 2 days of sightseeing in Osaka City. Special thank you from our Dojo must go to all the assisting staff at Meitoku Gijuku High Head Master Mr. Yoshida, Deputy Head Mr. Sakimoto, Mr. Wada, Mr. Ueda and Mr. Berry who all made us feel so welcome. Thank you so kindly for all your time and effort put in to this Karate program for our children. Finally thank you so much to Oishi Sensei for your amazing instruction and hospitality, our children will never forget the experience that your Karate provided. Kind regards, Raymond Morcomb EMA YOUTH KARATE CAMP - JAPAN 2010 Good luck to all the students travelling from Evolution Martial Arts to the upcoming 2010 Youth Karate-Do Development Training Camp in Japan. Our team will depart on Saturday 9th January for a two-week student exchange program with Meitoku Gijuku High School, in Kochi Japan. The camp will include Japanese language and cultural study, training and competition with Meitoku Karate team, sight seeing in Osaka and Kochi. I’m confident that this will be a tremendous experience, and will create a strong stepping-stone towards future development of the youth in our Karate programs here in Sydney. Oss, Raymond Morcomb TRAINING IN THE TROPICS 2009 The annual training in the tropics gasshuku was held last weekend 27th - 29 November. Training was outstanding!! Special thank you to Stan Schmidt Sensei, Keith Geyer Sensei and Lutie Van Den Berg Sensei. Thank you to every one from Mackay Dojo for once again making us all feel very welcome. Looking forward to next year with a much bigger team from EMA Dojo. 2009 SKC National Championships The 2009 SKC National Championships and Seminar will be held from the 25th to 29th August in Melbourne. This year we have tthe honour of hosting two World-class instructors, Sensei's Shinji Akita and Johan La Grange. We look forward to learning from these two accomplished karate-ka. Seminar training will be held mornings and evenings from tue 25th - Fri 28th, with Dan gradings on the afternoon of the 28th. The Nationals will kick off on Saturday 29th and finsh on Sunday 30th August. For more details, please contact your local SKC Dojo Kumite Mini Comp Twelve students from EMA Dojo represented our team at the recent Kumite mini comp. The event was held at Ettingshausen’s Dynamic Arts Kirrawee Dojo. Thank you to all the Mum’s and Dad’s who came down and supported this competition. Great effort by Eamon White, Sean Mcalister and Mavesh Lachaymia, who all competed in their very first Karate competition, I’m very proud of you boys, well done. Another special mention to Alec Young, Sam Cole, Ben Ridler ans Gemma Piali who all jump into the junior black belt division. Just in case you are not aware our boys are only ranked as high as blue belt! Gemma (brown belt) fought hard and did a good job in the girls black belt division Andrew Yap, Deane Piek, Arthur Garvin, Michael Loong and Emma-Jane Loong tried very hard in their divisions and did our team proud. 2009 AKF Australian Championships From the 7th to 9th August the Australian Karate Federation (AKF) National Championships were held in Adelaide, South Australia. The AKF conducts major karate tournaments throughout Australia and is a member of the World Karate Federation (WKF). The WKF is an all-styles karate event where competitors from the 4 major karate styles come together. The styles include Wado-Ryu, Goju-Ryu, Shito-Ryu and our own Shotokan. Evolution Martial Arts Deane Piek successfully qualified to represent the AKF NSW Boys 11-years kumite team. Deane and his family travelled to South Australia last weekend to compete in the event. Deane achieved an outstanding result and has returned home with a Silver medal from his kumite event. On behalf of everyone from our dojo Congratulations Deane and keep up the good work. WKC WORLD CUP 09 Florida, Fort Lauderdale USA was the venue for the Championships. The SKC National team had great success! Bec Norrgard from Evolution Martial Arts was the standout with 2 bronze medals. Bec has been training now for over 10 years and this is by far her best ever result. Having the likes of Lutie Sensei and Michael Sensei as our coach and mentors ensured the 2-day event went without fuss for the Autralian Team. These guys are always there for us. Knowing that they will listen and do everything to support us enhances the whole teams experience. At the end of the day Australia achieved some terrific results – taking home 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. The ladies team kumite with Rebecca Norrgard, Rena Moriguchi and Anna Vozzo placed 3rd in their event. Rebecca also placed 3rd in the ladies under 60kg kumite. Lutie Van Den Berg Sensei placed 2nd in the mens over 40 years kumite. The mens team kata with Michael Ettingshausen, Luke Byrne and myself placed 2nd. Well done to all the SKC National team, and thank you Keith Geyer Sensei once again for your great support. WKC WORLD CUP 09 THIS Pennant Hills karate kid has always punched well above his weight, but now Ray Morcomb has a World Championship silver medal to show for it. Morcomb, 28, has returned victorious - and with a global reputation - from the World Karate Confederation Championships, which were held in Fort Lauderdale, USA, earlier this month. Morcomb (pictured), along with Victorian Luke Byrne and fellow New South Welshman Michael Ettingshausen, were runners-up in the men’s team kata event. The trio were nudged out for gold by the German team - but, in turn, they nudged out a fired-up USA to take the silver medal and set up their future careers splendidly. Kata requires competitors to complete choreographed patterns of karate moves and, when working in a team competition, all competitors on that team are required to work in complete unison. After arriving back in Australia following a brief holiday after the event, Morcomb told the Advocate he was “over the moon” with the result. “Not getting gold wasn’t a disappointment at all,” Morcomb said. “We beat out the USA team for second and that was just insane. “They’re so patriotic over there and the crowd was just going nuts, but in the end we scraped through.” The Advocate was fortunate enough this week to pin down Morcomb for an exclusive video session to display his incredible discipline and skill. The professional karate instructor took us through some of his fierce training exercises - including a skipping demonstration that needs to be seen to be believed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPDEjuHHNAQ&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fhornsby%2Dadvocate%2Ewhereilive%2Ecom%2Eau%2Fnews%2Fstory%2Fray%2Dof%2Dsunshine%2Dwho%2Dtook%2Dit%2Dto%2Dthe%2Dkarate%2Dworld%2F&feature=player_embedded SKC LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE Please visit - http://www.shotokancoalition.com Special thank you to Mr. Tom Mursalo for your fantastic work! NEW DOJO @ PENNO We are very pleased to announce the opening of our new Dojo at the Pennant Hills Community Centre. The first training will be held on Wednesday 18th February. Classes will be held for the “Karate Kidz” program, starting at 5:00pm. The Dojo is located at Cnr Yarrara Road & Ramsay Road, Pennant Hills. Instructors will be Raymond Morcomb & Anna Lee For more information please contact 0408 220 880 WKC World Championships in Slovenia. The SKC team won 6 Bronze,1 silver and 2 gold medals at the event. James Philibossian ,Sean Bonzer, Emily Dunn, and Andrew Papagianis all won bronze medals in their kumite events. The boys Kata team (Bryce, Michael and Charl) came third and Julian Bonzer won silver in his kumite event. Congratulations also to Charl van den Berg and Grace Dunn who both won gold meals in their kumite events. Well done to the whole team!!!! 19TH WORLD KARATEDO CHAMPIONSHIPS IN TOKYO Karate began in Japan and now has more than 60 million members in the world. The 19th World Karate Championships returned to its origin in Japan after being held abroad for the last 31 years. 1,200 top athletes from 120 countries gathered at the Budokan, the mecca of martial arts, and competed for the No.1 positions in the world for each weight division. This is simply the most decorated and recognised World Karate Championships. When you consider the results from such a variety of countries and competitors, you can see that the WKF truly showcases karate on a world scale, rather than an event that is staged by a single association such as the JKA. Pictured is Ray Morcomb with the reining JKA All-Japan Kumite Champion (Shimizu Ryosuke) who subsequently was eliminated in the 1st round of the kumite championships. Mini Comp Congratulations to all the students who competed in the Mini Comp at Kirrawee on Sunday 16th of November. Everyone competed to the best of their ability and put in 100% effort, well done. We already have some champions, and many other soon to be Champions, so keep up the hard training. SHOTOKAN KARATE COALITION Well it has been over 12 months now since I decided to withdraw form JKAA to join Keith Geyer Sensei and the SKC. In this time I have competed and participated with my Dojo in two National Championships and also travelled to South Africa for the JKA tri Nations event. Personally my training has received new life and I am finally receiving valuable instruction from my Sensei and senior grades. Another big positive with the SKC is the way our dojo has grown, we have doubled in size and as a result this is by far the largest we have ever been. I believe being under Keith Sensei’s guidance has much to do with this result. The SKC is potentially going to one day become the finest Shotokan Karate group in Australia, and I’m very much looking forward to being a part of that. Thank you to Keith Sensei & all involved with the SKC for the last 12 months. Oss, Raymond Morcomb GRADING & WORKSHOP Congratulations to all Thornleigh Dojo students who successfully graded and participated in the workshop seminar held on Sunday 12th October at Thornleigh Community Centre. This will be the final grading for 2008. SHOTOKAN WEEK 29th September – 5th October, the SKIA ran their annual Shotokan week and National Championships. The seminar was instructed by the legendry Shotokan Master Kanazawa Hirokazu (10th Dan). Master Kanazawa was also assisted by his son Nobuaki (former World Kumite Champion) during the week long seminar. The seminars were very traditional but at the same time very different from my past experiences. I certainly picked up some very creative ideas that I will be incorporating into my routine. When you train with Kancho Kanazawa you certainly feel the lifetime of study effort he has put into mastering his craft, it’s not hard to realise why he his regarded by so many as the Worlds finest Karate man. Thank you to SKIA for giving me the opportunity to train under a modern day Karate-Do living legend. Pictured is Raymond Morcomb with Master Kanazawa SKC NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Congratulations to all the students from EMA that participated in the recent SKC National Karate Championships held at the Menai Indoor Sports Centre. The event was held on the 23rd & 24th August. Our School had 20 students represent us in both the junior and senior events. The results could only be described as outstanding and very promising. In total our Karate School achieved 17 individual medals and 2 team kata event medals. The break down was 8 Gold, 6 silver and 3 bronze medals in individual kata and kumite events. Pictured is R. Morcomb, B. Rochford and J. Norrgard. Open team kata National Champions 2008 5th SKC NATIONAL KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS The Shotokan Karate Coalition presents the 5th National novice & elite Championships. 23rd - 24th August 2008, starting at 8:30am. Event to be held at the Menai Indoor Sports Centre, 98 Allison Crescent Sydney. The Championships is open to both junior and senior competitors, colour belts and black bet divisions. EMA WORKSHOP Thank you very much to all students who attended yesterdays EMA workshop at Thornleigh Dojo , with Luke Byrne Sensei. The day certainly was a success, and I must say that it was one of the best one day seminars I have attended this year. Luke Byrne is one of the finest Shotokan instructors around today and at only age 30 has many years ahead of him. We are so fortunate to have his support, and our School will greatly benefit from seminars like this one in the not too distant future. Thank you Luke Sensei “KARATE KIDZ – KICK IT!” Congratulations to the children and their supporters (Mum & Dad) on their efforts and achievements at the recent “Time to Focus” Karate mini comp, held at Ettingshausen’s Dynamic Arts. Over 130 junior students competed in the event, and the little ones from Thornleigh Dojo did us very proud. Our students achieving gold, silver and bronze in they’re kihon, kata and kumite events. I’m sure that we have a bright future ahead with these youg Karate Kidz stars. A very big thank you to Joel Norrgard and Pierre Baudou-Daniel for all your hard work with our Karate Kidz team. KEITH GEYER SENSEI INTERVIEW Read the interview with Sensei Keith in the latest issue of Shotokan Karate Magazine. Visit www.shotokanmag.com to subscribe. GOLD FOR LUKE BYRNE! Luke Byrne Sensei from Evolution Martial Arts in Melbourne won Gold in both the Men’s Open Kata and the Men’s Team Kumite events, at the recent JKA Tri Nations Championships held in South Africa. Luke also achieved a silver medal in the Open team kata event, with team mates Chris Hujber & Ray Morcomb. The Event was a contest held between JKA South Africa's National team, JKA Germany and Keith Geyer Sensei's SKC National team from Australia. SKC BERMAGUI GASSHUKU Special thank you to Keith Geyer Sensei (Melbourne Dojo) for running such a fantastic seminar in Bermagui this Queens Birthday long weekend. Thank you to Bermi Dojo for hosting the weekend and making us all feel so welcomed as always. Finally thank you to Michael Ettingshausen Sensei and all the Sydney students for your attendance. See you all again for Bermi Gasshuku '09 JKA TRI NATIONS - JOHANNESBURG On Saturday 31st May, JKA SA hosted the Tri Nations Karate Championships, held at the Standard Bank Arena, Johannesburg. The SKC team travelled to Cape Town and Sun City for training and sight seeing for two weeks leading into the event. The team achieved some outstanding results with the highlights being Gold in the Men’s Team Kumite, Gold & Silver in Men’s Open Kata, Gold Womans Open Kumite, Silver Men’s Open Kumite, and Silver Men’s Team Kata!! A special thank you to everyone from JKA South Africa for their wonderful hospitality and friendship throughout the two week stay. The team pictured with Keith Geyer Sensei & Johan La Grange Sensei at the JKA SA Honbu Dojo. Seminar & Gradings Congratulations to all Northern Districts students who graded on Sunday. Keep training hard and moving forward. Thankyou to Luke Sensei for coming up from Melbourne to teach a fantastic Seminar, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. EVOLUTION MARTIAL ARTS NORTHERN DISTRICTS KARATE-DO SCHOOL IS NOW UNDER THE CARE OF "EVOLUTION MARTIAL ARTS". FOR MORE INFORMATION (SYDNEY & MELBOURNE) PLEASE CONTACT ADMINISTRATION OFFICER MRS. SHELLY BYRNE - 0425 774 577 lsbyrne@hotmail.com EMMANUEL DRAKOS SENSEI With great sadness I have received news today 10.1.08 that Emmanuel Drakos Sensei has passed away. To all Emmanuel’s family, the many students from Bermagui Dojo and his close friends please accept our deepest sympathy on behalf of the students from Northern Districts Dojo. To my friend Emmanuel thank you for everything, thank you for your support & efforts with Karate-Do, but above all things thank you for your laughter, kindness and friendship. Raymond Morcomb TRAINING IN THE TROPICS GASSHUKU A fantastic weekend was had in Mackay at the "Training in The Tropics" Gasshuku from Friday 23rd - Sunday 25th November, 2007. Perfect weather and superb instruction, thank you to our hosts Lutie Van Den Berg Sensei and the Mackay karate team, Keith Geyer Sensei and Stan Schmidt Sensei. 2007 SKC NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Sunday the 14th October saw the running of the 4th SKC Novice & Elite National Championships, in Melbourne. Spectators at the Whitehorse Aquatic and Leisure Centre were treated to a first class showing of both kata and kumite events, in both the junior and senior divisions. Luke Byrne (Melbourne) was crowned grand champion, after winning both the open black belt kata and kumite events! Jessica Geyer (kata) and Rena Moriguchi (kumite) were crowned the ladies champions in their open black belt events. A special thank you to Keith Geyer Sensei and the SKC of Melbourne for hosting and conducting both seminar and championships. Full results and pictures will be posted soon… MEITOKU GIJUKU KARATE TEAM On Saturday 25th August Northern Districts Karate School & Kirrawee Dojo were invited to take part in a friendly training with the students from Meitoku Gijuku High School and their instructor Oishi Sensei (6th Dan). Meitoku Gijuku High School is located in Kochi prefecture in Shikoku Island about one hour away (by plane) from Osaka, Japan. Meitoku students came to Sydney this August for a very special occasion. They were the guests of their sister school Presbyterian Ladies' College (PLC) Sydney, for a one-week stay. During this stay the School students performed a Japanese Festival and demonstration at the Sydney Opera House on Friday August 24th in a one off private show. The show included demonstrations and performances in Karate-Do, kendo, sumo, taiko (Japanese drums), tea ceremony, marching band, choir, bagpipe band and a joint orchestra. A special thank you to Tammy Hayek (PLC) and Mr. Keisuke Ueda and Nathan Berry (Meitoku Gijuku) for all your kind assistance and support to make this experience possible. Please see photo gallery for photos coming soon. TRAINING WITH KEITH GEYER SENSEI Shotokan Karate students from Sydney were treated to a fantastic training seminar, in June by SKC Chief instructor Keith Geyer Sensei. The training was hosted by Jeff Krug Sensei at his Rose Bay Dojo, in the beautiful eastern suburbs of Sydney. Close to 100 students from Kirrawee, Rose Bay and other invited Shotokan Schools were in attendance for the full day of training. JOEL NORRGARD SENSEI NEW SAN-DAN On Sunday 4th March, ND instructor Joel Norrgard successfully graded to san-dan (3rd Dan JKA) at Castle Hill Dojo. Joel Sensei started his training under instructor Jake Leslie Sensei with Castle Hill Dojo way back in 1988. ND Dojo would like to congratulate and also thank Joel Sensei for his continuing effort and support with the students from our School.