Type of Event – Page 15 – Kyokushin International Martial Arts Australia

Frank Everett Memorial Tournament – April 2, 2016

Students from three KIMAA dojos attended at the Queensland Frank Everett Memorial Tournament on Saturday April 2nd.

The groups from Lismore, Ballina and Aspley were led by Sensei Mark McFadden (3rd Dan Kyokushin, 3rd Dan Kobudo), Sensei Jon Ellis (3rd Dan Kyokushin, 2nd Dan Kobudo) and Sempai Rob James (2nd Dan Kyokushin) respectively.

Competing were three fighters from Ballina Dojo and eight from Aspley Dojo.

Sensei Jon with the competitors from Ballina Dojo.

Mick Calnan, Cooper Bahadur and Peter English, all students of Sensei Jon, fought on behalf of the NSW Far North Coast. It was the first time competing in a tournament for Peter and Cooper, and the second time for Mick.

Mick fought very well but unfortunately did not win his fight. He made the dojo proud though, earning the nickname ‘The Gumtree’ from his fellow competitors because they couldn’t knock him down or budge him!

Cooper fought two fights and won both. He lost his last fight – in the final for his division – but made an admirable effort for second place.

Peter had one fight and was put up against a 1st Kyu (Senior Brown Belt). Peter is a 10th Kyu (Orange Belt). It was a tough fight but Peter managed to hold his own against the much more seasoned opponent for the entire two-minute round, also taking second place in his division.

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Videos of some of the fights are available on the private North Coast Kyokushin Facebook page for members there.

Eight of Sempai Rob James’s Little Lions also competed on the day: Brock, Bodie, Quinten and Chantelle Dielwart; Darius and Mayhar Firoozi; Jack Bolger; and Isaac Selwood.

Sempai Rob James and the competitors from Aspley Dojo. — Sempai Rob and the competitors from Aspley Dojo.

Sempai Rob was impressed by everyone’s courage and determination on the day – most notably young Isaac, who has only been training a short time but managed second place in his first tournament.

Chantelle twisted her ankle seconds into her first round and was taken to hospital. She has since been released with no broken bones, just severe bruising and soreness. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Brodie and Brock Dielwart performed well in their first tournament as did Darius Firoozi. Jack Bolger placed second in boys 8-10 years; Isaac Selwood second in boys 10-12 years; Mahyar Firoozi second men’s novice 70-80 kgs; and Quintin Dielwart placed third in the men’s 8th Kyu novice.

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Four students from Lismore Dojo attended the tournament with Sensei Mark to watch and support their fellow karateka. Jack, Yacho, Lachlan and Phil enjoyed watching their first live Kyokushin tournament, giving them a taste of what they need to train for in the future. Their attendance is a typical reflection of the KIMAA attitude, showing up to support your mates in the dojo even if you don’t have a fight on the day. Their cries of encouragement from the sidelines would have helped the fighters from Ballina and Aspley get through their two-minute rounds, no doubt.

Well done to all involved for their training in the lead-up, their performance on the day and their continuous display of the Kyokushin spirit.

North Coast Gradings – March 30-31, 2016

Kyokushin Karate gradings were held recently in KIMAA‘s two dojos in the Far North Coast of New South Wales. The gradings were for the Little Lions (kids classes) and adult junior kyu grades.

Sensei Jon Ellis (3rd Dan Kyokushin, 2nd Dan Kobudo) took the Ballina Dojo grading on March 30th.

Ballina Dojo March 2016

Ballina Dojo March 2016

Sensei Mark McFadden (3rd Dan Kyokushin, 3rd Dan Kobudo) took the Lismore Dojo grading on March 31st.

Lismore Dojo March 2016

Lismore Dojo March 2016

A great effort by all involved. Results will be announced by the instructors at regular training.

KIMAA Sydney Seminar – March 12-13, 2016

The first KIMAA seminar of 2016 was held in Sydney at Annangrove Dojo on the weekend of March 12-13. The seminar was run by Shihan Rick Cunningham (6th Dan Kyokushin, 6th Dan Kobudo).

Attendees included adults and kids from local dojos Annangrove and Turramurra. Students also came from the Far North Coast dojos, Lismore and Ballina, led by Sensei Jon Ellis (3rd Dan Kyokushin, 2nd Dan Kobudo). Young Jarryd Close represented Brisbane’s Aspley Dojo.

Shihan Howard Lipman extended his apologies but was unable to attend due to work commitments.

An afternoon class was held on the Saturday, attended by the North Coast and Brisbane students, along with senior grades from Sydney. The session focused on Kobudo, specifically the Kali sticks and Bo. This was followed by bunkai from the Kyokushin Karate kata Pinan sono Ichi.

Guests from the other dojos and Sydney seniors then enjoyed a dinner at Shihan Cunningham’s home, prepared by Shihan and his wife Kirsti.

The main part of the seminar took place on the Sunday, beginning at 9 am. The first session ran students through basics, which included a lot of partner and contact work. This was followed by sanbon kumite and bunkai from Pinan sono Ichi & Ni.

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For the next session, students were broken up into groups based on belt grade and experience with Kobudo.

Sensei Ian Holdaway (3rd Dan Kyokushin, 1st Dan Kobudo) took some junior kyu grades through the Pinan sono Ni kata and bunkai. Sensei Paul Finnerty (4th Dan Kyokushin, 3rd Dan Kobudo) took other kyu grades with little prior Kobudo experience through the Bo, specifically the Kihon kata. Sensei Mark Shelmerdine (4th Dan Kyokushin, 4th Dan Kobudo) took a more experienced group of kyu grades through the Bo, including the Kihon kata and the partner contact work.

Kobudo at the Sydney Seminar.

Senior grades remained inside with Sensei Peter Olive (4th Dan Kyokushin, 1st Dan Kobudo). Sensei Peter took students through various Karate kata, including Pinan sono Yon & Go, Yantsu, and Gekusai Dai & Sho.

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A BBQ lunch was then served by Sensei Ian.

Students were then broken up into groups again based on which weapon they wanted to work on. Sensei Mark took students through the Eeku kata; Sensei Paul taught the first Sai kata, Chibana no Sai; and Sempai Alex Lloyd (2nd Dan Kyokushin, 1st Dan Kobudo) ran the Kali stick group through a partner drill and multiple combat drills.

All students came back together for the final session, which was fitness and fight training. Students did full-contact work in rotating pairs. It was a hot weekend with high-intensity cardio, allowing the karateka to demonstrate their fitness and determination.

Kumite at the Sydney Seminar.

Students enjoyed the thorough stretch and warm-down at the end of the class!

Thanks go to all guests from the North Coast and Queensland dojos for making the trip to Sydney, as always; thanks to Shihan Lipman and Shihan Cunningham for organising the weekend; and to Shihan Cunningham once again for running an excellent seminar.

The next KIMAA Seminar will be held at Lismore Dojo in April.

Black Belt Grades Awarded – January, 2016

In January 2016, three KIMAA Yudansha received their new black belts. These promotions were awarded following the grading in November 2015. These new grades include:

Sensei Ben Ng (3rd Dan)
Sensei Donald Cheong (3rd Dan)
Sempai Wally Gray (2nd Dan)

Shihan Lipman & Sensei Ben

Shihan Lipman & Sensei Don

Sensei Mark & Sempai Wally

Shihan Howard Lipman (8th Dan) awarded Sensei Ben and Sensei Don their belts and certificates at Turramurra Dojo.

Sensei Mark McFadden (3rd Dan) awarded Sempai Wally Gray his belt and certificate at Lismore Dojo.

As part of his grading, Sensei Don wrote an essay on the importance of visual focus in Karate. Shihan Lipman encourages all students to read it.

Congratulations to these three black belts on their new grades.

North Coast Grading – December 12, 2015

Students of Lismore and Ballina dojos came together on Saturday December 12 for an end of year Kyokushin grading.

Sensei Mark McFadden (3rd Dan Kyokushin, 3rd Dan Kobudo) and Sensei Jon Ellis (3rd Dan Kyokushin, 2nd Dan Kobudo) assessed the students, with Sempai Wally Gray (2nd Dan Kyokushin) and Will Brook assisting.

It was a long day of basics, ido geiko, kata, bunkai, fitness and kumite, ending around 3.30 pm.

Well done to everyone who participated.

Students of the Year awards were also handed out at the end of the day. These included:

Ballina Little Lions – Brad Chisolm
Ballina Adults – Mick Calnan
Lismore Little Lions – Liem Nguyen
Lismore Adults – Jared Duckworth

NAS Australian Championships – December 5-6, 2015

Written by Sensei Mark McFadden (3rd Dan Kyokushin, 3rd Dan Kobudo)

On the weekend of December 5-6, the National All Styles Australian Championships were held on the Gold Coast. Competitors came from New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The competition ran over two days on six mats.

Representing KIMAA were:

Trish and Amanda perform their Creative Weapons demo. — Trish and Amanda perform their Creative Weapons demo with the Bo staff.

Patricia Tan, Wes Snyder and Isaac McAlpine from Lismore Dojo, Far North Coast NSW.
Ayla Calnan, Conrad and Cooper Bahadur, and Brad Chisolm from Ballina Dojo, Far North Coast NSW.
Amanda Bolger from Aspley Dojo, Brisbane QLD.

To qualify for the nationals they all had to go through a qualifying round, then the Queensland State Championships and then be invited to participate in the nationals.

Cooper, Isaac and Ayla were in the under 7, Peewee division. Cooper fought a black belt in his first round and won.

Conrad and Brad were in the 8 to 9 years division. Brad did well, losing in an extension. Conrad placed Third.

Wes was in one of the largest divisions, the 16-year-old male 5th Kyu and above. This meant he was fighting and doing kata against black belts.

Amanda and Trish teamed up to do a demo kata with applications and came Second.

They teamed up again in the Creative Weapons section and came Third.

Amanda and Trish were also in the Women’s Advanced Kyu grade sparring, and unfortunately drew each other first up. It was a close match which Trish won.

Trish then went on to fight twice more and came Second in an extension. It was later discovered she had broken her thumb in the first match. Trish fought three rounds with the broken thumb – the power of the Kyokushin spirit and adrenalin!

The highlight was Trish winning the Women’s Open Kata division, performing Seienchin (which is in the KIMAA syllabus for 3rd Dan black belt). As the first competitor she had the option to do the kata again. She was told she was placed Second but if she did the kata again she would risk getting a lower score. She risked it all, with Sensei Jon Ellis telling her she could do a better kata. She did and placed First.

Trish and Amanda also were asked to compete in the Victorian team for the state against state competition, and were placed Third.

KIMAA's Little Lion champions! — KIMAA’s Little Lion champions!

In the end KIMAA had:

3 Thirds,
2 Seconds and
a First place in the Australian National All Styles.

Congratulations to all who competed. It took a lot of hard training and effort in previous competitions to qualify for the nationals. Not only did these students make the journey to reach this point, they all were excellent ambassadors for KIMAA and did their karateka proud. Special congratulations to those who won a placement. Thanks go to instructors Sensei Mark McFadden, Sensei Jon Ellis (3rd Dan Kyokushin, 2nd Dan Kobudo) and Sempai Wally Gray (2nd Dan Kyokushin) for their continued teaching, support and mentorship in Kyokushin and Kobudo.

Patricia Tan

Trish Tan & Amanda Bolger

Wes Snyder doing kata

Shihan Lipman Seminar at Aspley Dojo – November 28-29, 2015

Written by Shihan Howard Lipman (8th Dan Kyokushin, 7th Dan Kobudo)

On the weekend of November 28-29, my wife Masumi and I travelled to Brisbane for me to conduct a seminar at Sempai Rob James’s (2nd Dan Kyokushin) dojo in Aspley. There were 15 kids and 12 adults in attendance over the course of the weekend.

Sempai Rob and Shihan Lipman lead the class.

Aspley Dojo Little Lions with Shihan Lipman.

On Saturday afternoon the first class was for the kids who were initially a little apprehensive, however they were soon made to feel at ease and settled down to enjoy their class. I was most impressed with their level of knowledge and attitude towards training. The class consisted of Kihon, Ido Geiko and Kata.

At the conclusion of the class, Masumi wrote all the kids’ names on their belts in Japanese, which they thought was great.

This class was followed by a session with the adults where once again I checked and emphasised the importance of basics. Most of the class was spent on Kihon and Ido Geiko. Both were at a good standard, which is always a measure of capable students and a quality and dedicated instructor.

On Sunday morning there was another class for the adults and this was orientated towards Ido Geiko, Kata, some fighting techniques and a little self-defence. All the adults performed well and have potential to move forward in their grades.

A few deserve special mention: Jermaine and Amanda, the senior kyu grades, are excellent role models for the more juniors. Chris and Yolanda from the junior kyu grades also performed exceptionally well.

Aspley Dojo adults with Shihan Lipman.

All the adults also had their names put on their belts in Japanese by Masumi.

The seminar was a great success and enjoyed by all. Congratulations are due to Sempai Rob, who I have known since he was 17 years old. It has been interesting and pleasing to watch his progress over the years. His dojo now is well organised and well disciplined which is a mark of the man himself.