FROM THE AUSTRALIAN KOSHIKI ARCHIVES
Thank you to the old boys of Australia Koshiki and Shorinjiryu for providing the following information and regular updates and support regarding Australia Koshiki history.

1. The Founders - The Founding Fathers of Australia Koshiki are Lori Vanniekerk, Graeme Bullpit, Chris Kleise and Gordon Kleise who in 1980 took the Australian team to the inaugural World Koshiki Championships Tokyo, after Lori Vanniekerk first established Shorinjiryu Kenkokan in Australia in early 1978.

2. Administration - Former National Presidents of Koshiki also included Lori Vanniekerk, Graeme Bullpit, Wayne Johnson, Douglas Hawkins, Warwick O’Brien, Howard Sanders, Glen Stevenson along with others have held this positon since circa 1980.

3. Administration - Former State Presidents included Phil Hooper (QLD) and Scott Brown (NSW). With the support of Lori Vanniekerk, Scott Brown established NSW Koshiki after his return from Japan in December 1980.

4. Koshiki and Anzen Bogu ‘Supersafe’- Th e name ‘Supersafe’ was coined by Scott Brown and Richard Bryant in 1979 whilst living and training as the first uchi deshi’s in Japan under Masayuki Hisataka. Supersafe is also known as Anzen Bogu which is used in Koshiki competition. The movie superman had just been released in Japan and the name and Koshiki Logo was inspired by the movie poster with the superman mark. The word Koshiki has two meanings depending on the Kanji used. In this instance Koshiki means hard style competition, not old. Richard Bryant and Scott Brown were the first Australian uchi deshi’s of Masayuki Hisataka in Japan.

5. Karatedo - Koshiki should not be confused with Shorinjiryu Kenkokan Karatedo as they are two separate entities. It is worth noting that Shorinjiryu Kenkokan Karatedo in Japan has always utilised Bogu fighting in its tournament system from the inception by the founder Kaiso Kori Hisataka.
The Canadians also were very familiar with Bogu competition having utilised the precursor kendo style bogu throughout the mid-sixties and 1970’s under the instruction of Masayuki Hisataka and his senior Canadian student Wayne Donovan.

6. Champions - The notable Australian National and International Koshiki Champions Graeme Bowden, Phil Hooper, Scott Brown, Chris Kleise, Gordon Kleise, Richard Bryant, Dave Holmberg, Paul O’Donnell and Geoff Harrison, Anne Bowden and Marnie Franklin stands, as they were consistent individual champions over several years, having fought many times winning Gold, Silver & Bronze awards as well as being declared champion.

7. Largest Koshiki Tournaments - The largest Koshiki tournaments were held in Japan in 1980 and 1982 where over 14 countries competed followed by, 1985 Brisbane Australia, 1989 Montreal Canada and 2000 Blue Mountains Australia.

8. USKA Tournament - The 25th Anniversary of Robert Trias & his United States Karate Association hosted the Grand National Tournament in 1987 which was referred to in a previous post {Kerrie Mee}, was probably one of the largest karate tournaments in the USA with about 1300 competitors. It was confirmed the Koshiki component of this tournament was the smallest contested in Koshiki history with only 4 countries comprising of about 30 competitors attending from Canada, USA, Australia and Japan. This only allowed for Men’s Team Events and no Individual Men’s Events, resulting in each Men’s team fighter to have only one fight. The Australian Koshiki Team (photo provided) lost against the USA Koshiki Team and did not win a place, with Canada the eventual Team champion titleholder. Disappointedly a long way to go for the Aussies for only one fight, but an enjoyable time for everyone.

9. Competitors - Please note that coverage of National and International Koshiki Competitors who fought many times over several years will be covered in a future report.