Congratulations to everyone who attended the Summer Grading. It is fantastic to see everyone progressing in their technique and moving closer to achieving a black belt. As is normal at a grading not everyone was successful with some people not quiet ready so did not graduate this time, please keep on working , make the adjustments needed and I am sure you will be successful next time.
Results:
Well done to our Gold Coast Team at the 2024 QLD Chito-Ryu Karate State Titles, performing very well with some great results and terrific improvement from everyone. A special mention to Ophelia who was the stand out Little Champion winning every one of her events.
A big thank you to the Sunshine Coast Chito-Ryu Karate for hosting this event.
Results
Gold Medal – 7
Silver – 8
Bronze – 5
Six new brown belt ranks at Gold Coast Chito-Ryu Karate following a special Brown & Black Belt Grading. The Brown belt ranks (3rd-1st Kyu) are considered very important at Gold Coast Chito-Ryu Karate as they signify that the serious training towards black belt has begun. Not only where the students tested on the day but where also closely monitored in the months leading up to the grading to ensure the correct work ethic, focus, etiquette and responsibility was being demonstrated. All students had been working very hard in the lead up and the result was a fantastic level of performance on the grading day.
Well done to everyone.
Tahlia Boyd – 2nd Kyu (Brown)
Harrison De Byl – 2nd Kyu (Brown)
Millicent Mansbridge – 2nd Kyu (Brown)
Amelie Ollivier – 2nd Kyu (Brown)
Siani Symons – 3rd Kyu (Brown & White)
Cooper Higgins – 3rd Kyu (Brown & White)
Well done to everyone who challenged for their next level at the 2024 Spring Grading. It is great to see some new belts around the dojo. For those that were not successful this time keep working hard and you will achieve your goal.
4 Kyu (Purple) – Ben Hastings
5 Kyu (Purple & White) – Taiyo Tani
5 Kyu (Purple & White) – Naoki Tani
6 Kyu (Blue) – Yasmine Lintott
6 Kyu (Blue) – Jesse Valencour
6 Kyu (Blue) – Xaviar Thompson
9 Kyu (Green & White) – Aidan Connolly
9 Kyu (Green & White) – Henry Duyvestyn
9 Kyu (Green & White) – Henry Ho
9 Kyu (Green & White) – Jayden Watanabe
9 Kyu (Green & White) – Jeremy Valencour
10 Kyu (Orange) – Jasmin Collins *** Triple grade
10 Kyu (Orange) – Sine Levin
10 Kyu (Orange) – Finn McMillan
10 Kyu (Orange) – Vander Mulcahy
10 Kyu (Orange) – Koda Revell
10 Kyu (Orange) – Rowan Beste
11 Kyu (Orange & White) – Ashton Collins ** Double grade
11 Kyu (Orange & White) – Robert Graham
11 Kyu (Orange & White) – Indigo Levin
It was fantastic to see all the progress students had been making at our winter grading. So many people stepped up showing significant growth since their last grading, it is a great sign for the future as they continue to work towards achieving their black belts.
A special mention to all the White belts who stepped up for their first grading and performed very well showing they are on the path to consistent progress.
We also had a number of our ex-Little Champions who all demonstrated they have adapted well to stepping up into the older age group. With some having 2-3 years of training under their belt they were able to double and for one triple grade. Well done!
Grading Results:
Carlo de Byl – 4 Kyu (Purple)
Enoch Kavelin – 4 Kyu (Purple)
Slade Revell – 6 Kyu (Blue)
Eito Tashima – 6 Kyu (Blue)
Charlie Chipperfield – 7 Kyu (Blue & White)
Jemaine Mulcahy – 7 Kyu (Blue & White)
Dylan Preston – 7 Kyu (Blue & White) **double grade
Sarah Huston – 7 Kyu (Blue & White)
Tom Allibone – 8 Kyu (Green)
Ding (Martin) Ma – 8 Kyu (Green)
Pailyne Price – 9 Kyu (Green & White)
Leon Cersofios – 9 Kyu (Green & White)
Sylas Dawson – 9 Kyu (Green & White)
Hugo Harrington – 9 Kyu (Green & White)
Lucas MacDonald – 9 Kyu (Green & White)
Hou Leung (Cody) Ng – 9 Kyu (Green & White)
Kar Yann (Chloe) Ng – 9 Kyu (Green & White)
Johnson Yu – 9 Kyu (Green & White)
Aidan Connolly – 10 Kyu (Orange)
Henry Ho – 10 Kyu (Orange)
Aggie Jones – 10 Kyu (Orange)
Airi Tani – 10 Kyu (Orange) **triple grade
Jayden Watanabe – 10 Kyu (Orange)
Claire Mulcahy – 10 Kyu (Orange)
Harrison Coughlin – 10 Kyu (Orange)
Riley Dawson – 11 Kyu (Orange & White) **double grade
Ari Everitt – 11 Kyu (Orange & White)
Zen Kudo – 11 Kyu (Orange & White) **double grade
Thomas Manley – 11 Kyu (Orange & White) **double grade
Rowan Beste – 11 Kyu (Orange & White) **double grade
Indigo Levin – 12 Kyu (Yellow)
Xanthea van Wijk – 12 Kyu (Yellow)
Hudson Humrich – 12 Kyu (Yellow)
Yoko Tashima – 12 Kyu (Yellow)
Avery Wu Leng – 12 Kyu (Yellow)
Brett Humrich – 12 Kyu (Yellow)
Peter Walsh – 12 Kyu (Yellow)
Train, eat, train, eat, train, eat, sleep, repeat. That was the schedule for the most recent Japan training trip in May for Adam Higgins Shihan, Brendan Young Sensei, and Sam Lenton Sensei. They were joined at the Sohonbu (headquarters dojo) in Kumamoto, Japan by Mark Snow Renshi, Adam McDonald Sensei, and Peter Elphick Sensei for a week of intensive training with Nidaime Soke (second-generation Soke) and Sandaime Soke (third-generation Soke), along with Higuchi Kyoshi and Todd Tournat Renshi.
As soon as we arrived on the Sunday, the Gold Coast crew dropped our bags and prepared to join in with a kobujyutsu seminar being run by Higuchi Kyoshi. This set the tone for the rest of the week, and was two hours of invaluable instruction and insights. We started with basics (numbers 1-16) before moving into the basic kata, getting detailed feedback from Higuchi Kyoshi along the way. With further kobujyutsu sessions on the Monday and Wednesday, with a Friday session run by Todd Tournat Renshi, we had plenty of feedback and information to bring back to the Gold Coast dojo. Sandaime Soke also ran a kobujyutsu class on the Monday evening, which reinforced what we’d been learning the previous two days and culminated in a sneak peek at the new nunchaku kata coming our way: Ryuu Kumo (Dragon Cloud).
Morning training with Nidaime Soke was traditional, starting with a 30-minute seiza then fast kihons. No matter how fast we went, Nidaime Soke exhorted us to go faster. This provided a great opportunity to find the centre and relax; some of us were more successful at that than others but the important thing is to never give up. At Tuesday’s morning training we then went into Niseishi bunkai work, on Thursday we worked on our kata, and on Saturday morning we focused on kaishu (open hand) training before creating our own personal kata at the very end. After each session, Nidaime Soke shared advice and information that left us thinking more deeply about our karate and understanding our techniques more holistically. Then, we did souji (cleaning the floors) which included the front steps of the dojo. It was fun to do this as a group and to think about the generations of students who have come before us, all of whom had also washed those very same floors and front steps. We heard some stories about the tracks worn into the wooden floor by students practising suriashi (sliding feet) over the decades, and the way the 2016 earthquake had damaged the building.
On Friday night, the Gold Coast crew was also lucky enough to be invited to Masuda Sensei’s dojo, which is just over the hill from the Sohonbu along narrow, twisty roads with plenty of hairpin turns and hair-raising intersections. Fortunately, we were being driven by an expert—one of Masuda Sensei’s senior students—so we made it there and back quite safely. We each had the opportunity to teach Masuda Sensei’s younger students who were just as respectful as they were fun-loving, and we all came away with big smiles. Then, we focused on our bojyutsu basics and went through the kata. It was wonderful to get additional perspectives from Masuda Sensei and his senior students to add to the input we’d gained during the week from Sandaime Soke, Higuchi Kyoshi, and Todd Tournat Renshi.
After Saturday morning training and souji, it was time to pack up and head off. While Adam Sensei and Brendan Sensei had flights back to Australia the following day, Sam Sensei checked into a local hotel in preparation for a day trip on Sunday to Hiroshima, which is less than two hours away from Kumamoto by shinkansen (bullet train). Before we knew it, we were all back in the Gold Coast dojo, ready to put our learnings into practice and share what we had discovered.
The next Japan training trip is likely to happen March-May 2025. If you are ranked 3 rd kyu and above, and you’d like to be part of it, register your interest with Adam Sensei. Make sure you read
this article on training in Japan so you know what to expect:
https://edojo.gckarate.com.au/front-page/membership-policies/training-in-japan/ (members only)
Well done to all those that successfully graded in Chito-Ryu Kobujyutsu yesterday. It is great to see the progress everyone is making.
4 Kyu – Xaviar Thompson
4 Kyu – Millicent Mansbridge
5 Kyu – Sarah Huston
5 Kyu – Siani Symons
5 Kyu – Bohdi Valencour
5 Kyu – Jesse Valencour
A huge congratulations to Harrison deByl and Millicent Mansbridge for achieving their 3rd kyu (Brown & white belt) on Friday.
At Gold Coast Chito-Ryu Karate gradings must be earned, they are not just given. We believe it is important that students understand and demonstrate the commitment required to achieve success. This is not only a great habit to have for karate but one that will see our students achieve success in other areas of their lives. Both had been working very hard leading up to this grading demonstrating their willingness to learn and their understanding of the work required to achieve this level.
3rd Kyu is a significant step in Chito-Ryu Karate and is an indicator that the serious training towards black belt is underway. We look forward to seeing both Harrison and Millicent continue their hard work and achieve their black belts one day.
Karate is great for self-fitness, self-defence, self-confidence and many other personal benefits. One of the extended benefits of karate training is the opportunity to develop leadership and teaching skills. Like all activities, being good at something does not necessarily automatically make you a great teacher. Just being a black belt does not make you a great teacher. Teaching in itself is a skill set that also needs training and development but does share many common attributes of karate.
To be a good teacher requires among other things:
At Gold Coast Chito-Ryu Karate we provide a leadership program to help develop our future leaders for the dojo and the wider community. Over the years of our dojo we have had a number of karate kids become school, house and team leaders. Members of our Leadership team work on assisting in classes for our younger dojo members as well as working on themselves to be leaders by example in their own classes.
The following excerpt from a grading essay by one of our young dojo leaders, Millicent Mansbridge (13 years) is a great example of the thought process and beliefs of our leaders already showing a high level understanding of leading and teaching.
“Another one of my responsibilities is as leader, I was very happy and felt proud when I became a leader and I love to lead. I love to help teach new and young members of our dojo.
I think little children respond well to older children so I like to make the most of this and build bonds with the juniors. I need to engage with them in a way that they will respond positively to, I need to use correct language, talk in ways they will understand, make things fun, not be too serious, take time and be patient. I also need to make sure that what I am teaching they are understanding, don’t just position them or manoeuvre them where they need to be but help them understand why they are doing what they are doing.
It is important too to give feedback, I need to be able to do this in a positive way which encourages the junior members and helps them get better at their karate, I never want to make a little child feel like they are not doing well, lots of support and encouragement is very important to remember.”
It is fantastic to see that everyone’s karate and confidence is continuing to grow with a really solid grading overall. It is especially pleasing to see those that were not successful in a previous grading attempt had been working hard to make the required improvements and were able to successfully pass this time.
Grading Results
Bohdi Valencour – 4 Kyu – Purple
Erika Baritchi – 5 Kyu – Purple & White
Carter Lovelock – 6 Kyu – Blue
Tilly McMillan – 6 Kyu – Blue
Naoki Tani – 6 Kyu – Blue
Taiyo Tani – 6 Kyu – Blue
Aissa Symons – 7 Kyu – Blue & White
Xaviar Thompson – 7 Kyu – Blue & White
Jesse Valencour – 7 Kyu – Blue & White
Darcey de Byl – 8 Kyu – Green
Matthew Boote – 9 Kyu – Green & White
Zinzan Taylor – 10 Kyu – Orange
Jayden Beste – 11 Kyu – Orange & White *double grade
Kewan Clegg – 11 Kyu – Orange & White *double grade
Henry Ho – 11 Kyu – Orange & White *double grade
Sine Levin – 11 Kyu – Orange & White *double grade
Koda Revell – 11 Kyu – Orange & White *double grade
Tana Sun – 11 Kyu – Orange & White
Reyan Baral – 12 Kyu – Yellow
Eleanor Bennette – 12 Kyu – Yellow
Robert Graham – 12 Kyu – Yellow
