Six months ago Rod Davis agreed to attempt his confirmation grading examination at Shotokan Week in Brisbane in early July and not only passed but earned favourable comments from both Nobuaki Kanazawa Kancho (8th Dan and Head of SKIF) and Shinji Tanaka Sensei (7th Dan Honbu Dojo Instructor). Both were impressed with Rod's spirit during his examination because despite receiving a few knocks, Rod continued on and did not give up. This was especially important because, over the past few decades Rod incured several injuries resulting in reduced flexibility of some of his joints making karate practice more difficult. That is a great result for Rod and also great for the club as Rod is keen to pass on to our members the techniques he has learned from Shotokan Week. Rod also was assessed for his practical earning C level Judge qualification having previously passed his written examination.

In other news, Sensei David competed at the Nationals in the 60 yrs + Masters Dan Grade Kata event picking up his 8th National Title performing for the first time in tournaments the kata, Meikyo.  Both Rod and David enjoyed the superb high level of karate training delivered by Kancho Kanazawa and Tanaka Sensei and are excited that Shotokan Week will be hosted in Sydney in Sept/Oct 2027. David hopes that more members from South Coast Shotokan will attend Shotokan Week in Sydney next year so they can also receive the fantastic level of instruction on offer from such high calibre Instructors in 2027. Meanwhile, Ito Sensei is visiting Australia in the later half of this year and will be leading classes in Sydney and other states. Stayed tuned for more information on Ito Sensei's intinerary.