OSUmag - Issue February 2020

Click HERE to download the 3rd edition of our Dojo Newsletter.

I hope and trust that you have all had a happy and restful festive season and are ready for some hard training in 2020.

2019 was an eventful and successful year for the dojo. Having 3 members from our dojo (of the five-man Australian team) compete in the 12th World Open Karate Championships in November was a great achievement. Well done to Sensei Anthony and to Sempais Reece and Dinei. Sensei John Barker also competed in Japan in the seniors’ division and attended special training, culminating in his promotion to Yondan. Well done on this fantastic achievement.

My 50th anniversary of Kyokushin training was, for me, a very special celebration. Having Kancho Shokei Matsui attend the event and conduct seminars together with Shihan Gorai and Shihan Kenny was a dream come true. I thank all of you for having helped to make this occasion so special. In 2019 Sensei Alex advised us that she and her husband would be moving to the USA. Her departure will be a massive loss to the dojo, but we have been incredibly fortunate in obtaining the full-time services of Sempai Nora to take Sensei Alex’s position. We wish Sensei Alex the best of luck and will always regard her as a close and vital member of our dojo. I will miss her very much.

There is already much on the calendar for 2020, with a number of our students training hard for the International Friendship Tournament to be held in Tokyo in April 2020. The IFT is a wonderful event and I believe that the experience that will be gained by our students will stand them in great stead. The International Karate Organisation, under Kancho Shokei Matsui, continues to grow and prosper. The standard of karate at the 12th World Championships was incredibly high and we are indeed fortunate to have a leader who has such depth of insight, knowledge and vision. As each day passes, it becomes more and more apparent why Sosai Oyama chose Kancho Matsui as his successor.

It is quite likely that Kancho will be visiting New Zealand in about October 2020. If this eventuates, I very much hope that a strong contingent of North Bondi students will travel to New Zealand to train with Kancho. I encourage all of you to commit yourselves to regular and hard training in 2020 and to do your best to improve as Kyokushin karateka. Our dojo is more than a training hall. It is a very special place where we learn more about ourselves and about our fellow students. We are family.

See you on the floor. OSU!