Australian Karate Academy, Sydney

Big day today!!!!!

Welcome to our community Shruti!

Welcome to our our community Ava

Welcome to our community Rian!!!!

Cameron’s first medal!!!!

Go Team AKA. We're heading out this morning to the Whitlam Leisure Centre at Liverpool for the ISKA Australian Open. Wish us luck!

A massive part of modern sport science is testing. We were at the park today doing a beep test with our competition kids. If you're not benchmarking, then how do you know if what you're doing is moving the needle?

"Is my child too young for karate?"

I hear this often from parents—especially if their child hasn’t started school yet. Even seasoned martial artists sometimes say, “Three is too young to start.” But I always respond:

👉 “The second-best time to start training is today. The best time was yesterday.”

Yes, even for 3-year-olds.

Now, of course, toddlers need to be able to follow instructions and engage mentally to benefit from classes. That’s a given. But many people misunderstand what children’s karate actually is.

Karate for kids isn't just a scaled-down version of adult training. It’s not about fighting, combat, or even self-defence at this age. It’s about building the foundation for everything that follows:
✅ Focus
✅ Discipline
✅ Confidence
✅ Respect
✅ Resilience

The true aim of karate for children "lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants." (from the person who re-invented karate for the Japanese school system - Funakoshi Gichin).

We don’t expect 3-year-olds to fight off attackers—but we do expect them to begin developing the life skills that will help them thrive in school, sport, and life. That’s the power of starting young.

I took this pic at the end of our Kindy Karate class today - 3-5 year olds.

💬 So if you’ve ever wondered whether your little one is ready for karate, don’t ask “Are they too young?”

Ask instead: “What kind of person do I want them to grow into?”

After just short of 6 years, we are thrilled to be able to confirm Rachel Li’s Shodan in the dojo today after a grueling 5 hour test in Brisbane last weekend. Congratulations Senpei!!!!

We had a BRILLIANT yudansha grading on Saturday. It was a marathon effort (5 hours) and I’m so proud of Arti, Rachel and Daisy. They held it together the whole time under sometimes extreme pressure.

We now have three new Shodans in the club so please join me in congratulating them.

Apart from the actual grading though, the experience is always with the effort. All three ladies had some good contact time with very senior karateka and there were THIRTY black belts in the room to welcome them to our ranks.

Thank you for hosting Brisbane honbu!