About Us
Sogo Kakutogi and Budo Karate School Ballina
Sogo Kakutogi and Budo Karate School combines different disciplines of the Martial Arts such as Karate (Kyokushin based), Grappling and Kobudo (Weaponary training). We offer a Young Warriors Karate Program for children aged 5 – 13 years old. For adults and advanced teens we offer Sogo Kakutogi classes where we teach traditional Karate skills with the extension of functional fighting including grappling and throwing not generally practiced in traditional Karte classes.
Head Instructor 4th Dan Kyokushin Karate & 4th Dan Kobudo
Sensei Jon Ellis is 4th Dan in Kyokushin Karate and 4th Dan in Hokama Kobudo. Jon commenced training in 1988 with Sensei Ramon Bracamonte in Ballina, Northern Rivers. After just one year he started competing in semi-contact kumite tournaments and did so until 1996. In that time, Sensei Jon trained and competed with the Australian Team and won several titles.
These titles include:
- 5 x Queensland State Champion
- 2 x Australian Open Champion
- 2 x 3rd Place in Australian Championships
- 1 x Tasman Cup Champion (New Zealand)
In 1995, Sensei Jon was graded to 1st Dan by Hanshi Howard Lipman in Sydney.
Travelling after Shodan Jon became a Gym instructor/personal trainer and worked in several gyms in Brisbane and then Perth. This is where he continued his martial arts training in shoot fighting, BJJ and wrestling. On returning to the eastern states continued his training in karate with Sensei Mark McFadden in Goonelabah then going onto opening his own dojo in Ballina with help from sensei Mark and KIMAA (Kyokushin International Martial Arts Australia) continuing karate and kobudo training, he was graded to 2nd Dan in 2011, to 3rd Dan in 2014 and to 4th Dan in 2019.
Sensei Jon has travelled to Japan to train with international masters, including Sensei Hokama and Shihan Ogura in Okinawa on the 2010, 2015 and 2017 KIMAA trips. He has coached international fighters, including KIMAA competitors at the 2015 Okinawa Karate Tournament.
Our Instructors
Sempai Blayne Gale
Sempai Blayne Gale is 2nd Dan in Kyokushin Karate. He began his Kyokushin training in 1986 under Sempai Bruce Armstrong in Murwillumbah, before stopping in 1989 due to schooling and other sporting commitments (football). He participated in local tournaments during this time.
Sempai Blayne returned to Kyokushin training with Sensei Jon Ellis in 2015 before travelling to the UK for 12 months with the family for work. He continued training in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in mixed martial arts.
He resumed his Kyokushin training in Ballina with Sensei Jon in 2016. Since then he has attended numerous KIMAA seminars in Sydney and on the North Coast, including with Shihan Ken Ogura.
Sempai Blayne is one of the instructors at Ballina Dojo for both the Little Lions and senior classes. He was graded by Hanshi Howard Lipman to 1st Dan in 2020 and to 2nd Dan in 2022. Blayne also is a 4th Kyu in Kobudo graded by Hanshi Howard Lipman and Shihan Rick Cunningham in 2023.
Sempai Brad Chisolm
Brad Chisolm started training in 2013 in New Zealand once moving to Australia with family commenced training with Sempai (at the time) Jon Ellis in Ballina 2014 at the age of 8 years old. Brad has participated in multiple tournaments during his training, including kumite and kata events.
Brad received his black belt in June 2022 after approx. 10 years of training. Brad has a specific focus on, technique, and I knows the Kyokushin syllabus front to back . Brad an accredited MAA instructor and have completed a Community Coaching General Principles course. Karate has been an integral part of his life and I look forward to helping others find that as well. Brad is one of the instructors for the Young Warriors class.
Sempai Andrea Schmid
Andrea discovered her passion for the Martial Arts in her early twenties at the Shukokai Karate School Schwyz, Switzerland where she trained with Sensei Karl Truttmann.
When Andrea moved to Australia a couple of years later as a 5th kyu, she continued her Karate journey in Sydney joining Goshin Ryu Karate Association under Shihan Dr. Richard Bradford before relocating to the Northern Rivers the year after where she trained with Goju Ryu (Yamaguchi lineage) Shihan Peter Roberts.
After a break from the Martial Arts, Andrea joined Kyokushin Karate Dojo Ballina and has been training with Sensei Jon Ellis since 2018. Andrea has competed in full contact Kyokushin tournaments and attended seminars and gradings in Sydney under KIMAA. Andrea is one of the instructors for the Young Warriors class.
Information for Parents
Our trainers can work together with you and your child to provide them with vital knowledge and skills which will help them should they find themselves in a physically life-threatening situation. It is a sad fact of life that you can no longer take the safety of your children for granted, not in today’s violent society. Generally, when violence against society escalates, violence against children escalates even more. One in five children will suffer from excessive bullying during their school years.
The problem for parents in relation to their children is the helplessness they feel and the lack of preparation to meet the emergency of assault. For children, as for the parent, the greatest accomplishment is not the acquisition of fighting skills, but the achievement of self-respect, self-reliance, and self-confidence. We are committed to the development of their self-esteem, self-discipline and personal motivation, which will apply to every aspect of their lives!
Competition to win at all costs is interpreted to mean that if you can’t do something flawlessly, you’re a failure. Imagine what that can do to the mind of a young child. Youngsters need to accept challenges to build their sense of worth and self-esteem. The physical rewards of exercise speak for themselves.
Sport and martial arts should be fun, it is with this in mind that we have structured this program especially for children.
It is a team effort and parents need to understand karate is for life and grades may not come as quickly as in other arts but it will be worth it in the end.
Who will teach my child?
All our classes are conducted by accredited and experienced instructors who are first aid qualified and have undergone a NSW police criminal history clearance.
We aim to provide throughout this course a level of discipline and courtesy as well as a self-belief in the student from white belt to black belt and beyond.
Our Vision
Our Vision is to bring out the best in each student through the discipline of Karate.
- Karate teaches self-discipline and respect for others.
- Karate improves your child's confidence when they master a move they found impossible to do only months before.
- Karate students learn to lead as they progress through the ranks. Our senior grade teens are tought how to teach a class with the support of our instructors.
- And best of all, Karate is a great way to get fit and make new friends.
Have we inspired you to try something new?
Feel free to drop in and join one of our classes, our Young Warriors train every Monday and Wednesday afternoon from 5:30pm – 6:30pm followed by our Sogo Kakutogi Seniors Class from 6:30pm – 8:30pm.