🎉 Congratulations to Leonard Mungall on Achieving His Little Champion Black Belt! 🥋⚫
A huge congratulations to Leonard Mungall on earning his Little Champion Black Belt at Gold Coast Chito-Ryu Karate!
Reaching Little Champion Black Belt is a very special milestone and is a testament to Leonard’s dedication, perseverance, and positive attitude throughout his karate journey. He has consistently shown a willingness to learn, work hard, and never give up, and this achievement is well deserved.
While receiving a Black Belt is an incredible accomplishment, it also marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter. There is still so much to learn, and we look forward to watching Leonard continue to grow both as a karateka and as a person.
Congratulations once again, Leonard. We are all incredibly proud of you and can’t wait to see what you achieve next!
As we approach the Gold Coast Cup, I want to speak to you not just as an instructor, but as someone who has spent decades on the dojo floor, watching young students grow into capable, confident adults.
I want to ask you something important:
What kind of children do we want to raise?
Do we want children protected from pressure… Or children who learn how to handle it?
Do we want children who avoid failure… Or children who learn how to fall, adapt, and rise again?
Because that is what this journey is really about.
Karate is more than an activity. It’s more than movement, uniforms, or belts.
Karate is the moment your child stands on the tatami— Facing an opponent, Facing their nerves, Facing the result of their effort.
And it is in that moment that real growth happens.
In the lead-up to competition, I often hear:
“He’s not competing, he has school.” “She’s not competing, she’s not ready.” “They’ll do it next time.”
I understand these concerns. Truly.
But here is the reality:
A child will never feel “ready” if they are taught to step away from challenges.
Competition does not harm a child. Avoiding challenge does.
I know there are fears:
Fear of injury. Fear of losing. Fear of disappointment.
But more often than not, it is not the child who is afraid— It is the adult.
And children take their cues from us.
On the dojo floor, we are not building champions overnight.
We are building character.
Through competition, your child learns:
– How to manage their emotions – How to face fear – How to accept both winning and losing – How to show respect under pressure – How to take responsibility for their performance
These lessons cannot be taught through words alone. They must be experienced.
Without challenge, karate risks becoming just exercise.
And that is not what we do here.
A belt is not a reward for attendance. It represents effort, growth, and the willingness to step forward when it matters.
That is why participation—especially in events like the Gold Coast Cup—is such an important part of the journey.
Not as pressure. Not as punishment. But as a standard.
Because we cannot teach courage while allowing avoidance. And we cannot build strong character inside a comfort zone.
So I leave you with this:
When your child faces life outside the dojo— A tough exam, a job interview, a setback, or a challenge—
Will they step forward with confidence… Or step back to avoid it?
In the dojo, they have a safe place to learn this.
With guidance. With structure. With support.
I choose to teach them to face challenges.
And together, we can give them the opportunity to grow into the kind of people we all want them to become.
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.
Well done to everyone who challenged themselves at the Gold Coast Chito-Ryu Karate 2023 Spring Grading. Excellent karate spirit and karate technique shown by all.
Results:
Millicent Mansbridge – Purple 4 Kyu
Enoch Kavelin- Purple & White 5 Kyu
Siani Symons- Purple & White 5 Kyu
Bohdi Valencour- Purple & White 5 Kyu
Levi Lenton- Blue 6 Kyu
Kalani Kloot- Blue & White 7 Kyu
Kayden Kloot- Blue & White 7 Kyu
Carter Lovelock- Blue & White 7 Kyu
Naoki Tani- Blue & White 7 Kyu
Damien Kloot- Green 8 Kyu
Aissa Symons- Green 8 Kyu
Eito Tashima- Green 8 Kyu
Xaviar Thompson- Green 8 Kyu
Jesse Valencour- Green 8 Kyu
Edward Bennette- Orange 10 Kyu
Max Millar- Orange 10 Kyu
Lucas MacDonald- Orange 10 Kyu **double grading
Isabella Kassab- Orange 10 Kyu **triple grading
Gabrielle Summers- Orange & White 11 Kyu
Odin Summers- Orange & White 11 Kyu
Harrison Coughlin- Orange & White 11 Kyu **double grading
Brianna Marcus- Orange & White 11 Kyu **double grading
Chloe Ng- Orange & White 11 Kyu **double grading
Cody Ng- Orange & White 11 Kyu **double grading
Tana Sun- Yellow 12 Kyu
Thank you to everyone who attended the 2023 Gold Coast Karate Competition. It was great to kick off the year with an exciting event with lots of high standard karate on display.
A big thank you to all our volunteers for helping out with the set-up, take-down, marshaling, first aid, referees and table officials.
Results:
Senior Tournament Champion – Sam Phillips (Sunshine Coast)
Junior Tournament Champion – Levi Lenton (Gold Coast)
Tournament Champion selection is weighted towards individual kata and individual kumite results.
A bit of fun in the dojo with a special Halloween class for Little Champions and Juniors (plus some of their friends). The dojo was decorated and everyone had a great time dressing up and being part of some Halloween celebrations.
The class also focused on how to be brave using good posture, breathing and eyes.
The kids were challenged with attacking a “monster” with confidence as well as self-defence drills.
The class was a big hit and will definitely be back again next year.
