In July 2019 Tino Ceberano Hanshi returned to the island of Kauai in Hawaii where he was raised. The IGK Hawaii dojo at Kapaa opened in the last year on the island. Luis Soltren Sr Shibu Cho is the head instructor and accompanied by Rodney Woodward Sensei and Adrian Labrador Senpai.
They all share a rich experience in martial arts and goju, some with a history of training under Dallas Watanabe-Grady Shihan. They have been building the student numbers and interest in the traditional ‘art of the empty hand’ we call karate-do.
During his visit Tino Hanshi was interviewed by The Garden Island, Kauai’s local newspaper since 1901, who were intensely interested in the story of the local islander who migrated to Australia in 1966, becoming known as the father of Australian karate over five decades and being awarded the Order of the Medal of Australia for services to karate and several generations of students numbering about 10,000 by estimate.
The history of Chojun Miyagi Sensei visiting Kauai in 1934 is well documented and it was the local Kauai news outlet that sponsored his travels to Hawaii at that time. Miyagi Sensei was the founder of Goju-ryu karate. It is fascinating that this all happened seven years before a young Tino Ceberano was born on the same island.
It was not until Tino was a teenager that he was introduced to Goju Kai karate in Honolulu and in 1966 Gogen Yamaguchi Hanshi gave him his blessing and instruction to take the art to Australia and promote it there. All these years later Tino Hanshi has brought the art back to Kauai and the IGK dojo at Kapaa is introducing the art to new and younger generations.
Tino Ceberano Hanshi, founder and Chief Instructor of the IGK was born on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. It is iconic that the IGK Hawaii dojo opened in June 2018 at the All Saints Gym, built in 1929 at the All Saints’ Church at Kapaa on the Kuhio Highway on the island of Kauai.
Kids 4:30pm – 6:30pm Mondays & Thursdays
Adults 6:30pm – 8:30pm Mondays & Thursdays
Tel: Luis Soltren Sr Shibu Cho, 639-4836.
Email: lsoltren@hawaii.rr.com
Just before leaving Honolulu, the office of the David Y. Ige, Governor of Hawaii, honoured Tino Hanshi with the award of a Certificate of Special Recognition, dated 7th Aug 2019, congratulating him on his Order of the Medal of Australia.
