Instructor

About our European Co-Ordinator

Our Euroepan Co-Ordinator Shihan Athula Minithanthri presently hold Black Belt 7th Dan recognized by WKF. And he has 38 years of Martial Arts experience especially in Karate up to 2008.
Within this 38 years he learned Karate and Kobu-do (weapons) from several masters in China and Japan who are very popular in the world.
Firstly in 31st of January 1970 he learned Karate from the Sensei who was a former All Asian Karate Champion. In 1975,76,77,78,79, Shihan Athula won light weight National Karate Championship in his motherland.

Shihan Athula and his pupils with Grandmaster Soot

In 1980 he received his 3rd Dan Black belt from the Grandmaster Chew Choo Soot (10th Dan) who was one of the first committee member also to the first All Japan Open Karate Tournament and former Chinese Kung-Fu Master. He is well known in China, Hong-Kong, Malaysia, as a Grandmaster who knows 18 Chinese Oriental Weapons. Grandmaster Chew Choo Soot travel to Japan to learn Karate, and then created his own style taking advance techniques from both Kung-Fu and
Karate together. It named Karate Budokan International. He is the God father as well as a martial arts teacher to the world popular film star Cater Wong also. Shihan Athula learned Karate and Chinese Weapons from Grandmaster Chew Choo Soot and obtained 4th Dan in 1984.
Also Shihan Athula learned advanced fighting techniques from the Kyoshi Konomoto (9th Dan) in Yamaguchi Goju Kai.

Late Grandmaster of Ryu Kyu Kobu-Jutsu and Karate Jutsu Grandmaster Motokatsu Inove (both Karate and Kobudo 10th) also one of Shihan Athula's Karate-Jutsu and Okinawa Kobu-Jutsu Sensei for several years.

Former All Japan Kumite and Kata Champions Sensei Kunio Murakami and Sensei Chunichiro Hamaguchi also his Karate teachers which he learned from Osaka Japan.

Shihan Athula & Kyoshi Konomoto Hanshi Motokatsu Inove

Shihan Athula & Kancho Joko Ninmiya

Soke Teruo Hayashi who is a permanent Chairman of the Japan Karate-do Federation's Referee Council (Kobu-Do 10th Dan and Karate-Do 9th Dan) and Kyoshi Seinosuke Mitsuya (8th Dan) also some of masters he learned Karate-Do and Okinawa Kobu-Do (weapons) many years in Europe and Japan.

Then Shihan Athula learned Full Contact Karate from Kancho Joko Ninomiya becoming his Branch Chief. Kancho Ninomiya is a Grandmaster of the International Enshin Karate Kai Kan and he was a All Japan Full Contact Karate Champion in 1978.

Soke Richerd Morris-9th Dan (Founder of World Kobudo Federation & Shihan Brian Cheak with Shihan Athula

He was also a Chief Instructor in Germany for Japan Karate-Do Ryobu Kai which was the first Karate style accepted by the Japanese Sports Ministry in Japan, and then became a first recognized Karate style in the Karate-Do history to the whole world. Its founder was legend Yasuhiro Konishi (10th Dan) who was consider to be the master of Jujitsu, Kendo, Kobudo, and Karate-Do. And presently its Grandmaster is his own son Soke Takehiro Konishi (10th Dan).

Past more than 32 years of his Martial Arts journey Shihan Athula have obtained 3rd Dan from Shoto Kan and Shindo Ryu, 4th Dan from Karate Budokan International, 5th Dan from Seibukan, 6th Dan from Shitory and Ryobu Kai.

3 times World Female Kata Champion Mie Nakayama & Shihan Athula with his British karate team in JKHS World Cup in 1991

Shihan Athula also was one of the senior member who created National Karate Federation in his Motherland. 20 years later in 1995 when they wanted to change and improve their rules and regulations again he had been invited from the Ministry of Sports in his Motherland to make a new constitution in 1996.

One of his former pupil is presently National Coach and the Chief Referee in his Motherland also.

In 1988 Shihan Athula travelled to Great Britain and introduced one of the greatest Shito-Ryu style to the United Kingdom which was not introduced before. Since then he conducted Karate classes their as Chief Instructor for this style to the U.K. Even though another hundreds of years in the future Karate in United Kingdom and Sri Lanka will never forget Shihan Athula as a first person who introduce this Shitoryu style to whole Sri Lanka and United Kingdom too.

Shihan Athula is not only a Karate teacher. He is also a Kobu-Do (weapons) teacher. He teach some of Okinawa Weapons and Chinese Oriental weapons including Nunchaku, Bo, Dragon stick, Tonfa, Kama, etc. Also he is consider to be one of the best referee who can Judge both Semi and Full contact Karate and Kickboxing Championships.

As we all know very few masters in the whole world who can teach both Semi Contact Karate fighting Techniques and World Karate-Do Federation recognized Katas as well as Full Contact Fighting Techniques under the world recognized Full contact fighting rules. Therefore without any doubt we have to believe that our founder Shihan Athula Minithanthri consider to be one of the respectable and very important Master to the Martial Arts world who teach Semi and Full contact Karate fighting techniques as well as Japanese traditional Katas recognized by the W.K.F. and Weapons (Kobudo) from Japanese and Chinese.

Soke Seiko zusuki Kyoshi Akira Sato and Shihan Athula in Germany
Presently Shihan Athula is an official representative for Japan Karate-Do Shitoryu Seiko Kai. Its Grandmaster Soke Seiko Zusuki (9th Dan) first members of the Itosu Kai Grandmaster Ryusho Sakagami and its overseas Chief Instructor Kiyoshi Akira Sato (8th Dan) who is consider to be a master of Karate-Do, Kobu-Do as well as a important person to the World Karate-Do Federation and Canadian Karate-Do Federation is presently guardian for Shihan Athula to develop Shitoryu Seiko Kai in Europe.

Martial Arts superstar Bill (Superfoot) Wallace

from left to right: Assistant Kobudo trainer, Sensei Jutta, Grandmaster Inove( son of Grandmaster Motokatsu Inove), Shihan Athula after having a Kobudo training in Tokyo,Japan in 2001

(from left to right): Shihan Athula, Kiyoshi Yamazaki (Chief Overseas Instructor for JKR) Soke Yasuhiro (Takehiro) Konishi, Tokio Mao (who also studied under Funakoshi, Mabuni, and Motobu Sensei) and Sensei Jutta. (Photo taken at the Konishi Cup 2001 in Tokyo, Japan)