TAEKWONDO

Taekwondo also known as the art of the foot and fist is a well known Korean martial art that is practiced over the world by more than 80 million practitioners worldwide. Originally Taekwondo was known at Tae Soo Do when the nine 'kwans' were united in 1955, which later became Taekwondo in 1957 when several Korean Martial Art Masters adopted the name due to it's similarity to Tae Kyon. The taekwondo that we know today is considered a modern form of the traditional Korean martial arts that was brought together and introduced by General Choi Hong Hi for the purpose of military practice. General Choi was an influential general in the South Korean army, who was the first to developed a whole series of new forms in 1955. General Choi later presented the completed 20 set form in 1965 as a book titled 'Taekwon-Do The Art of Self-Defence'. 

Taekwondo was first spread outside the Korean peninsular to Malaysia in 1963 by General Choi who was then the Republic of Korea ambassador to Malaysia. This was the first important step resulting in the incorporation of Taekwondo in schools and the propagation of this art to over 200 countries.  Master Cheong who hails from Malaysia is one of the beneficiary of this system. He started training in 1989 under Grand Master Leong Yong Wah and Grand Master Yap Swee Bee, which later on during his competitive years, trained additionally under Master Ben Wong. Upon completing his undergraduate degree and moving to Brisbane from Adelaide, in 2007, he continued his training under Grand Master Yong-Ho Hur.  

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KARATE

Karate, originally brought to mainland Japan from Okinawa was first introduced to the mainland in 1921 by Funakoshi Gichin. In Japan, Shotokan, Wado-ryu, Goju-ryu and Shito-ryu are the four main styles of karate. The origins of Shito-ryu karate can be traced back to around 1900s when Itosu Yatsune of Shuri and Higaonna Kaneryo of Naha developed their own styles. Itosu　Yatsune taught the Nai-huan-chi form and Higaonna Kaneryo taught sanchin, which was adapted and developed into today's Goju-ryu style by Miyagi Chojun. 

Shito-ryu on the other hand was developed by Mabuni Kenwa who studied under both Itosu　Yasutsune (糸洲 安恒) and Higaonna Kaneryo (東恩納 寛量). Borned in 1889 into a famous samurai family (Onigusuki), Mabuni Kenwa was the 17th generation heir and started training at the age of 13. By taking the first two characters of his masters family name, 'Shi' 糸 and 'To' 東, Mabuni Kenwa called his style Shito-ryu '糸東流' in deep appreciation and respect for his masters.

Nagashima sensei from Japan first started her training under Koizumi Takako sensei in 1993. Koizumi sensei learnt Shito-ryu Karate under the late founder (Soke -宗家）Shiokawa Hosho who was a direct disciple of Mabuni Kenwa, the founder of Shito-ryu. Upon the passing of Mabuni Kenwa, Shiokawa Hosho returned to his hometown in Shimonoseki and established the Shiokawa Shito-ryu karate branch. Prior to his passing, the school rights/title was passed down to his son Shiokawa (Hosho) Masanari (第二代宗家). It is under this direct supervision from 宗家 Shiokawa (Hosho) Masanari, that Nagashima sensei has been given the permission to disseminate the lineage of this Shito-ryu karate style in Australia.