In an age where there’s a Martial Arts schools on every corner, in an unregulated industry (anyone regardless of credentials can start a Martial Arts school) and everyone’s a “master”, we want to differentiate ourselves from the phonies. Real benefits come from training real Karate.
Many of our members perhaps don’t realise how lucky they are to have joined Sunshine Coast Karate. Many people join because our location is convenient or they’re impressed by our full-time facility or the flexibility we can provided by offering lots of classes. Or maybe it’s that we try to operate in a professional manner and do our best to provide a high level of customer service. These things alone set us apart from a lot of martial arts schools on the Sunshine Coast, especially those operate on a part time basis out of community halls.
But the thing that’s perhaps most different is what we teach and how we teach. We’ve been around for a few years now. Although as a dojo we can boast many world champions that we’ve created over the years or the fact that we have both male and female “master” instructors who have dedicated their lives to the study of that system that we teach, that’s still just the tip of the iceberg.
We too have been very fortunate to find a style of karate, Chito-Ryu that has some amazing teachers from all around the world. Every opportunity we get, we travel to learn from them or bring them here to our dojo for all members to learn. Just recently we had a visit from Michael Noonan Sensei, who was recently graded to the level of 7th Dan in Chito-Ryu. For those who had the opportunity to train with him, it was an opportunity to see something extraordinary, a glimpse at what is possible in your training when you dig deeper and really study the basics. Even he, says, some of the things he does, just look fake. With seemingly little effort he’ll throw you to the floor or strike you, but when you’re on the receiving end, you can feel the power in his technique, IT HURTS, A LOT.
In Chito-Ryu Noonan Sensei is not a rarity. All of the teachers that I have had the pleasure of training with at his level are amazing. They’re not just amazing teachers, they’re also amazing martial artists in their own right.
And that brings me to the exciting news we have for our martial arts enthusiasts on the Sunshine Coast.
In keeping with Sunshine Coast Karate’s commitment to excellence and providing the absolute best tuition for its students, we are proud to announce, Soke Chitose, Supreme Instructor, will be visiting our Dojo next month (Saturday 25th – Tuesday 28th November). Soke Sensei will also be accompanied by Higuchi Sensei, 7th Dan, Kyoshi & Okinawan Weapons expert.
Many of our younger and junior ranked students may not fully appreciate the opportunity afforded by this visit. It is like receiving music tuition from Mozart, a soccer lesson from Pelé, or a science lesson from Einstein.
Soke Sensei has an incredible Martial Arts’ pedigree. His father was the renowned Okinawan ‘Kake-Dameshi’ (Challenge Match) fighter, Tsuyoshi Chinen, later changing his name to Chitose and affectionately known in Chito Ryu circles, as O’Sensei. Chitose Snr, became the Sixth Master of Tode, in a successive lineage that began with; the First Generation Beechin Chinen, who along with the Second Generation Beechin Matsumura, was a member of King Shokei’s Royal Guard, the Third Generation Uekata Awane was a member of King Shoiku’s Royal Guard, Fourth Generation was Beechin Hokama, and the Fifth Generation was Chitose’s teacher Sesho Aragaki. He was also under the tutelage of such luminaries as; Chotoku Kyan, of whom I was told by Soke, was very influential in his father’s later direction, and Kanryo Higaona, where he became close friends with another student, the well-known Chojun Miyagi founder of Goju Ryu.
O’Sensei continued his martial arts career in Tokyo where he studied medicine and became one of the early pioneers introducing Karate to the Japanese mainland. In Tokyo, he assisted the spread of Karate by teaching in Gichin Funakoshi’s Dojo, the founder of Shotokan, a colleague from Okinawa. Later in life, O’Sensei was awarded one of only six gold-belts by the Okinawan Government.
It is this rich knowledge and technique, passed down through generations and unfortunately lost in so much of modern Karate, that Soke Sensei provides to his students. I have had the privilege of being Soke Sensei’s student for the last 30 years. It is very obvious to me though, that at 67 years old Soke Sensei continues to advance his abilities. By that, I do not mean that he only becomes a better teacher with age, but that his Karate continues on the journey of improvement as he gets older, a phenomenon for which his father was well known.
During Soke’s visit students are encouraged to attend as many lessons as possible, there are no attendance restrictions. We are also inviting all students from our affiliate Dojos, and hoping to see students and senior Instructors from Sydney, Blue Mountains, Newcastle & Gold Coast throughout the period. International ICKF visitors are also welcome.
Our regular class schedule will be in place, plus we will also hold some additional class over the weekend. As a we get a little closer we’ll share the specific details for sessions. All members are encouraged to get to as many classes as possible.
To learn more about classes at Sunshine Coast Karate, register now for a FREE trial karate lesson.
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