I hope everyone had a fantastic break, ate too much good food, and got some well-deserved rest. Now it’s time to shake off the holiday cobwebs, find your belt (check behind the couch), and get ready to train!

Classes Begin Monday 19th January

Doors open at 5pm for free practice and warm-up. Class kicks off at 5:30pm and runs until 7pm.

As always, we train on Monday and Thursday nights.

If you’re new and haven’t been to class before – come say hello! The first 10 classes are free, and we don’t bite (much).

Looking Back at 2025 – What a Year!

Before we charge into 2026, let’s take a moment to appreciate how far we’ve come:

• Class numbers have been the best they’ve ever been – with peaks of 17 students in a single class
• We introduced Behaviour Points and School Achievement checks – connecting training to life beyond the dojo
• Sensei Paul declared war on improperly tied belts (and he’s still watching…)
• Sensei Ian was recognised nationally for his work with the Awhi app – making a real difference in people’s lives
• Our bank balance is healthy, our community is growing, and the future looks bright

That’s a lot to be proud of. Well done, everyone.

What’s Coming in 2026?

This year, we’re going to build on everything we achieved in 2025 and aim even higher:

Grade Testing: We will aim for holding our grade tests at the end of each school term.

That roughly works out to:

• Term 1 test – last week of March
• Term 2 test – last week of June
• Term 3 test – middle of September
• Term 4 test – early December

If you’re putting in the work at home and in class, you can achieve great things this year.

Recruitment: Can we hit 25 students in a single class? I reckon we can. If you know someone who might enjoy what we do, invite them along. Remember – first 10 classes are free.

A Challenge for 2026

Every new year begins with goals. Big ones. Small ones. The ones we write down and forget about by February.

Here’s my challenge to you:

Pick ONE thing you want to improve this year. Just one.

Maybe it’s finally learning to tie your belt properly (Sensei Paul will be thrilled). Maybe it’s learning all the moves in your next kata. Maybe it’s training at home for 30 minutes a week instead of 15.

Whatever it is – write it down. Tell someone. Make it real.

Martial arts isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being better than you were yesterday. The responsibility lies with you.

Let’s make 2026 the year we surprise ourselves.

New Members Welcome!

If you’re reading this and you haven’t trained with us yet – what are you waiting for?

We’re a donations-based community dojo teaching Ryukyu Kempo. We focus on practical self-defense, weapons training, and building skills that matter beyond the training hall.

No experience needed. All ages welcome. Come as you are.

History Corner

Welcome to a new section of our newsletter! Each edition, we’ll share a little bit of history about our art, our weapons, and the language we use. Think of it as the “interesting stuff you can share at dinner parties” section.

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Okinawa Spotlight: Shuri Castle

If Ryukyu Kempo has a spiritual home, it’s Okinawa – and if Okinawa has a heart, it’s Shuri Castle.

Shuri Castle (首里城, Shuri-jō) served as the royal palace and political centre of the Ryukyu Kingdom for over 450 years, from 1429 until Okinawa became a Japanese prefecture in 1879. Perched on a hilltop overlooking the city of Naha, it was the beating heart of Okinawan politics, trade, and culture.

What makes Shuri Castle unique is its blend of influences. Unlike the grey stone castles of mainland Japan, Shuri Castle’s vermillion red walls and Chinese-inspired architecture reflect Okinawa’s position as a cultural crossroads between Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. It was here that the arts flourished – including the fighting arts that would eventually become what we practice today.

The castle has been destroyed and rebuilt five times throughout history – burned down in 1453, 1660, and 1709, devastated during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, and most recently damaged by fire in October 2019. Each time, the Okinawan people have rebuilt it.

Here’s the exciting news: the castle’s main hall (the Seiden) is expected to be fully restored in 2026 – this year! It’s a powerful reminder that resilience and rebuilding are at the core of Okinawan culture. When things get knocked down, you get back up. Sound familiar?

Images: Shuri Castle main hall (Seiden) with its distinctive red walls, and the Shureimon Gate

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Weapon Focus: The Bo

The bo (棒) – our trusty six-foot staff – is probably the oldest martial arts weapon known to humanity. After all, picking up a stick to defend yourself is about as natural as it gets.

In Okinawa, the bo’s origins are both practical and fascinating. One popular theory is that it evolved from the tenbin – a long pole used to carry buckets of water or baskets of harvested crops balanced across the shoulders. Farmers and fishermen already had these tools in their hands every day, so learning to use them for self-defence made perfect sense.

This became especially important after 1477, when King Shō Shin banned the carrying of weapons to prevent uprisings. Later, after the Satsuma clan of Japan invaded Okinawa in 1609, weapons bans became even stricter. The Okinawan people adapted – turning everyday tools like the bo, sai, tonfa, and nunchaku into effective means of self-defence.

But here’s something many people don’t know: it wasn’t just farmers developing these techniques. Much of what we call Okinawan Kobudo was actually preserved and refined by the pechin – the warrior class who served as royal guards and police. One of the oldest surviving bo kata, Sakugawa no Kon, dates back to the mid-1700s and was created by the legendary Tode Sakugawa (1733-1815).

So the next time you pick up your bo (and please, bring it to class!), remember you’re holding a piece of history that connects farmers, warriors, and centuries of Okinawan ingenuity.

Finally, here’s a video of Lee Richards (one of our instructors) performing a more advanced version of Bo Kihon during a coffee break at work – don’t worry, you don’t need to learn this version (yet…)

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Kanji Corner: The Words We Use

Ever wondered what those Japanese characters actually mean? Let’s break down some of the key words in our art:

琉球 (Ryūkyū) – The name of the island chain and the ancient kingdom. The first character 琉 refers to a type of precious blue gemstone (like lapis lazuli), and the second character 球 means “ball” or “sphere.” Together, they create a poetic image of jewel-like islands in the sea. Interestingly, the characters can also be read as 龍球 (dragon ball) – using different kanji with the same pronunciation. The name “Ryukyu” was actually given by the Chinese, and first appears in records from around 607 CE.

拳法 (Kenpō/Kempō) – This is what we practice! 拳 means “fist” and 法 means “law,” “method,” or “way.” Together: “fist method” or “law of the fist.” In Chinese, these same characters are pronounced “quán fǎ” – reminding us of the Chinese influence on Okinawan martial arts.

空手 (Karate) – Most people know this one means “empty hand” (空 = empty, 手 = hand). But here’s the interesting part: karate was originally written as 唐手, meaning “Tang hand” or “China hand” – a reference to the Chinese Tang Dynasty and the Chinese origins of many techniques. In the 1930s, as Japanese nationalism grew, the first character was changed to 空 (empty) to emphasise that karate had become a uniquely Japanese art. Both versions are still pronounced “karate.”

古武道 (Kobudō) – The weapons art we study alongside our empty-hand techniques. 古 means “old” or “ancient,” 武 means “martial” or “military,” and 道 means “way” or “path.” Together: “the ancient martial way” – specifically referring to the traditional weapons of Okinawa.

Notice how many of these terms end in 道 (dō) – “the way”? That suffix tells us these aren’t just fighting systems. They’re paths for personal development. The way of the empty hand. The ancient martial way. It’s not just about what we do with our bodies – it’s about who we become along the journey.

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That’s our first History Corner! If you found this interesting (or if you’d like to see something specific covered in future newsletters), let us know. There’s a lot of fascinating history behind what we do, and we’ve only scratched the surface.

Helping out in 2025 2026

We always need help with:

• Recruitment – getting new faces
• Social Media – telling our story
• Fundraising – applying for grants and funding
• “General Ideas” – if you’ve got thoughts about how things can be improved – we’re listening!

Banking Information

For any new students who need the details, our class bank account is:

Bank: Kiwibank

Acct Name: RYUKYU KEMPO KARATE

Acct Number: 38-9012-0728171-00

Suggested Donations are:

Kids / Students: $30 per school term

Adults: $60 per school term

Again, we would also like to shout out thanks to those people who have donated beyond the suggested amounts – it means a lot and we are very grateful.

If you’re a new member and have been attending for 10 classes or more, please consider adding your donation to the account. Feel free to chat with us if you have any questions or concerns.

Social Media Links:

You can find more information and learning material on these links:

Ryukenkan Webpage

Facebook

YouTube

Instagram

General Information:

(We’ll keep this here for people to refer to)

Uniforms:

A few people have been asking where to get uniforms, so let’s look at what the options are:

1. Trackies and T’s

Plain black track pants and a plain black or white TShirt are perfectly fine for training – this is the cheapest option. I haven’t checked lately, but if I’m still correct, The Warehouse have budget brand trackies and tees for about $10ea. This is perfectly fine, and for students who aren’t sure they want to invest in a full uniform, this is the best option.

2. Dojo TShirt

From time to time we will place orders for dojo tshirts. These will be well publicised and cost around $45 per shirt. The colours available are:

T-shirt prints have the dojo kanji on the front, and big logo on the rear:

3. Karate Uniforms

If you wish to have a full uniform, you have the choice of either an all-white or all-black uniform. Check out the links below for places to purchase:

All White Uniform

All Black Uniform

Belts:

Following the donations-based approach, we have a few options for belts

1. Belt Library

We would like to establish a “belt library”. The idea is simple. Unless you wish to keep each and every belt you earn, when you’re done with a belt, you donate it to the library and we can recycle it back to another student in the future. At the moment, we only have a few belts of a few colours, so this will take time to build up a stock.

If you’ve got belts you would like to donate to the library, please drop them to us in class.

2. Borrowed/Gifted

If you’d like to lend or gift one of your belts to a fellow student, feel free to make those arrangements with the instructors. For example, if ‘Bob’ is an orange belt, and ‘Bill’ is a yellow belt, ‘Bob” can gift “bill” his Orange belt when ‘Bob’ grades to purple. ‘Bill’ still has to test, but he gets to wear ‘Bob’s’ gifted belt when ‘Bill’ passes the test.

3. New Belts

If you prefer new, we can order new belts or provide links for you to order them yourselves. Sizing belts can be a tricky affair – it’s really easy to get confused and order the wrong size. We’re happy to help and in time, I hope to buy a set of “test belts” for people to try on for size.

Training Equipment:

The biggest expense for people is always the gear. Remember, we aim to keep this as affordable as possible.

The following gear is needed as students progress:

Beginners:

Mouthguard and gloves – any sports mouthguard is fine. Consult a dentist for further information if you have braces or dental problems. For gloves, we use Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) gloves – these are lightly padded, fingerless gloves and are (unfortunately) one of the most expensive pieces of equipment. Until students have both, and wear them in class, we have to restrict some levels of training for safety reasons.

Bo Staff:

The first weapons people need will be a 1.8m staff. The cheapest and easiest way to buy one is at Mitre 10 or Bunnings (link for Bunnings) – dowel is about half the price of a hardwood staff, however they do break. If you can afford a full bo/staff, please consider purchasing one as it will be cheaper in the long run.

Students under 1.5m tall: Youth Bo

Above 1.5m tall: Regular Tapered Bo

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