Peakhurst Karate students off to compete in Soke Cup

The competition which acts as a world championship for the discipline of Okinawan Karate will see more than 500 competitors from around the world compete for their chance at international glory.

The Institute in the St George region, has selected 14 students, ranging from 10 to 40 years old to represent Australia and compete at the exclusive three-day event - many of whom are current Australian Karate Champions.

Michael Noonan - who acts as the sensei (coach) for the team attributes each participants selection down to each of their individual work ethics and commitment to the sport.

"I've never seen a group more resilient and dedicated to their training. I have been training for over 38 years and instructing for 30 years and haven't seen this sort of drive for some time." Noonan said

This is not the institutes first time competing in the prestigious event with twelve of its athletes competing in the 2017 edition on the cup in Japan.

The team two years ago took home a number Gold, Silver and Bronze medals setting the bar for this years competition at an unprecedented high.

Despite the high level of achievement, the dojo has previously acheived, Noonan expects an improvement on results in the upcoming cup.

"I'm proud of our achievements in 2017 (the previous Soke Cup), although I believe we can do better. Our dojo motto is 'Wa Nin', which loosely translates to with persistence determination and dedication we are sure to achieve our goals."

The championships itself is broken up into belt classes with the Peakhurst school sending through combat artists in nearly all levels of expertise ranging from novices to experts.

Speaking with one of the academies martial artists and academy assistant instructor, Steve Grubmier, he puts down the success of the team down to their willingness to continue to pursue a higher standard in the sport even when they are knocked down.

"To be good in this sport you have to be able to, and love to fail. You can't just climb and get a higher tiered belt every time you enter the dojo. We are kept to an international standard, so only substantial improvement will see us get better and reach higher levels in this sport." Grubmier said.