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Andre Leister (4th Dan IOGKF Karate & 4th Dan RKS Kobudo)
Home Town:Frimley, Camberley
Gender:Male
Telephone:01276 24052
E-Mail:info@camberleymartialarts.com
My interest in karate started in the late seventies during my teens as it was the type of discipline / sport that could be documented for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme that I was participating in at the time. I started in Seaford, East Sussex under the instruction of Steve Earl Sensei in the Shotokan style. This dojo was a very good grounding as the guys liked to fight and I remember looking up at Barry Peerless a man mountain and Clinton was a real whirlwind when fighting.

1985 saw the birth of my son Leo and in 1987 my daughter Ashley was born. It was around that time I also accepted a management position in Brentwood, Essex which entailed commuting from Newhaven everyday for over nine months until we settled on a house in Galleywood having just missed a house we were after earlier but that's another story. The thing is I was up for my Shodan but my training was suffering so it would have to wait, and wait and wait and I never did get that Shodan in Shotokan!

With the move I was self training but was struggling to get back down to Seaford and train with the guys, so I started looking around for other Dojo's in the area. There were various styles around and I tried a few but could not find what I wanted. Then one day out strolling with Leo the double doors of Keen Hall were open to let some air in and I saw people fighting. We went in and Kevin Nason Sensei introduced himself to us and with that Leo was signed up. Within weeks Leo was saying Dad you do karate can you show me this kata and I would say no son it's a different style it's Goju-Ryu, but perhaps I should learn it as well so we can both do it. That was the early 90's I started Goju-Ryu and well Leo left after a couple of years and I'm still here doing it so all I can say is "Thanks Leo".

The other story on the house is that we viewed this house in Galleywood and the dear old lady had said she had just agreed to sell it to a lovely couple so I just said to her if it falls through let me know. She didn't and to this day my instructor Kevin Sensei still lives in that house, it's a small world!

I trained regularly with Gary Webber Sensei and Kevin Sensei use to take us to the Camberwell Dojo called The Marble Factory run by George Andrews Sensei. Over the years we trained hard with many Senseis and I was also instructed by Morio Higaonna Sensei on several courses that was back in the days of the I.O.G.K.F. In 1993 I followed my instructor Kevin Sensei into the Goju-Ryu Karate-Do International (GKI) association under the Chief Instruction of James Rousseau Shihan. In July 1995 I was successful in getting my Shodan after Kevin Sensei finally persuaded me to go for it. Two years later in July 1997 my sparring partner Paul Bell persuaded me to go for Nidan, funny you never ever feel ready enough yourself?

2001 saw me starting up my own business and the obvious year or so in the wilderness doing the self training bit again. During 2002 I heard about a South African trip organised by the GKI which made me question why I was working long hours with no one to share it. So my interest was once again sparked and there I was back training five nights a week including courses at weekends getting fit for the South African April Gasshuku 2003. I took the kids on a Kruger Safari, went down to the Gasshuku then continued on to Cape Town via the beautiful Garden route. I mention this because while at the Gasshuku I was inspired to help a new sparring partner Marius De Beer to succeed in taking his Sandan and to this day he has become one of those really special friends.

Travelling was as much a bug as karate and in August 2003 during the Swedish summer Gasshuku and after persistent badgering from Daphne and Len Sim Sensei I succeeded in taking my Sandan.

In 2004 I went back to South Africa for the Gasshuku and fell in love with Daphne and moved to Surrey on our return. It was then on to Okinawa in July where the IOGKF was holding their 25 year Anniversary Gasshuku. We attended this and trained very hard with Ko Uehara Sensei in kobudo virtually every day as well as taking our scuba diving certificates. Actually in nineteen days we only had one day sight seeing. When people asked back then what Okinawa was like we said what do you mean "from the inside of a dojo or underwater"!

By 2005 the travel bug had really got to us so this was the year when we decided to stop the rat race and tour the world for a year in search of Karate and Kobudo. We gave Alicia of Flight Centre about three weeks to organise our tour and in between that two weeks before we left Daphne and I decided to get married. So with a new start the Journey began on 1st March 2005 in South Africa touring around different dojos for 3 months, and then it was Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Tokyo and then the jewel in the crown OKINAWA for 4.5 months. In Okinawa for the most part we trained seven days a week at least six hours a day mainly in Kobudo but also in karate to keep up our Goju-Ryu skills. It was morning, afternoon and evening with a bit of scuba diving, sight seeing and taking part the world's largest tug of war. With sad hearts at leaving Okinawa we had to move on to Australia where we spent Christmas and New Year before finishing with a kobudo tour of Florida, USA and our final destination of Canada. We arrived back in the UK 360 days later with so many new skills, knowledge and experiences, truly a trip of a lifetime.

I have been very fortunate to have trained under so many skilled and dedicated masters, who have many, many, years experience under their belts in karate. People like: Senseis Morio Hiagonna, James Rousseau, Leonard Sim, George Andrews, Ernie Molyneux, Linda Marchant, Gary Webber, Kevin Nason, Paul Coleman, Braams Peens, Tony de Beer, Arnold de Beer, Chuck Merriman, Michael Mancuso, Kancho Uehara Ko, Takeshi Kamimura, Masahiro Nakamoto and Tetsunosuke Yasuda spring to mind.

It's now 2006 and back in the UK Daphne and I intend to keep out of the rat race and try to pass on the experiences that we have learnt while aboard. The training experiences were very diverse and every instructor different but the main theme or motto passed on by all of them was: -
"when you get home you will not be teaching Sensei X's, Y's or Z's karate or kobudo but Andre Leister's karate or kobudo"
So with this in mind and as a husband and wife team we have finally decided to start our own dojo and to start passing on that knowledge we have gained over the last year or should I say over 20 years.

2007 saw us travelling back to Okinawa where on this occasion I achieved my 2nd Dan in Kobudo.

Coaching Awards
Qualified 08-09-2006 to train and assess First Aid courses from the First Aid At Work for HSE registered companies to Emgergency First Aid that does not require HSE approval.

EKGB Coaching Certificate 24th May 2003 valid for two years. Due to my years world karate / kobudo tour I have retaken the EKGB Coaching Certificate earlier on 5th December 2004 which is valid for two years until 5th December 2006.
Further to the new Governing Body Karate England I have retaken the coaching certificate which is valid until 31st January 2008.

CRB Checked for Children and Vulnerable adults 19-10-2006
Karate England CRB Checked for Children 17-05-2006


Sports Coach UK Course 8th March 2003.
Coaching Children And Young People.

British Red Cross - First Aid at Work - valid 17-06-2003 to 16-06-2006.
Surrey Ambulance Services - First Aid at Work - Valid until 30th June 2009.

Other Martial Arts Achievements South African International Karate Kobudo Championships 2006
  • Team Sanshumuko - Gold - Andre, Daphne, Pete, Julie and Scott
  • Men's individual Goju Ryu Kata - Gold
  • Men's individual Bo - Gold
  • Men's individual Sai - Gold
  • Men's individual Other Weapon - Bronze
  • Men's WKF Kumite - Bronze
  • Men's team Goju Ryu Kata - Bronze - Andre, Pete and Scott

South African Nationals 2005
  • Men's individual tonfa - Silver
  • Men's individual sai - Silver
  • Men's individual bo - Bronze (following split decision play off for silver)
  • Unison kobudo (tonfa) - Silver - Andre, Daphne and Marius de Beer
  • Unison kata (Sanseru) - Bronze - Andre, Daphne and Marius de Beer

Was honoured to demonstrate Shisochin for the Jundokan at Eiichi Miyazato Sensei 7th Memorial, at the Budokan, Okinawa on 29th October 2005.

Was honoured to represent and demonstrate Sagagowa No Kon Sho a Bo kata for the Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai on 1st November 2005 in Okinawa.

Other Martial Arts Experience
While in Okinawa during 2005 we found our home for kobudo at the Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai and a fantastic teacher and grandmaster in its President, Hiroshi Akamine Kaicho.

We now hope to spread the word of Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai in the form of opening our own Doko Kai, under the tutelage of Akamine Sensei. Our first club night was on 28th March 2006 and we are also touring different dojo's within the GKI to pass on our experience.

While in Okinawa in November 2005 we successfully graded for 1st Kyu before moving on to other countries for our world tour.

On a tour to the UK in 2006 Kaicho Akamine surprised both Daphne and I with a grading in which we successfully graded to Shodan on 17th October 2006.

Have been either Secretary or Treasurer / Licence Officer to the GKI for many years and only gave up my position at the AGM in December 2004 to enable me to travel for the year in 2005.

Competition Record
My main forte or strength is actually to organise competitions, this I have done for many years for the GKI until recently with my Sensei Kevin Nason.

On the occasions I have taken part in the GKI's annual competition I won silver twice and bronze once in the kumite division and Silver and Bronze once in the kata division. As I write this I am not sure which years these were as usually I am jumping up from the administration in order to compete!

The occasions I have not competed I was always helping with the judging, for kata and kumite, or assisting in an administrative role.

Daphne Leister (4th Dan IOGKF Karate & 3rd Dan RKS Kobudo)
Home Town:Frimley, Camberley
Gender:Female
Telephone:01276 24052
E-Mail:info@camberleymartialarts.com
I was born in Plymouth, Devon and spent virtually the first 11 years of my life living abroad, as my parents loved to travel. We lived in Aden in the Middle East and Gibraltar and we visited Africa, Egypt, Spain and Italy on our journeys. I guess 'wander-lust' was therefore stitched into my soul from a very early age.

We settled back in Plymouth for my high school years and when I left school I joined the National Health Service (NHS) as a student nurse. I remained in the NHS for the next 30 years, in various roles - in latter years, up to 2005, I was a Senior Manager in Infomatics, specialising in interfacing and project management. My final role involved working with a team of specialists who were leading the government's latest initiative to install a common I.T. system to all hospitals in England. I was leading the technical stream for one of the first hospitals designated to receive this system.

In January 1981 I left Plymouth to live in Camberley, Surrey and by 1982 I had three children, Melanie, Daniel and James. I first came in to contact with Karate in 1986 when I was working in the Accident and Emergency Department and was sent on a self-defence course - and A/E was a pussy cat in those days!! The tutor was a karate instructor and following a very enjoyable course, he persuaded me to join his club, as he felt that I had a natural aptitude for self defence (it was definitely all that work in A/E). I also have my dear brother to thank for using me as a sparring partner every time he saw a sporting technique on TV that appealed to him, when we were children.

The rest is history really - I joined Sensei William Cuzzocrea's Goju-Ryu club and loved it from day one. He was a fit and able instructor, who also taught the army guys who were stationed just up the road in Sandhurst. As my early sparring partners were all healthy army men I simply had to get aerobically fit quickly to survive. The club folded a few years later when I was a 5th kyu and I immediately joined Sensei Leonard Sim in Wokingham, who was, at the time, a member of the I.O.G.K.F. which was founded by Sensei Morio Higaonna and Sensei James Rousseau in 1979. I have been with Sensei Len ever since. A split occurred in the I.O.G.K.F. in 1993 and my sensei chose to leave and go with our chief instructor Sensei James Rousseau - and so Goju-Ryu Karate-Do International (GKI) was formed. Sensei Len is the Chairman of this Association and to date he has over 40 years experience in Goju-Ryu. I attained San Dan status in 2001 and since then my interest has also been leaning towards kobudo, with a view to enhancing my karate.

I have attended many Gasshukus over my 20 years, both in England and in South Africa and Sweden and whenever a weapons course arose I could also be spotted in the crowd.

I had known Andre for many years, but in 2004 love blossomed between us and we became a couple. We married a year later in February 2005 and then, being of like minds and interests, we decided to quit the 'rat race' and take off for a year travelling to investigate and study kobudo and karate. It was a fantastic year, of which nearly 5 months were spent in Okinawa. I have been fortunate to have trained under so many skilled and dedicated masters, who have many, many, years experience under their belts in karate. People like: Senseis Morio Hiagonna, James Rousseau, Leonard Sim, William Cuzzocrea, George Andrews, Ernie Molyneaux, Linda Marchant, Gary Webber, Kevin Nason, Paul Coleman, Braams Peens, Tony de Beer, Arnold de Beer, Chuck Merriman, Michael Mancuso, Kancho Uehara Ko, Takeshi Kamimura, Masahiro Nakamoto and Tetsunosuke Yasuda spring to mind.

I am now pulling together all the knowledge I have gained from these great people over my 20 years of dedicated study and am moving forward with my husband, to running our own dojo. It is another new venture for us and we have termed it 'Karate for Kids'. Our first class started on 3rd April 2006. Here's looking at you.

2007 saw us travelling back to Okinawa where on this occasion I achieved my 2nd Dan in Kobudo.

Coaching Awards
Qualified 08-09-2006 to train and assess First Aid courses from the First Aid At Work for HSE registered companies to Emgergency First Aid that does not require HSE approval.

EKGB Coaching Certificate 30th November 2002 valid for two years. Due to my years world karate / kobudo tour I have retaken the EKGB Coaching Certificate on 5th December 2004 which is valid for two years until 5th December 2006.

Further to the new Governing Body Karate England I have retaken the coaching certificate which is valid until 31st October 2008.

Karate England CRB Checked for Children 17-05-2006

Sports Coach UK Course 8th March 2003.
Coaching Children And Young People.

Other Martial Arts Achievements
South African International Karate Kobudo Championships 2006
  • Team Sanshumuko - Gold - Daphne, Andre, Pete, Julie and Scott
  • Ladies individual Goju Ryu Kata - Gold
  • Ladies individual Bo - Gold
  • Ladies individual Sai - Gold
  • Ladies individual Other Weapon - Gold
  • Ladies WKF Kumite - Gold
  • Ladies Iri Kumi Kumite - Silver
  • James Rousseau Trophy for Overall Tournament Grand Champion - Runner Up.

South African Nationals 2005
  • Ladies individual tonfa - Gold
  • Ladies individual bo - Gold
  • Ladies individual sai - Bronze (following split decision play off for silver)
  • Unison kobudo (tonfa) - Silver - Andre, Daphne and Marius de Beer
  • Unison kata (Sanseru) - Bronze - Andre, Daphne and Marius de Beer

Was honoured to demonstrate Shisochin for the Jundokan at Eiichi Miyazato Sensei 7th Memorial, at the Budokan, Okinawa on 29th October 2006.

Was honoured to represent and demonstrate Sagagowa No Kon Sho a Bo kata for the Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai on 1st November 2005 in Okinawa.

Other Martial Arts Experience
While in Okinawa during 2005 we found our home for kobudo at the Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai and a fantastic teacher and grandmaster in its President, Hiroshi Akamine Kaicho.

We now hope to spread the word of Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai in the form of opening our own Doko Kai, under the tutelage of Akamine Sensei. Our first club night was on 28th March 2006 and we are also touring different dojo's within the GKI to pass on our experience.

While in Okinawa in November 2005 we successfully graded for 1st Kyu before moving on to other countries for our world tour.

On a tour to the UK in 2006 Kaicho Akamine surprised both Andre and I with a grading in which we successfully graded to Shodan on 17th October 2006.

Competition Record
I have taken part in the GKI's annual competition on three occasions and won gold twice and silver once in the kumite division. On other occasions I have not competed, as I was helping with the judging, for kata and kumite, or assisting in an administrative role.