Gold Coast Chito-Ryu Karate

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  • Sunshine Coast Team Challenge Tournament

    Sunshine Coast Team Challenge Tournament

    A great result for the Gold Coast dojo at the Sunshine Coast Team Challenge Tournament winning 1st and equal 2nd in the teams.

    Team Results

    1st  – Deadly Dolphins

    = 2nd – Catpow

    Gold Medals (5)

    • Leonard Mungall (Basic Skills 6-7 years Beginner)
    • Leonard Mungall (Kata 4-7 Years)
    • Bohdi Valencour (Kumite 12-13 years M)
    • Tahlia Boyd (Kumite 15-16 years F)
    • Nick Tani (Kumite 40-59 years M)

    Silver Medals (11)

    • Zara Deans (Kata 4-7 Years)
    • Airi Tani (Kata 8-9 Years Advanced)
    • Bohdi Valencour (Kata 10-13 Years Advanced)
    • Zara Deans, Leonard Mungall, Airi Tani (Team Kata Beginner (White – Green))
    • Tahlia Boyd, Harrison de Byl, Bohdi Valencour (Team Kata Advanced (Blue – Black))
    • Carlo de Byl (Kobujutsu Sai 16+ years)
    • Leonard Mungall (Kumite 6-7 years Mixed)
    • Hugo Harrington (Kumite 8-9 years M)
    • Airi Tani (Kumite 8-9 years F)
    • Harrison de Byl (Kumite 14-16 years M)
    • Siani Symons (Kumite 15-16 years F)


    Bronze Medals (13)

    • Zara Deans (Basic Skills 6-7 years Advanced)
    • Hugo Harrington (Kata 8-9 Years Advanced)
    • Eito Tashima (Kata 10-13 Years Advanced)
    • Harrison de Byl (Kata 14-17 years)
    • Carlo de Byl (Kata 40+ years)
    • Siani Symons, Nick Tani, Taiyo Tani (Team Kata Advanced (Blue – Black))
    • Harrison de Byl (Kobujutsu Bo 8-15 years)
    • Carlo de Byl (Kobujutsu Bo 16+ years)
    • Eito Tashima (Kobujutsu Sai 8-15 years)
    • Zara Deans (Kumite 6-7 years Mixed)
    • Ophelia Wu Leng (Kumite 8-9 years F)
    • Eito Tashima (Kumite 10-11 years M)
    • Carlo de Byl  (Kumite 40-59 years M)

  • New Junshidoin

    New Junshidoin

    A new junshidoin at the Gold Coast dojo!

    Congratulations to Kazumi Tominaga who demonstrated a fantastic understanding of the kyu level syllabus and her ability to teach Chito-Ryu Karate in last nights grading.

  • Brown Belt Grading

    Brown Belt Grading

    Grading Success

    Congratulations to Siani Symons (2nd Kyu), Carlo de Byl (3rd kyu), and Bohdi Valencour (3rd kyu) for their successful grading last night. All showed the dedication they have put in to their karate over the years of training. One more step closer to Black Belt!

  • Autumn Grading

    Autumn Grading

    Grading Success!!

    Well done to all those that were successful in obtaining their next level at our Autumn Grading. With postponements due to a cyclone and no power for the week it was not the normal preparation but everyone showed great spirit, character and karate.

    Congratulations to:

    • Naoki Tani – 4 Kyu (Purple Belt)
    • Taiyo Tani – 4 Kyu (Purple Belt)
    • Slade Revell – 5 Kyu (Purple & White Belt)
    • Ramesh Snell – 5 Kyu (Purple & White Belt)
    • Xaviar Thompson – 5 Kyu (Purple & White Belt)
    • Charlie Chipperfield – 6 Kyu (Blue Belt)
    • Damien Kloot – 6 Kyu (Blue Belt)
    • Leon Cersofios – 8 Kyu (Green Belt)
    • Jayden Watanabe – 8 Kyu (Green Belt)
    • Rowan Beste – 9 Kyu (Green & White Belt)
    • Sine Levin – 9 Kyu (Green & White Belt)
    • Indigo Levin – 10 Kyu (Orange Belt)
    • Haydn Gilsenan – 11 Kyu (Orange & White Belt)
    • Theo Gordon – 11 Kyu (Orange & White Belt)
    • Jackson Lowe – 11 Kyu (Orange & White Belt)
    • Obed Nalau – 11 Kyu (Orange & White Belt) **Double Graded**
    • Kurt Boswerger – 12 Kyu (Yellow Belt)
  • 2024 Budoka of the Year

    2024 Budoka of the Year

    Tom Allibone

    Congratulations to our 2024 Budoka of the Year, Tom Allibone. The budoka of the year is the most important annual award given at Gold Coast Chito-Ryu Karate. The award is presented to the person who most demonstrates the great attitude that we like to see in our karateka.

    As someone who started their karate journey late and with being the oldest member of the dojo Tom has always battled with the personal question of whether he can do karate at his age and whether it is to late for him to ever make it to black belt? Rather than use that as an excuse to not do something Tom has used that question to motivate him to see what he can do and as a result we have seen his karate improve incredibly throughout the year.

    Tom started karate to do something with his grandson, but now it has grown to more than that. As a valuable member of the leadership team Tom does amazing work with all the kids in the dojo connecting with them and helping them learn karate.

    Karate is so much more than just punching and kicking. It is really about developing the person, being healthy, and developing a strong mind. From that great personal position a karateka is able to give to others and that is something Tom does all the time, whether it is helping kids learn, being a great training partner, or volunteering to help dojo events be a success Tom is always there and as a result is very fitting of receiving the 2024 Budoka of the Year.

    And to answer your question Tom. Yes you are not to old to earn your black belt, and with your attitude and the way you train I am sure you will.

  • 2024 Senior Karateka of the Year

    2024 Senior Karateka of the Year

    Siani Symons

    Congratulations to our 2024 Senior Karateka of the Year, Siani Symons.

    Siani was our 2023 Senior Karateka of the Year and has followed up that great year by being even stronger in 2024.

    Siani has grown considerably throughout the year as a result of the time and effort she puts into her karate. You will always see her doing extra work before and after class, and during classes she is very focused on taking onboard the lessons given.

    As a valuable member of our leadership team Siani has proven to be an inspiration to many of the younger karateka who look up to her as a great example.

    We see a Siani becoming a great black belt, instructor and valuable member of the Gold Coast dojo for many years to come!

  • 2024 Karate Kids Karateka of the Year

    2024 Karate Kids Karateka of the Year

    Henry Ho

    Congratulations to our 2024 Karate Kids Karateka of the Year, Henry Ho.

    Henry has been very dedicated to his training this year rarely missing a session. More importantly in every session he attends he is focused on his training and looking to get better. One of Henry’s greatest attributes is his ability to take on any advice he receives and look to use it. You can see whenever Henry trains that he is improving as a result.

    Henry possesses the qualities that will make him a great black belt and karateka one day. He is determined, his is disciplined, he is focused, he is willing to work hard and best of all he has fun doing it.

    We are very excited to see where the next few years takes Henry as he continues to grow in his karate.

  • 2024 Little Champion Karateka of the Year

    2024 Little Champion Karateka of the Year

    Ophelia Wu Leng

    Congratulations to our Little Champions Karateka of the Year, Ophelia Wu Leng. Ophelia joined the dojo this year bringing lots of enthusiasm and an incredible natural ability. She very quickly moved through the early ranks of the Little Champions moving up to Little Champion Green belt.

    Ophelia has a can do attitude and was always one of the first to commit to challenging herself by participating in tournaments, the highlight being winning 3 gold medals at the Queensland State Titles.

    We look forward to see Ophelia continue to develop her karate over the coming years. With her great attitude and her ability she is going to be a star.

  • Thanks for a great 2024

    Thanks for a great 2024

    Firstly I would like to thank you all for choosing me to be your karate instructor. It is a responsibility I take very seriously.

    2024 has been a great year for our dojo. It is a year that I feel we have matured and created a strong foundation that will drive us forward for many years to come. The number of brown belts we now have is the largest we have ever had and there are lots more to come through in the next couple of years from all the great people we have in the greens, blues, and purple ranks. We also have some great committed students in our beginner ranks and I am very excited to see what the next year brings for them.

    With so many great established students in place we will now be looking to recruit new members to the dojo so please spread the word, tell everyone how great the Gold Coast Chito-Ryu Karate dojo is and invite them to come and experience it for themselves.

    Our leadership team members have gone from strength to strength and many of them are now very capable of taking their own classes. In 2025 we will look to increase their responsibilities as we continue to guide them to be even more amazing teachers. In 2025 we will also be looking to bring more members into our leadership team so if this is an area of interest to you please speak with myself or register to be a member of the leadership team in the eDojo.

    Annual Award Winners

    As the year comes to an end we present our end of year awards. We have always only handed out a couple of awards each year making winning one of these a very significant achievement. This year in particular there were many stand outs and choosing our winners was a difficult decision. I would like to congratulate each of our annual award winners.

    • Little Champions Karateka of the Year – Ophelia Wu Leng
    • Karate Kids Karateka of the Year – Henry Ho
    • Senior Karateka of the Year – Siani Symons
    • Budoka of the Year – Tom Allibone

    Keep an eye on the news section of the website for more details of the great year all these people have had to win their awards.

    2026 Soke Cup

    In 2025 we will begin our serious preparations for the 2026 Soke Cup. As the host of this event our preparations will form two parts. One will be preparing our athletes to be ready to compete on the world stage. The other will be in planning the event. As the host we will be asking all our members for assistance across many different areas, from sponsorship to volunteers. Keep an eye out in the new year for notices about this.

    For our athletes I am proud to announce our coaching team. It is a very experienced and knowledgeable team and I am sure they will lead you all to achieve your absolute best.

    • Kata Coach – Sam Lenton
    • Kumite Coach – Brendan Young
    • Kobujutsu Coach – Kazumi Tominaga
    • Support Coach – Anthony Horgan

    Special training sessions, information sessions and more will be advised in the new year.

    2024 Highlights

    In a big year there are a couple of highlights I would like to note:

    During the year both Brendan Sensei and Sam Sensei were promoted to nidan (2nd degree black belt), this a great personal achievement for each of them and a significant step forward for the Gold Coast dojo. When I first started the dojo 20 years ago I was only ranked shodan so to now have a dojo with shodan and nidan ranked students is pretty special. Over the next couple of years I look forward to seeing many more black belts join our ranks.

    Another highlight for me was seeing Anthony Horgan Sensei finally get to open his own dojo. Anthony was my first serious student who started training in my garage and inspired me to make teaching karate my lifestyle. To see him progress to now be able to open Brisbane Chito-Ryu Karate is very special to me.

    And finally with so many great classes, events, tournaments and more one event really stood out to me and that was the visit of Michael Noonan Kyoshi. Not only was it fantastic to see first hand what high level karate can look like, even more pleasing was the way so many of our members made the effort to attend the classes. And even more pleasing was how respectful, focused and the spirit they showed was. It was a very proud moment for me to see our dojo represented so well.

    Once again a big thank you to everyone for a fantastic year I look forward to an even bigger and better 2025 as we celebrate 20 years of Gold Coast Chito-Ryu Karate.

    Adam Higgins, Shihan

  • 2026 Soke Cup – Coaching Team

    2026 Soke Cup – Coaching Team

    In 2025 we will commence our focussed preparations towards the 2026 Soke Cup. As the host dojo for the Chito-Ryu Karate-Do World Titles we will look to supply the largest and strongest team for this prestigious event.

    To ensure all our athletes have the best preparation opportunities we have appointed specialised coaches to lead our team. Each of our coaches have extensive competitive experience and are ready to give there all to help all the Gold Coast team members achieve their best.

    Please welcome our 2026 Soke Cup Coaching Team:

    • Kata Coach – Samantha Lenton (4 Soke Cups, 2 Gold Medals)
    • Kumite Coach – Brendan Young (3 Soke Cups, 2 Gold Medals)
    • Kobujyutsu Coach – Kazumi Tominaga (2 Soke Cups, 2 Gold Medals)
    • Support Coach – Anthony Horgan (6 Soke Cups, 3 Gold Medals)