On the weekend of November 21-23, Shihan James Sidwell led a KIMAA contingent to represent Turramurra Dojo at the IKU Tournament in Queensland. Sensei Ben Ng and other supporters went along on the trip.
Sempai Maia Brown and Sempai Narmie Thambipillay, who both graded to Shodan last year in Kyokushin Karate, competed in Kata.
Sempai Maia Brown is a national Kata champion for Women’s 15-18 at Shodan level taking 1st Place in her division. Congratulations, Sempai Maia!
Sempai Narmie competed well but unfortunately lost to the eventual champion of her division in a kata knock-out round.
Congratulations to our students on the dedication, hard training and excellent delivery of the kata on the day.
The next morning students went to Broadbeach QLD to enjoy some sun.
It was a good day with a slight hiccup at the beginning with the car park being closed due to another event being held early in the morning. However, once we got parked and ready the KIMAA team got settled and ready to compete.
The event had several dojos and many competitors. The largest event had 20 participants which meant the draws went deep.
Overall KIMAA competed strongly and supported one another with true Budo spirit.
KIMAA competitors achieved five first places, five second places and five third places. An excellent outcome.
Special mention to Sempai Narmie Thambipillay, who won Most Spirited Adult Fighter along with a nice big trophy.
Also congratulations to Sophie Shi who entered the Colts Full Contact despite her division being 13-15 under 60kg padded. Nevertheless, Sophie fought full contact and won with her relentless pace.
Maliha also won a double 1st competing well and winning the mixed division for freestyle.
Well done to all.
Results are below:
Semi Contact freestyle sparring
8-10 Mixed (This was the largest division of the day with 20 competitors)
– Michael Paunescu fought well to the finals and finished fourth
– Liam Bowen fought competitively although he didn’t place
11-12 Mixed (This division had 13 competitors overall)
– Maliha Azeem Placed 1st
– Chris Paunescu 2nd Place
– Talitha Ferguson (4th) and Theodore Gray fought well but did not place
13-15 Males
Jameson Smith placed 3rd
13-15 Females
Sophie Shi 1st Place
CJ Shelmerdine (4th) fought competitively but did not place
16 and Over Males
Peter Madigan place 2nd
16 and Over Females
Narmie Thambipillay 3rd
Padded contact
8-10 under 30kg Males
– Michael Paunescu 1st Place
– Liam Bowen placed 3rd
8-10 over 30kg Males
– Lochlan Easton fought well but did not place
11-14 under 50kg Female
– Maliha Azeem place 1st
– Talitha Ferguson place 2nd
11-12 under 50kg Male
– Chris Paunescu and Theodore Gray competed well but did not place.
KIMAA had a contingent of eight karateka from Turramurra and Taree dojos competing at the National MKA tournament. Most divisions had a great deal of depth with competitors attending from around Australia as well as some from New Zealand.
All our students competed well and fought with spirit and integrity.
Congratulations to all who competed and a special thank you to Masumi Lipman who came to support our KIMAA fighters. The group was led on the day by Shihan James Sidwell and Sensei Mark Long.
KIMAA were proud to support the event and achieve a First, Second and a Third place in various events.
KIMAA were honoured to be invited to attend the Jin Sei Ryu Tournament on Saturday July 5th. Kancho Ino Maquirang hosted a benefit tournament with the proceeds going to a number of charities.
KIMAA had four participants attend and compete in Kyokushin kata, Kobudo, freestyle kumite, point sparring, full contact kumite and sword fighting. The contingent was supported by Shihan James Sidwell and Sempai Adam Roach.
Sempai Narmie competed strongly in the women’s senior grade divisions for Kyokushin kata and Kobudo kata.
Oliver fought extremely well in a bout against a well matched opponent. Despite his opponent being shodan, Ollie fought competitively in his second ever tournament. The bout went to decision. He placed Second in his category, 16 & 17 years male Colts Full Contact (all grades).
Brothers Chris and Michael competed in five events, placing in several. A top effort from the boys in continuing to enter tournaments and they are growing quickly in skill and experience. Chris placed 3rd in Traditional Forms 8-10 years (beginners to intermediate) and 1st in Traditional Forms 8-10 years (advanced to black belt), performing Pinan San. He also placed 3rd in the fun ‘sword combat’ event for 8-10 years. Michael placed 3rd in Point Sparring 8-10 years and 3rd in Freestyle Sparring for 8-10 years.
It was good to see so many other dojos present also supporting the event and generating the sense of community that is so important in the martial arts.
On the weekend of June 7-8, 2025, Taree Dojo represented KIMAA at the Gold Coast Budo Challenge.
Over the course of the weekend, Sensei Mark Long accompanied his student Jameson Smith to compete in the kata component of the tournament on the Saturday, and the kumite on the Sunday.
On Saturday, Jameson achieved First Place in the 13-15 years old Intermediate Kata division, performing the Gekusai Sho kata. On Sunday, he also made First Place in the 50kg and under in 12-13 years old Intermediate Full Contact fighting division.
Congratulations to Jameson for doing KIMAA and Taree Dojo proud. Jameson drives from Port Macquarie to Taree regularly for training, wonderfully supported by his parents Donna and Garrod.
On Sunday June 1st, KIMAA had 20 students compete at the Kancho Doug Tunbull’s KIKO tournament in Tempe from our Turramurra and Taree dojos.
All competitors participated with focus and precision. They were supported on the day by Shihan James Sidwell, Sensei Mark Long, Masumi Lipman and parents of the younger students.
Of the 20, KIMAA achieved the following results:
1st & 2nd Place 7-9yrs Junior Kata
3rd Place 8-9yrs Point Sparring
1st Place 10-12yrs Beginner Kata
2nd Place 10-12yrs Junior Kata
1st & 2nd Place 10-12yrs Advanced Kata
1st & 3rd Place 10-12yrs Point Sparring
1st Place 13-15yrs Beginner kata
1st & 3rd Place 13-15yrs Advanced kata
3rd Place 13-15yrs Point Sparring
1st Place Open Advanced Weapons Kata
3rd Place Adult Beginner Kata
3rd Place Adult Advanced Kata
Congratulations to all the participants, the instructors, parents and families who have worked hard to enable such a great result.
We all contribute to, and share in, each other’s success.
A contingent of 8 KIMAA competitors (7 from Turramurra Dojo, 1 from Taree Dojo) entered the MKA State Tournament. All students represented their dojo admirably and displayed strong Kyokushin spirit. We had 3 students achieve 2nd Place in their division.
Special mention also goes to Oliver Roach for his tournament debut. Oliver is a 9th Kyu that fought a Shodan in Male 16-17 Full Contact and held his own in the fight, even though he copped a few strikes and elbow to the face and throat along the way.
Kyokushin International Martial Arts Australia 