Narre Warren Kyokushin Karate

History of Kyokushin

History of Kyokushin Karate in Australia. In the early 1960’s , students of Oyama Karate started training in Australia as well as New Zealand. In 1967, Shigeru Kato was brought from Japan and instructed pupils in Sydney and Melbourne before returning in that same year. In the year following in 1968 was when the South Pacific Kyokushinkai Organisation was formed under the leadership by Ivan Zavechanos until 1970 whereupon John Jarvis (New Zealand) was appointed the chairman. In 1969, the New Zealand Kyokushin Association was established, but the year 1974 was when when an Australian Kyokushin Karate Association was established. The first gathering were attended by John Taylor, Gary Viccars, Brian Ellison, Grant Radonich, Peter Wolfe and Trevor Field.

The year 1977 was the time that AKKA hosted the very first Australian Open Knockdown Championships before an enthralled crowd in Sydney Town Hall. Sydney Town Hall. Sosai Oyama (or Kancho as he was named at the time) attended, coming to Australia to the very first time. The Open champion at the first tournament came from Peter Wolfe. It was 1979 when John Taylor was appointed chairman of the South Pacific Kyokushinkai Organisation. In 1988 the AKKA hosted the Commonwealth Championships in Sydney with nine nations competing. Sosai Oyama was a participant and declared it to be the greatest tournament that has ever been that was held in a country other than Japan.

On April 26, 1994, Sosai Oyama died an extremely sad time in the history of Kyokushin Karate worldwide. Following the period of mourning The Kyokushin Karate organisation in Japan and across the globe went through a period of conflict, to which Australia did not escape. In 1995, various factions emerged and AKKA joined what would later become the IKO-Matsushima Organization.