Our 2022 Sunshine Coast Chito-Ryu Winter Karate Tournament is all over. As our first major tournament for nearly 3 years, it was great to see lots of people participating. Congratulations to all competitors and thank you to all volunteers. For a lot of competitors and volunteers it was their first ever karate tournament, so there were plenty of learning opportunities, but I think there were also a lot of people who are keen for more.
This was our only major Sunshine Coast tournament planned for this year, but for our locals looking for more tournament action, there is a Gold Coast tournament planned for end of October. As we head into 2023 there will be more tournament action as we help prepare Sunshine Coast athletes who are currently working towards representing Australia at the 2023 Soke Cup in Japan.
Before we get to the result, a big shout out to all the people who volunteered their time to help make the event a success: referees, table officials, marshals, first aid, canteen/BBQ, set up & pack up crews, and the committee.
And also a big thank you to Matt Craven, for all the great photos. View them all on the Sunshine Coast Karate facebook page. Or check out the small selection below.
Congratulations to all competitors who participated in last weekend’s Sunshine Coast Autumn Tournament. After nearly 3 years since our last tournament, it was great to see so many enthusiastic competitors.
A huge thank you to all of the volunteers who helped make the event such a great success. Tournaments are always a lot of work to put on and it’s only possible with the support of parents & volunteers.
For those who enjoyed the tournament experience, be sure to speak with your friends and lets work together to get even more people involved next time around.
Please see below tournament results & a few photos.
Competitor numbers were a little lower than expected for our spring tournament (15 September). As a result the tournament venue was moved to the dojo as we could get away with running a 1 ring tournament.
This competition saw the introduction of the flag system for kata events same as was used at the recent Soke Cup in Canada. For most competitors and referees there was a bit of a learning curve, but the new competition format seemed to be well accepted.
Running tournaments is always a big task and we’d like to thank all of the competitors & supporters and of course all of the volunteers who supported the event by volunteering their time in their respective roles: referee, event marshals, table officials, canteen/BBQ, first aid, setup & pack up. Thank you everyone.
Although it was a small tournament, there were still quite a few first time competitors and we’d like to acknowledge their courage in stepping up and competing for the first time. Tournaments can be a daunting experience, but despite the high levels of nervous tension in the beginner devisions everyone did their best and some even surprised themselves at how well they did.
It was wonderful to see such a good turn out for our first Sunshine Coast Tournament of the year. Lots of new competitors, lots of the old regulars, competitors from Gold Coast & Blue Mountains too.
Tournaments take a lot of work both behind the scenes and on the day: compiling entries, preparing event draws, setup, table officials, referees, event marshals, canteen/BBQ and lots more. As always we’re very grateful to everyone who steps in to give so freely of their time, without your help, these events would not be possible.
This tournament also coincided with a visit from Miyazaki Sensei (7th Dan, Kyoshi) from Japan. Miyazaki Sensei spent 4 hours on the Saturday before the tournament working with our seniors to help with our referee development. It was a great day of learning and a really good opportunity to learn from a very good referee. On the day of the tournament, Miyazaki Sensei also assisted by refereeing all day and continued to offer feedback and advice to both referees and competitors.
Supporting the small team of competitors from the Blue Mountains, Mark Snow Sensei (5th Dan, Shihan) & Adam Macdonald Sensei (3rd Dan) refereed all day. And supporting the Gold Coast team, Adam Higgins Sensei (3rd Dan, Shidoin) also refereed all day. Plus other seniors from all dojo many of who were also competing.
After the morning session of competition, everyone was treated to kata demonstrations from Miyazaki Sensei and Mark Snow Sensei.
It was great to see everyone competing with great enthusiasm and spirit, whilst still demonstrating good manners. It was a real testament to the hard work that everyone is putting in at their respective dojos.
L-R: Mark Snow Sensei, Fuzio Miyazaki Sensei, Adam Macdonald SenseiSome of the referees (ring 2): Renae Saunders, Keanu Caston Sensei, Adam Macdonald Sensei, Helen O’Grady Sensei, Sam LentonBeginner Kobudo Event – Bo kataBeginner Kobudo Event – Sai kata
Another year of tournaments over. And what a way to finish off the year. It’s been a few years since our last team challenge tournament.
Thank you to all the volunteers who made the day such a success.
Of course, thank you to competitors, parents and supports. It was only a small tournament, but the spirit of competition, friendship and fun was definitely there in a big way.
Once again it was great to see a few new competitors stepping up and competing for the first time.
Rhiannon’s first karate tournament 😉
As always good to see some quality kumite action. Here’s aSensei Keanu & Senpai Jack in action in the men’s kumite division.
And the winning team…. Dragon Squad.
Dragon Squad – 2018 Team Challenge Winners (Unfortunately missing a few team members from this photo)
Congratulations to everyone who participated in last weekend’s QLD Chito-Ryu State Titles. This was the biggest tournament we have ever hosted on the Sunshine Coast and it was great to see such a strong standard across all divisions.
It was also great to see so many first time competitors and lots of support from volunteers. It takes a lot of work from many volunteers to run events like this and we’re very grateful that so many people stepped up to make it possible for everyone.
Tournament results are now available for download (PDF).
A special mention to the tournament champions, both from the Sunshine Coast dojo.
Jr champion – Bailey Keefe
Sr champion – Lachlan Davies
And also congratulations to the winners of the advanced team kata division from the Sunshine Coast, once again winning this perpetual trophy. Klaudia Caston, Keanu Caston & Sam Hunt.
Unfortunately, though, the Gold Coast dojo had a better team this year in the team kumite event, although it did literally go down to the very last point of the last match.
Congratulations to everyone who competed at last weekend’s Qld Chito-Ryu State Titles. This was the biggest tournament we have ever hosted on the Sunshine Coast and it was great to see such a strong standard across all divisions. It was also great to see so many first time competitors and lots of support from volunteers.A special thank you to Mark Snow Shihan and Adam McDonald Sensei from who came all the way from the Blue Mountains to referee. Also thank you to interstate competitors from Blue Mountains & Sydney.A special mention to tournament champions from the Sunshine Coast.Jr champion – Bailey KeefeSr champion – Lachlan DaviesFor those who are keen for more tournaments there are just two more chances to compete this year.Gold Coast Tournament – 9 Sep Nationals (Blue Mountains) – 30 SepEntry forms are available now for the Gold Coast tournament and Nationals entry forms will be available soon.
I’d also like say a huge thank you to Jane Graham who has put up lots of great photos from the tournament. A great historical record. Here is the links to the albums (there might still be more coming, I’m not sure).
Congratulations to everyone who competed at yesterday’s Sunshine Coast Tournament (Sunday, 18th March 2018). Although competitor numbers were a bit down the standard of competition was very high and there has also been big improvements in the standard of refereeing, especially in the junior referee. The ongoing improvements are a reflection of the hard work that is going on in the respective QLD Chito-Ryu dojos: Sunshine Coast Karate & Gold Coast Karate and Kobudo Centre.
As always, tournaments are not possible without the efforts of a lot of volunteers. Thank you to referees, table officials, event marshalls, canteen & BBQ helpers, and everyone who helped with the setup and pack up.
Of course, also thank you to the parents of our junior competitors for your continued support.
The next tournament will be: Sun 20th May (Sydney).
The next QLD tournament will be: Sun 24th June (Gold Coast).
Here are a few photos we’ve found. If anyone has any more photos or videos, please let us know and we’ll add them below.w
Congratulations to everyone who competed yesterday (11 June) at our Sunshine Coast Tournament. It was wonderful to see representatives from Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Sydney & Blue Mountains attending the tournament.
With the Chito-Ryu world championships, also known as the Soke Cup just 2 months away now, this tournament was the final opportunity for many to compete before they go to Japan. As a result there was a very high percentage of Australian team members competing. But even with so many seasoned competitors entered, it didn’t stop first time competitors from jumping in which is always great to see.
As always a big thank you to all of our volunteers: referees, officials, event marshal, first aid, canteen/BBQ, and everyone else. Without your help, this event would not have been possible. Thank you.
A special thank you in particular to Jeanette Marshall who stepped in at the last minute to cover first aid after our local first aid officer called in sick on Saturday. Jeanette, was just planning to bring her daughter to compete from Sydney, but her assistance filling this vital role at the last minute was greatly appreciated. Thankfully she had a very quite day in that role.
Apart from the high standard of competition across all divisions, a highlight of the day was the presentation of Australian team uniform to those members who are attending the Soke Cup in Japan this August. I have to say, we’re going to have a very well dressed team in Japan, thank you to Sensei Sandra for organising the uniforms.
And of course the practice of the Australian chant “Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi” lead by Senpai Anthony Horgan.
A special mention to tournament champions, the top performers in individual kata and individual kumite.
Junior champion – Bailey Keefe (SC)
Senior champion – Anthony Horgan (GC)
And, a few photos…
Andrea Marshall & Max Condon – Tasseikan, Sydney Dojo.
Etsuko Ishida (Lithgow Dojo) competing in Masters, Advanced Kata Thank you Jane Graham for this photo
Kazumi Tominaga (Gold Coast Dojo) competing in Masters, Advanced Kata Thank you Jane Graham for this photo
Rosemarie Caston (Sunshine Coast Dojo) competing in Masters, Advanced Kata Thank you Jane Graham for this photo
Brendan Young (Gold Coast Dojo) competing in Masters, Advanced Kata Thank you Jane Graham for this photo
Kata demonstration by Shihan Martin Phillips – Sanshiru
Junior Individual Kata, 4-7 years – Featuring Claire Krausz
This was Claire’s first tournament and she walked away with first place in individual kata.
Congratulation to everyone who competed at yesterday’s Sunshine Coast Tournament (Sunday 2nd April). Although it was a relatively small tournament, there was a clear improvement in the standard of competitors in all divisions, plus the standard of refereeing.
As always a big thank you to those people volunteered in various roles throughout the day: table officials, referees, canteen/BBQ, event marshal, first aid, set up & pack up. Without the help all these volunteers it would not be possible to run these events.
This tournament we tried double elimination draws for the first time. Which meant that in order to be knocked out of the competition you would have to lose at 2 matches. The goal of this was to give competitors more matches under tournament conditions, especially those who are currently preparing for the Soke Cup in Japan this August. This competition format served it’s goal and really put competitors to the test having to stay focussed both physically and mentally even longer. Next tournament we will probably moved back to the standard single elimination draw, although a little more discussion is required before we come to a decision.
Also, it was great to see a few competitors from Sydney’s Tasseikan dojo. Steve, Ray & Adriano it was a pleasure to have you join us for the tournament and also at training at Sunshine Coast Karate on Saturday.
Before we get to the results a big thank you to all of the volunteers for making the event a great success. Number were a little bit down on previous years, but the standard of competition and the big improvement shown by referees and officials was great to see.
This year’s QLD Chito-Ryu Karate-Do State Titles was proudly supported by the Sunshine Coast Council’s grants program. Funds received from Cr. Jason O’Pray’s discretionary fund allowed our association to purchase a new set of tournament mats which were used at this year’s event and will continue to be used for many years to run more events like this on the Sunshine Coast.
Proudly Supported by the Sunshine Coast Council’s grants program
Now… onto the results.
A special mention to our tournament champions who performed best in both individual kata and kumite events.
Also, a special thank you to Mitchell German Sensei from Nova Scotia, Canada, who helped referee all day did some great demonstrations too.
The demonstration below is Ryusan kata, which was also the kata that German Sensei performed to win the men’s black belt kata division at the last Soke Cup in Hong Kong.
The second demonstration (below) German Sensei performs a short selection of seated self defence techniques (suwari waza) that he learned many years ago from one of O Sensei’s senior students. These techniques were developed by the Samurai to defend themselves indoors, when there was no room to draw their swords.
And finally, here are a few photos to enjoy. Unfortunately we didn’t have our regular photographer, who always does and amazing job with the photos, but we’ve still managed to find a few…
