Amelia Zarb is a 4th Dan Black Belt in Goju Ryu Karate. Dai Shihan Amelia is a senior martial arts coach who has dedicated most of her adult life to providing traditional and, professional martial arts progrms to her community via her business "The Arts of Defence" which she runs with her husband, renown karate-ka Shihan David Zarb. Dai Shihan Amelia has travelled the world many times over the years to gain the knowledge and affiliations to ensure her students are given the best credentials available. . Dai Shihan Amelia and Shihan David have both notched up an impressive number of years 30 in fact, dedicating their lives to teaching martial arts and changing the lives of many thousands of students that attend their sessions in Sunbury and bacchaus Marsh in Victoria. Traditional martial arts that emphasise human values is important for Dai Shihan Amelia, her training in Tai Chi Chuan (an internal Chinese martial arts practiced for defence, health and meditation) reflects her passion for the wholistic benefits that martial arts bring. Dai Shihan Amelia believes in the theraputic benefits that her martial art brings to individual clients and communites, and she is able to eloquently blend a mix of the hard and the soft techniques of martial arts to create a balance that only few understand. The strong following and longevity in the martial arts that Shihan Dai Amelia has gained over the years is clear testament to her popularity as a teacher and mentor. Dai Shihan Amelia believes the martial arts to be a life changing programand, and also believes it should be taught via professional coaches. Dai Shihan Amelia advocates ongoing professional development for martial arts practitioners and has been responsible for helping many of her student gain nationally recignised and industry recognised qualifications. She believes that we all have a responsibility to train our young correctly to prepare them for the modern world of coaching, and eventually a career path, just like she has enjoyed.
Jet Tranter is a Muay Thai Coach and Personal Trainer. Jet Tranter has recently made her mark in the movie world starring the recent 2020 movie "Lady Blood Sport!" As an exponent and coach in martial arts jet mixes her philosophy of the East with hard physical training to gain great results with clients. Jet is also highly recognised and well respected amongst her many peers and is also known for her sound knowledge in nutrition, not just boring foods either, her culinary expertise sets her well apart from the rest. Jet Tranter draws clients from near and far for health and fitness workshops and one on one personal training.
Kon Papaioannou is a high performance martial arts coach! Kon Pappy's martial arts career spans over 30 years. He has competed at National and International levels in Wrestling, Sports Jiu-Jitsu, Pankration, Sambo, MMA and Boxing. Kon has successfully trained over 20 state and national champions. He is the current coach for the World Federation Pangration Athlima and a former 4-time World veteran's champion. Well respected among all his peers and community, Kon leads buy example, both on and off the mats. As a practitioner and coach, Kon can be described as a true master in a variety of martial arts systems which has helped him to offer one of the best martial arts training facilities around. Kon is owner and chief instructor at the “Fight Lab” in Tempe, Sydney New South Wales. Kon began his martial arts journey at a young age and grew to become a well-known competition fighter participating in competition circuits all around the world including India, USA, Europe, other countries in Asia and Australia were all countries where Kon was able to successfully compete and hone his skills to become one of the best inter-style martial artists around. Kon fights, MMA, Muay Thai, Koshiki, Kyokushin, BJJ and wrestling, something very rare in the world of martial arts, securing a place for him as a real legend of the industry. Kon's life experience’s is one of the reasons he is such a popular coach. The most important of Kon’s qualities certainly must be the care and personal attention he offers all of his clients. As a qualified sports coach and personal trainer Kon can provide effective programs that range from weight loss, general fitness, strength and conditioning, self-defence, martial arts from beginner to high performance. Through Kon’s talent as a coach he has been able to enrich the lives of many thousands of students, privileged enough to have passed through his doors. Kon Papaioannou is a coach who understands how to take any individual to the top of their game!
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.
Ram Maharjan is a 4th Dan Black Belt in Karate. Shihandai Ram is the Nepal Branch Chief of the Teshinkai Karate Organisation Asia. Shihandai Ram is resonsible for training many champions in the region and was selected by the Teshinkai organisation as based on his community values, expertise in the art and understanding of the benefits that budo Karate brings to individuals and communities. Shihandai Ram has worked diligently over many years to bring to the people of Nepal quality martial arts for the benefit of his community. It takes many years of diligent and hard training to reach the point where you can call yourself 4th Dan. Shihandai Ram has shown he has what it takes physically and spiritually, but its the moral qualities of Shihandai Ram that sets him apart from others. We will here much more from Shihan Dai Ram as he expands his Karate style throughout the Napal region. Shihandai Ram Maharjan, Teshinkai Nepal, Godawari Mancipality, Nepal
Edji Zenel is a 5th Dan Black Belt in Shotokan Karate. Edji began his karate training in 1974 in Melbourne, Victoria. Today he is the chief instructor of Thornbury Dojo (Club) which was established in 1977. Edji is passionate about karate and has devoted his life to martial arts. Training is the integral part of his daily routine. He has traveled extensively around the world to train under renowned karate masters in the pursuit of expanding his knowledge. Edji was first graded to black belt (1st dan) in July 1978. In January 2008, he was graded to 5th dan black belt. The Japan Karate Association (JKA) Internationally certifies his qualifications. The JKA is one of the world’s largest traditional karate organisations clearly defining itself as 'The keeper of karate's highest tradition' with member organisations in over 100 countries across all continents around the world. The standards taught are of the highest level in keeping with the technical requirements set by JKA Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Over the years, Sensei Edji’s passion and commitment has led to his personal involvement in competing, judging, and coaching in competitions. He competed in several AKF (all styles) and JKA competitions and won gold medals in their National & State competitions. Edji first opened his own karate club in July 1977, and has coached State, National and International Champions. But more importantly he has seen many students excel in their personal life, in which, many of those students attribute their success because of their karate training and the discipline it provides. Edji has completed and passed level 1 and 2 “General Principles” and “Karate Specific” coaching courses which are Government approved. He is dedicated to promoting the art of karate-do as well as spreading the philosophy and spirit of Shotokan Karate.