Sydney NSW – Page 3 – Kyokushin International Martial Arts Australia

KIKO Full-Contact Tournament – November 10, 2024

On Sunday November 10th, KIMAA attended the KIKO tournament held in Tempe, Sydney.

23 competitors competed with spirit and humility. Results are detailed at the end of this article. However I’d like to thank each and every competitor for the training and effort you have put in. You all fought very well and represented yourselves and KIMAA admirably. Of the KIMAA contingent, 19 competitors were kids of various ages and grades (many competing in their first kumite tournament), and 4 adults: Sensei Alireza Miri, Sensei Mark Long, Sempai Matt Wolnizer and Trent Lim.

Thank you also to the parents who have supported and encouraged their children to compete.

Thank you to Sensei Ben Ng, Sensei Alex Lloyd and Sensei Mark Long for coaching and running the mats, supporting the team, and helping organise the competitors. Further thanks to Sempai Matt Wolnizer and Trent Lim for backing up the coaches. And of course Laura Elia who interfaced with the mat coaches and supported the entire team.

Thank you to the senior instructors who worked to provide coaching and support for the team and supporting during training sessions as well as on the day. This includes Sensei Don Cheong, who has been a regular teacher at the kids classes but was unfortunately unable to attend on the day. (During the course of the tournament, Shihan Idir Bahamid, Shihan Mark Shelmerdine and Shihan James were on the Officials table.)

Additionally thank you to Kancho Doug Turnbull and the KIKO team for hosting the event and all the planning and organising on the day and behind the scenes.

Results from the 23 entrants include:

9 competed in Third Place showdowns, winning Third Place in 6 divisions
8 competed in Finals with 2 First Places and 6 Second Places
2 division clean sweeps winning First, Second and Third places

This included a clean sweep in the Veterans (40+) division, with Sensei Alireza taking 1st place, Sensei Mark Long taking 2nd place and Sempai Matt taking 3rd, after some battering rounds facing off each other!

Congratulations to all participants we support and share in each others success. Osu.

Taree Dojo Seminar – November 2-3, 2024

On the weekend of November 2-3 2024, Shihan Mark Shelmerdine and Shihan James Sidwell travelled to KIMAA’s Taree Dojo on the NSW Mid North Coast.

Sensei Mark Long greatly enjoyed hosting the two senior instructors from KIMAA Honbu to run their students through basics, kata and fight training over the course of the weekend.

Hanshi Howard Lipman Memorial Beach Training – August 10, 2024

On the 10th of August, KIMAA Turramurra Dojo held a Hanshi Howard Lipman Memorial Beach Training session the day after what would’ve been Hanshi’s 82nd birthday. Karateka from Turramurra Dojo, and Sensei Mark Long of Taree Dojo, participated on the Saturday morning training session organised by Shihan James Sidwell.

The training involved kihon, fitness, kumite and kata, all immersed in the waves of Freshwater Beach. The session was captured photographically by GM Photographics.

You can read more about the passing of Hanshi Howard Lipman here and about recent changes to the KIMAA leadership here.

KIMAA Leadership – July 2024

~ANNOUNCEMENT~
Following the passing of Hanshi Howard Lipman, KIMAA Founder & Chairman, Kyokushin International Martial Arts Australia (KIMAA) was transferred to Shihan James Sidwell by Hanshi’s widow Masumi Lipman, as per the wishes of her late husband.

Shihan James, the new KIMAA Chairman, immediately created an Executive Leadership Board, and appointed Shihan Idir Bahamid and Shihan Mark Shelmerdine as Executive Board Members.

The Executive Board will be supported by Sensei Mark Long (Regional Lead) and Sensei Alex Lloyd (Secretary).

KIMAA will continue onwards and upwards, as per the guiding principles taught to us by Hanshi Howard Lipman, as Sosai Mas Oyama taught him.

OSU.

Senior Grading – June 22, 2024

KIMAA held our June Kyokushin senior grading at Turramurra Honbu Dojo. Instructors and students from Turramurra Dojo, Lismore Dojo and Taree Dojo attended.

The four Shihans of KIMAA – Shihan Idir Bahamid, Shihan Mark Shelmerdine, Shihan James Sidwell and Shihan Mark McFadden – assessed the participating karateka. The grading lasted over 5 hours, testing students on their basics, kata, fitness, knowledge and kumite.

At the end of the grading, Sempai Maia Brown and Sempai Narmie Thambipillay were graded to 1st Dan (Shodan) in Kyokushin Karate. Sempai Maia completed her 40 fights for black belt, after many years of devoted training and teaching with KIMAA. Sempai Narmie was already a Shodan in Kyokushin, but after an extended absence from karate, she wanted to ‘start over’ and began training at KIMAA a few years ago as a white belt and has since raced up through the grades.

Congratulations to all who completed the grading. Some of the instructors and students enjoyed a celebratory dinner afterward at Hanuman Thai.

Knox Gradings – June 15, 2024

The students of the Knox Karate sports program, from Knox Grammar Senior and Preparatory Schools, participated in Kyokushin Karate gradings on Saturday June 15th.

Knox Karate coaches Sensei Mario Bonetta, Sempai Angus Sweeney and Sempai Trent Lim ran the grading, with assistance from Sensei Alex Lloyd. KIMAA Vice-Chairman Shihan James Sidwell assessed the students and oversaw proceedings.

The combined junior and senior classes of the high school completed a 2.5-hour grading and the prep school class completed a 1.5-hour grading. The students displayed enthusiasm and determination during the morning.

Hanshi Howard Lipman will review Shihan James’s marking and results will be made available through class in due course. Well done to all for their efforts.

KIKO Kata Tournament – June 2, 2024

Students of Turramurra Dojo across a variety of ages and Kyu grades competed in the KIKO Kata Tournament at the Robyn Webster Sports Centre on Sunday June 2nd. The students were supervised on the day by Shihan James Sidwell and Sensei Alex Lloyd.

KIMAA students performed their Kyokushin Karate kata very well, winning a large number of placements in various categories. All students displayed strong technical competence in their kata, showing great kime (focus). Any student in a group comprising more than four participants, if they were selected as a finalist based on their initial score, had to perform their kata a second time to secure their final position on the podium.