Grant Banister is Founder and Chief Instructor of Bukido Karate. Shidoshi Grant Bannister (shidoshi meaning, stable and independant leader) started his training in Martial Arts in 1974 under the San Chi Kai Karate group led by Shihan Mal Lomax. Shidoshi Grant has spent most of his adult life teaching karate for the benefit of his students of which many have gone on to earn their own successes in Australia and Internationally. Shidoshi Grant Bannister is responsible for changing the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of students through his heartful and articulate approach to martial arts. Grant believes in the profound effect that a well balance martial arts program has on the community when taught correctly. Shidoshi Grant Bannister has spent most of his career fefining what he considers to be his most important students, children! Grant knows that when when a child learns the value of respect for others, and committing to healthy practices early in life, their lives will be on track early and the best possible life changes are in motion. As a master of the traditional aspects of Karate and Kobudo (weapons) Shidoshi Grant bannister is able to deliver the best martial arts training around and possibly the best childrens program in the industry. Bukido Karate is located in Lilydale, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

For over 40 years Sifu Rick has trained in and developed the Wing Chun he learned from William Cheung (Bruce Lee’s senior training partner and Ip Man’s live-in disciple), integrating a sophisticated kicking game and Will/Machado Brazilian Jiu Jutsu into what you could now consider to be a complete Wing Chun Martial Arts System. The classes are structured to cater for all levels of experience. Beginners to advanced students are welcome in all classes. We have a strong concept of pressure testing all that we do so we can have real confidence that what we are practicing will be effective in a high stress situation. Sifu Rick is a former World Champion Full Contact fighter and our school has nurtured many individuals into talented martial artists that have competed and won on many platforms. We don’t have a fight program at our Sydney school, our interstate schools are currently flying that flag for the organisation. We do however have a strong sparring curriculum and that proves to be challenging enough for the majority of our students. For those who want to compete we do of course support them. Our instructors are experienced martial artists. Some have a background purely in Red Boat Wing Chun and Will/Machado BJJ, others have Boxing, Muay Thai, Tai Chi, Hsing-I and Karate backgrounds on top of their many years of training in Red Boat Wing Chun. The school’s values are that of Family, Honour and Loyalty. We welcome all students as if they are family and expect everyone to treat each other with the care and respect that you would expect from such a relationship. Our duty is to provide a place that nurtures your path toward excellence in martial arts, and for those who have embraced this culture their lives have changed for the better as well.

Damien Martin is kaicho (Chief Instructor) at Southern Cross Martial Arts. Damien has been training in the martial arts for over 30 years having initially commenced training in Judo in 1982 and then Karate in 1984. Over the past 30+ years he has extended his interest in and explored the history and practices of a variety of martial arts; modern and traditional. Damien has worked extensively with kids and young people both in and out of the Dojo. He started his registered Kidz Karate classes in the 1980’s and has spent decades researching, studying and improving the results. He has extensive qualifications in psychology, education, OH&S and risk management, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Autism Studies from Griffith University. Damien still works regularly teaching martial arts to kids, some of whom have trained with him for over 25 years (obviously they are not kids any more). Continuing his interest in all aspects of the martial arts he has researched and implemented many traditional aspects into his training, holding a 7th dan in Goki-Kai Karate, a 6th dan in Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate, a 2nd dan in Ryukyu Kobudo, a 5th Khan in Muay Thai and is a 4th kyu Kudo Sempai and hold a Green Glove rank in Savate. Damien continues his own study and practice and regularly travels to Okinawa to train with his Sensei, Masaji Taira, Hanshi 9th dan, of the Okinawa Goju Ryu Kenkyukai; as well as in Kobudo with his Sensei Satoshi Kinjo, Kyoshi 7th dan, of the Ryukyu Kobudo Hozonkai. He also trains in China in MingHe Quan (Singing Crane Boxing), a precursor art to modern Goju Ryu, with Master Yu Dan Xiu. Damien is a recognised branch of MingHe Quan and one of very few Westerners practising the art. Damien was inducted into the Australasian Martial Arts Hall of Fame for services to the Martial Arts in 2005. Damien founded Goki-Kai Karate in 2008 when he started Southern Cross Martial Arts. Damien is also the co-founder of the Australian branch of the Ryukyu Kobudo Hozonkai group under the auspices of the Kinjo family in Okinawa. Damien worked in the security industry for over 20 years where he was constantly exposed to some of the seedier and more violent characters in our society; an environment where techniques, tactics and training methods had to work! He has been lucky enough to travel the world with his work and has trained extensively in the US and the UK; he has also trained extensively in karate and Kobudo in Okinawa, the birthplace of karate; as well as researched the roots of Karate in Fuzhou, China. Through his experience running an internationally recognised Registered Training Organisation (RTO) Damien is considered to be a pioneer and expert in scenario based self defence training and has been developing and delivering this training within the national training system for over two decades. Damien is highly qualified in the martial arts and associated fields and holds instructor qualifications in Muay Thai Kickboxing and Docé Pares Eskrima; holds ranks in Judo, Kudo, Savate, and la Canne de Combat; and is a member of a number of internationally recognised martial arts organisations including the MingHe Quan Research Group and the Okinawa Goju Ryu Kenkyukai. Damien continues to compete on a National level in kata and weapons kata. He no longer competes in sparring events due to recurrent injuries. Damien is a published author, having co-written a book on firearms and defensive tactics, as well as authoring a number of industry journal articles as a subject matter expert on use-of-force, restraint, restraint related deaths and, of course, martial arts. These articles have been published in Blitz Australasian Martial Arts Magazine, Okinawa Karate News, Australian Hospital and Healthcare Bulletin, and Security Oz Magazine. Damien is also the course developer for the increasingly popular Martial Arts & Autism course, being delivered across Australia.

Geordie McTaggart is a 5th Degree Black Belt with the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) Geordie is a Martial Arts Instructor and Personal Trainer who began his martial arts journey when he was just 6 years of age. Geordie has been interested in Martial Arts and Fitness training since he saw his first Bruce Lee movie. Geordies father also came from a martial arts background with experience as professional wrestler and a variety of other martial arts also, so t was inevitable that Geordie would begin at an early age. Early training consisted of Wrestling, Judo and Karate! This continued until 1988 when his little brother Duncan and he began Rhee Tae Kwon-Do together. Four years later Geordie received his first Black Belt and his quest as a serious beginner began. Geordie established his own martial arts school “Denrai Freestyle Tae Kwon-Do” in 2005, which is a mixture of Tae Kwon-Do and other arts in which he became skilled. Due to his nearly 15 year career in Security for the Department of Defence, he began private one on one lessons in his garage until demand increased and time allowed for classes to begin. This was October of 2013! Geordie’s business has now grown to become an international school with branches across Australia, as well as branches in New Zealand that are run by his brother Duncan. Geordie has also been working as a personal trainer since 2011. Geordie has studied and acquired rankings in various other Martial Arts along his 42 year Martial Arts journey. These include: Karate, Tai Chi, Ninjitsu, Krav Maga, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Kali, Muay Thai, Machado Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Goju Kalis, Kenpo 5.0 and even Fight Choreography for Movies. Geordie has also had the privilege of training with some of the worlds best including Grand Master Chong Chul Rhee, Chief Instructor John Ragonessi, Bruce Lee’s most senior student Guro Dan Inosanto, Simo Cookie Vassiliou, Guro Joel Clarke, Sifu Francis Fong, Master Jean-Jacques Machado, Hanshi Tino Ceberano, Master Richard Norton, Master Jeff Speakman and Master Michael Muleta as well as some others. Geordie is a Tae Kwon-Do multiple world champion and gold medalist competing in Self Defense, Breaking, Single and Team Patterns as well as Weaponry, Model Sparring and other events. He was inducted into the “2019 ITF Pioneer Awards” for Tae Kwon-Do Excellence. And inducted into the “2020 General Choi Hong Hi Hall of Honours” for Outstanding International Instructor. He was also awarded the Action Martial Arts Magazine “World Award” and inducted into the 2022 “Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honours”. Geordie looks forward to continuing to train and teach Taekwondo and ready to share his skill sets and expertise with new students.

Shihan George Kolovos is one of Australia's most influential martial artist leaders. He commenced his martial arts career in the Kyokushin discipline of Karate in 1975. George trained at the then head quarters of Kyokushin Karate, he swiftly progressed through the ranks, obtaining a black belt in two and a half years, a process which ordinarily takes at least 5 years. By this time George had felt it necessary to create his own centre focused solely to martial arts. He had several styles of martial arts in his arsenal and various national titles for both Kyokushin Karate and Kickboxing. From humble beginnings renting a room at Melbourne City Baths, Melbourne Martial Arts now operates as an internationally renowned independent training organisation. In 2004 George brought Muay Thai into Melbourne by running fight night promotions called Brute Force. Fighters from across Europe, China, Thailand and Japan have all competed in his shows. In 2014 George and other leading Victorian promoters of the combat sport industry created what is now the only Amateur Association in Victoria called VAMAA (Victorian Amateur Martial Arts Association) responsible for developing the sport from the junior level. He has staged the Victorian Kyokushin Karate Championships since 1987 every year without fail. And every 3 years the Australian Kyoskushin Championships. In 2015 when the Victorian Government legalised the cage for MMA, George was the second promoter to hold an MMA show in Victoria.

The name of Damien Chauremootoo is engraved on a commemorative plaque in the province of Henan, China. Erected on the occasion of the great return of Wing Chun to the Shaolin Temple. This sculpture also includes the names of Robert Downey Jr. and William Cheung, Grand Master of the traditional Wing Chun and direct disciple of the legendary Ip Man. It was under the tutelage of Grand Master William Cheung that Damien Chauremootoo perfected his mastery of Wing Chun Kung-Fu and became an instructor. Damien Chauremootoo, a native of the Republic of Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean, was a student of Sensei Alain Uppiah, Sensei Kooram Venkamah and Judex Jeannot, who passed on to him the knowledge of karate, aikido and kick boxing. At age nine Damien's passion for martial arts became infectious as he began watching films of the great Bruce Lee, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal, which his father gifted him. Since then, he has continued to cultivate this passion and dedication ingrained in him. Damien Chauremootoo worked as an Operations Manager and Chief Instructor at the headquarters of the Global Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu Association in Melbourne, Australia. Sifu Damien demonstrates great initiative and passes timeless lessons learned over his years to many followers and students around the world. Within the academy, Damien, along with other masters, including the great Grand Master William Cheung, trains around five hundred people per week. These including doctors, police officers, security guards, school groups and young children. Damien's career to date has been perfectly balanced with extraordinary skill, discipline and dedication. As well as friendships formed Damien has countless business affiliations with practitioners from various disciplines, including Shihan Hiroo Mochizuki, Master Joe Sayah, Master Eric Oram, Scott Adkins, Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Michael Jai White and many more. As an international lecturer, Damien Chauremootoo for fills his passion to share his knowledge with martial artists and civilians to help to perfect their skill and awareness on a global stage. One of Damien's great loves is to encourage people to realize their dreams and arm them with the skill and belief to accomplish them.