It was an honor and pleasure to host Shihan Masaaki Ueki in New Zealand for the very first time. Gasshuku program commenced In the small town of Timaru in the South Island of New Zealand followed by the second leg of Gasshuku and examination program in the main city of Auckland.

JKA New Zealand Chief Instructor, Sensei Karl Naoroji, welcomed Shihan Ueki with an appropriate Japanese speech and Powhiri Ceremony. 200 karateka from Japan, Germany, India and New Zealand ( Auckland, Wellington, Kapiti Coast, Christchurch, Ashburton, Timaru and Dunedin ) attended this training program. The program in Timaru & Auckland was spread over seven days. Shihan Ueki conducted a series of intense karate seminars both for our Junior and very Senior Black belts. There were a total of 10 x training sessions instructing and explaining all JKA Basic katas, Senior Black belt katas and a lot of kumite drills.

The training program was followed by Dan & License Examination on Friday 28th October 2022.
Examinations were conducted by JKA Chief Instructor, Shihan Ueki Masaaki and JKANZ Chief Instructor, Sensei Karl Naoroji.

Results of successful candidates : –

Instructor A Level – Sensei Karl Naoroji
Judge B Level – Sensei Lizelle Pelser
Instructor C Level – Sensei John Wheatcroft
Examiner C Level – Sensei Gilieto A Luague
Instructor D Level – Jason Box

Godan – Sensei Gilieto A Luague
Yondan – David Ch-An Ku
Sandan – Alvin Merck Cruz De Leon
Nidan – Owee Yulo
Shodan – Momoko Milua
Shodan – Gavin Chan
Shodan – Ethan Box
Shodan – Hayley Wen Hui Chang

Other black belts who successfully passed their examinations in May 2022 were also presented their Dan certificates by Shihan Masaaki Ueki during this seminar program.

Godan – Sensei John Wheatcroft & Sensei Horst Droege
Sandan – Des Scott- Sawyer & Appu Geetha-Byju
Shodan – Jack Gilbert

The Gasshuku concluded late on Sunday with members going back with fond memories and a wealth of knowledge gained from our great JKA Karate Master Shihan Ueki.