About Us
The International Karate Daigaku (IKD) is one of the fastest-growing traditional karate organisations in the world. Since its formation in 2011, the IKD has expanded to more than 50 regions across over 30 countries under the leadership of its Founder, Shuseki Shihan Frank Woon-A-Tai, and the IKD Shihan-kai.
The International Karate Daigaku Association Australia (IKD Australia) was established on 1 April 2017 by Shihan Hamid Mostofizadeh and provides authentic traditional Shotokan Karate training throughout Australia.
IKD Gympie Honbu Dojo was the first independent IKD-affiliated dojo in Australia and maintains direct affiliation with IKD Headquarters in Canada.
IKD Australia is a non-profit organisation dedicated to teaching traditional Japanese karate to people of all ages and abilities. Training develops confidence, discipline, focus, self-defence skills, fitness, and personal growth in a safe and supportive environment.
IKD Australia is affiliated with the Australian Karate Federation (AKF), Queensland Karate Association (QKA), World Karate Federation (WKF), and Oceania Karate Federation (OKF), enabling members to participate in state, national, and international events.
We practice authentic Shotokan Karate as taught by Gichin Funakoshi, the Father of Modern Karate. Classes are available for beginners through to advanced students, with training opportunities for children, adults, and families.
All grades are registered through IKD Headquarters in Canada, and senior students have opportunities to qualify as instructors, referees, and grading examiners.
Join Our Family
At IKD Australia, we welcome students of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels. Whether you are looking to improve fitness, learn self-defence, build confidence, or study traditional Shotokan Karate, our dojo provides a supportive and respectful training environment.
Our members become part of an international karate family dedicated to personal development, discipline, respect, and lifelong learning.
We invite you to experience the benefits of traditional karate training and become part of the growing IKD Australia community.
Meet the Chief Instructor
Shihan Hamid Mostofizadeh is the Chairman and Chief Instructor of IKD Australia.
He holds the rank of Shichidan (7th Dan) in traditional Shotokan Karate and is a highly qualified instructor, referee, and examiner within the organisation.
Qualifications & Roles
• Judge A, Instructor A & Examiner A licences
• IKD Shihan-kai member with AAA credentials
• Australian Karate Federation NCAS Gold Coach
• Karate Queensland State Coach (2023–2025)
• Government accredited Active After School Care & Community Coach
• Blue Card holder (Working with Children Check)
• Current First Aid certified
Compliance & Safety
Shihan Hamid maintains all required safety and child protection certifications, including Working with Children approval and First Aid certification, ensuring a safe training environment for all students.
The Aims of
IKD-Australia
• Teach and preserve authentic traditional Shotokan Karate.
• Provide access to high-quality instruction, development, and competition opportunities.
• Register all Dan grades through International Karate Daigaku Headquarters.
• Enable members to qualify as IKD instructors, examiners, and referees.
• Support students and instructors in achieving their personal karate goals.
• Maintain and strengthen the connection with IKD Headquarters and the international IKD community.
• Promote an inclusive environment free from racial, religious, sexual, or political discrimination.
• Build positive relationships with karate organisations and sporting bodies within Australia and internationally to advance the development of karate.
FAQ
Do female students practice together with the male students?
Yes
Do you provide cardio vascular exercises?
Excellent cardio vascular exercises are embedded in Karate training. The training also works on improving your body weight to keep you healthy.
How flexible do I need to be?
There is no requirement, but if you are flexible it will help with some techniques. Many people that are less flexible practice Karate and constantly make advancement.
How often should I practice?
We recommend three times a week to make healthy improvement. However, many people have other commitments and activities and are not able to practice that often. Training at the dojo once a week is the minimum requirement to expect any improvement.
Is there any meditation in the training?
The beginning and ending rituals have short meditation periods. Karate is moving Zen (meditation), so as you become familiar with the movements, you can get meditation benefits through body movements.
Do you teach any weapons?
No, not at this time.
Do you teach any throwing and/or joint techniques?
In applications, there are throwing and joint techniques. But while you are at the beginning stage of Karate training, we concentrate on punching, striking, kicking, and blocking techniques.
Will the training of Karate apply to any other martial arts?
Yes, the balancing, body shifting, and the ability to control and manage partial body movements will surely help when a Karate practitioner engages in another martial art.
How effective is the training at your dojo with regards to self-defense?
The more skilled you become in the art of Karate, the more effective you will be in defending yourself. We believe Karate is more effective in self-defense situations when compared to other martial arts such as Judo, Jujitsu and Aikido if the defender is at similar skill levels.
What is IKD?
IKD is an International Karate Daigaku organization that this studio is affiliated with. You can get more information at the IKD page and by accessing other links at the Links page
What benefits do I get from training in Karate?
Please consult our Training page for more information.
How is IKD Dojo of Australia different from other Karate studios?
We provide martial arts training as found in Japan. Our instructors are well experienced in teaching the art of karate. Quality is not compromised in our training so that the true art is transferred. More information is found under Become a IKD Member.
Are the instructors at this studio experienced and qualified?
Yes, our instructors have more than 20 years of experience each and they are all well qualified to teach. Please see their qualifications at our Instructors page.
How much does it cost to train in Karate?
This information can be found at the Membership & Fees page
I am a complete beginner and I do not know any technique and customs. How will you teach me?
We practice in a group so a novice will get lost if he/she is thrown into such training at the very beginning. Therefore, a new student will receive private lessons by a black belt to learn the basic techniques and common etiquette and customs. After a new person has learned enough to follow what the group is doing, he/she will be asked to join the group training. Even in a group situation, the class instructor will pay extra attention to the new student to make sure he/she is following the instructions. In addition, one of the black belts will be assigned as a big brother/sister student to assist you.
Do you actually hit or kick each other during a sparring practice?
No, we practice non-contact Karate. With blocking techniques our arms may come into contact with each others, but the punches and kicks are delivered and completed before hitting a target. It takes a lot of practice to be able to control ones attacking technique; therefore, the novice will not be involved in sparring training for a few months. A student will not be doing any free sparring until he/she becomes a black belt. Below the black belt level, students will practice only the closely managed fixed sparring (read Training for more information about sparring).
I belong to another traditional Karate organization. Can I belong to your dojo?
Yes, IKD is open to anyone with any traditional Karate experience and affiliation.
How soon can I become a black belt?
That depends heavily on how often and seriously you train. You could reach that level in 2 to 3 years if you train often and consistently. However, it could also take you 10 years or longer if your training is not consistent. Regardless, the true aim of Karate training is not to just become a black belt even though there is no harm to have a goal. At Shodan (first degree black belt), that is where we consider real Karate training begins.
I have a black belt from another studio. Can I wear it?
Yes, as long as you can perform at the black belt level of our dojo. A transfer student from another organization will be asked to take an examination after a reasonable transition period in order to determine his/her level at our dojo.
I am 65 years old am I too old to join?
Never too old As long as you do not have any physical illness and your physician does not prohibit you from exercising, you are welcome to join and train with us.
Do you have any children’s program?
Yes, there is every Mon; Wed and Fri from 3.30 – 4.30 pm .
At what age can a person join IKD Dojo of Australia?
You need to be at least 5 years old. For someone who is under 5, parental permission is required.
Do you have a program for people who use wheelchairs?
Yes, the IKD Australia opened its doors to accommodate wheelchair karate courses as of 24 April 2010.
Do you give private lessons?
The IKD Dojo of Australia does not provide private lessons at this time.
HISTORY
The history of karate spans centuries and reflects the development of martial arts through India, China, Okinawa, and Japan. Modern Shotokan Karate continues to preserve the teachings and values passed down through generations of dedicated masters.
It is said that karate goes back 5000 years and one of the first masters and pioneers of this art is Boudid Harama who lived in 525 B.C. He was a religious leader who first gained knowledge of the sciences of his time and then decided to teach religious belief to others. In order to do this, he started his journey alone from India and after walking for thousands of kilometers and passing through many challenges of nature arrived in China and took residence in a Shaolin temple in the state of Hunan. His teachings included extreme discipline and abstinence. He was in solitude and contemplation for 9 years while in caves and mountains.
In order for his students to be able to endure long hours of contemplation and also confront aggressors, who saw religious men and their beliefs as a burden to them, he created 18 moves which in reality constitute the foundations of today’s karate.
On the other hand, when Chinese dictatorships such as the Kink and Satsuma dynasties in Okinawa, sought to prevent the empowerment of their opponents and also to control people, they made the use of swords illegal and confiscated weapons used in martial arts. Because of this, people turned to combat trainings in which no weapons were used and this caused karate to become ever more popular.
In 1921, one of the famous karate masters of Okinawa by the name of Gichin Founakoshi managed to introduce karate to Japan with a powerful and delicate approach. Some of the other students, who had been trained by the greatest masters of Okinawa, combined traditional techniques and created numerous karate styles. At the present time, karate practice consists of hundreds of different styles, all of which are rooted in the following four main styles:
Shotokan – The founder of this style is Gichin Founakoshi (1868 – 1957). Shotokan means house of Shoto (Founakoshi’s nickname) and “kan” means house. Shotokan belongs to the Shouri-Ne karate system.
Shito-Ryu – The founder of this style is Kanawa Maboni (1889 – 1952). This style consists of two karate systems: Naha-Ne and Shouri-Ne. Shito is derived from the names of two great masters from Okinawa, such that Shi comes from the name Anko-Itoso who is the undisputed master of the Shori-Ne system and to comes from the name Kanryo-Higauna who is the founder and grand master of the Naha-Ne system.
Guju-Ryu – This style was founded by Miagi-Choujoun (1888 – 1953). It means the hard and soft style and was formed in Okinawa and belongs to the Naha-Ne karate system.
Wadu-Ryu – The founder of this style is Hironouri Onsoka (1892 – 1982). It means the peaceful way or the peace-seeking method.
Gichin Funakoshi & Masatoshi Nakayama
Gichin Funakoshi, The Father of Modern Karate was born in 1868 in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture. He was the son of a Samurai who started training in the Martial Arts as a young man to help overcome his frailness. He became the Chairman of the Okinawa Shobukai in 1913. Funakoshi was a school teacher and a poet who wrote under the pen name of “Shoto”. From 1924 until his death in 1957, he travelled around Japan teaching karate at many Universities. He wrote several books on Karate including his autobiography, Karate-Do: My Way of Life , which was completed shortly before his death.
Masatoshi Nakayama was born in 1913 in Yamaguchi Prefecture. He is considered one of Master Funakoshi’s greatest students. Master Nakayama wrote many books on Karate included the Best Karate series. He helped to develop the JKA and served as the chief instructor from 1955 until his death in 1987. During his time as director of the JKA his goal was to spread karate around the World. He was extremely successful. Shotokan Karate is the most widely practiced form of Karate on the planet.
Our Style
The International Karate Daigaku (IKD) will use traditional and modern applied research to offer the highest level of karate to all students. IKD will uphold standards of excellence that inspire our students to improve character development and instil core values of respect, honour and discipline.
The IKD will also encourage positive behaviour and empower children and youth to live socially and emotionally healthy lives. The philosophy of karate will also be merged and aligned with culture and education to reflect the environment within which we live. It will help us understand ourselves and each other.
The end result is to have karate at the heart of all communities and promote peace, thereby preserving the well-being of humanity.
Nakayama & Woon-A-Tai
In the early 1970s, Master Frank Woon-A-Tai trained in Japan receiving his 1st Degree Black Belt from the Japan Karate Association in 1971. During his time in Japan, he had the opporunity to train with many famous karate masters including Grand Master Masatoshi Nakayama.
Okazaki & Woon-A-Tai
Master Frank Woon-A-Tai would continue his training as part of the ISKF under the leadership of Master Teruyuki Okazaki, 10th Dan and Master Yutaka Yaguchi, 9th Dan. Both men trained under Masters Gichin Funakoshi & Masatoshi Nakayama.
Yaguchi & Woon-A-Tai
While part of the ISKF, Master Frank Woon-A-Tai served as co-Chairman of the ISKF Technical Committee with Master Yutaka Yaguchi, 9th Dan.
Shotokan Tiger
Gichin Funakoshi’s pen name Shoto literally means pine waves, and today is synonymous with the tiger symbol and Shotokan Karate-do. But few people understand the relationship of Shoto to what is commonly known as the Shotokan Tiger. When Gichin Funokoshi was a young man, he enjoyed walking in solitude among the pine trees which surrounded his home town of Shuri. After a hard day of teaching in the local school and several more hours of strenuous karate practice, he would often walk up Mount Torao and meditate among the pine trees. Mount Torao is a very narrow, heavily wooded mountain which, when viewed from a distance, resembles a tiger’s tail. The name Torao in fact literally means tiger’s tail.In later life, Funakoshi explained that the cool breezes which blew among the pines made the trees whisper like waves breaking on the shore. Thus, since he gained his greatest poetic inspirations while walking there, he chose the pen name of Shoto, pine waves.
The tiger which is commonly used as the symbol for Shotokan karate is a traditional Chinese design which implies that the tiger never sleep. Symbolized in the Shotokan tiger, therefore, is the keen alertness of the wakeful tiger and the serenity of the peaceful mind which Gichin Funakoshi experienced while listening to the pine waves on Tiger’s Tail Mountain.
IKD Lineage
