History of Northern Districts Dojo
 Northern Districts Karate Dojo was established in August of 1999 by
Raymond Morcomb Jnr (aged 19) and his younger brother Kelly (aged 17).
Inspired by his original instructor Mr. Jake Leslie Sensei,
Ray always dreamt of teaching karate and running his own dojo, from a very early age
and now it was a reality.
The very first student of the dojo was Rays father Ray Morcomb Snr.
Situated in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney, classes are conducted at Thornleigh Community Centre.
Classes at the dojo were run twice a week when training commenced.
Since then the number of students has increased, and classes now run four times per week
(including an advanced class and an early-birds 6:00am class).
On the 11 th of March 2000, the very first group of students (including big Ray)
graded successfully with Takahashi Shihan. Not long after that the ND dojo had its first
JKA National Kumite title to its credit, with instructor Kelly Morcomb winning gold in the
Colts 16-18 yrs black belt final, at the 2000 Brisbane National Championships.
In early 2001 Joel Norrgard (2 nd Dan) joined the ND Dojo team,
and became the assistant instructor with the club. Raymond, Kelly,
and Joel have trained together since the age of eight, and have formed a very strong friendship
over the years of hard training. They all began their training with Castle Hill dojo,
under the guidance of instructor Jake Leslie Sensei.
Joel Norrgard is a very dedicated JKA student and instructor,
his efforts towards training set a great example for all the ND students.
Joel and his brother Vern also designed and built this
fantastic website ndkarate.com and it was donated to the ND dojo in June 2004.
In March 2002, ND instructor Raymond Morcomb was first selected into the
JKAA National team, to fight New Zealand, in the team Kumite at the Australian Titles held at Penrith.
Ray also read the competitors oath, at the opening ceremony.
On January 2003 The Northern Districts Dojo held its very first annual
ND Summer Training Camp. The camp is held each year at the Sydney
Academy Of Sport and Recreation (Narrabeen) on the Sydney Northern Beaches.
The summer camp is a very unique long weekend of training consisting of Karate,
bush running, weights, swimming, sprinting, and other recreation activities.
The camp was created to build spirit and motivation in the students.
In August 2004, the ND dojo had its very first students grade to Sho-Dan
(black belt) with Takahashi Shihan. They were Tanya Langlois and Paul Quinn.
This was a very big step for the ND team.
In the clubs short history the students from Northern Districts Dojo have
enjoyed training and competing locally, interstate and overseas.
These trips include the JKA Australian National Championships in Brisbane 2000,
Adelaide 2001, Penrith 2002, Gold Coast 2004, the Australasian
Titles Lake Taupo New Zealand 2003,
and even to Tokyo Japan in 2004, for the Junior and Senior Shoto World Cup.
The ND team had no less than three of its members represent JKA Australia,
at the Shoto Cup. They were Paul Quinn and Nicholas Drury in the Junior World Cup
and instructor Raymond Morcomb
(team member of the JKAA Taipans) in the Senior World Cup.
ND students have also been fortunate enough to train under the guidance of
World class JKA Shoto-kan instructors - both Takahashi Shihan and
Nishimura Sensei during their visits to Sydney and around Australia.
Northern Districts Dojo hopes to continue the growth and strengthening of
its students along with supporting Takahashi Shihan and the
Japan Karate Association of Australia for many, many years.
ND DOJO ANNUAL SPECIAL AWARDS
Club Champion
- 2003 Paul Quinn
- 2004 Pierre Baudou-Daniel
Most Improved Karate-ka
- 2003 Gregory Leung
- 2004 Andrew Leung
WHERE MY KARATE-DO ALL BEGAN CASTLE HILL DOJO
INFLUENCES IN KARATE-DO
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