Tino
Ceberano Hanshi,
IGK Master Instructor:
Tino
Ceberano Hanshi, Kyudan, 9th Dan, is
often referred to as the father of karate in Australia. His years of
experience
in the martial arts have provided him with skills and knowledge that
has
written him into the martial arts history books. His expertise as a
teacher
will make any opportunity you have to spend time with him an enjoyable,
motivating, stimulating learning experience. The following brief
biography of
his life will give you a better understanding of the man that leads
us.
Hanshi
was born
and raised
in Hawaii on the island of Kauai. Of Philippine-Spanish decent, his
father was
a Philippine migrant who came to Hawaii as a professional boxer who
also
acquired the skills of Philippine stick fighting when he settled in
Hawaii.
As
a
young man Hanshi and his father trained
together in Kempo, which was the word commonly used instead of Karate.
The
Chinese would refer to Shorin Kempo as what Shaolin Kempo was. The
Okinawans
referred to Okinawa-te (Uchinadi) instead of Karate. Kempo was actually
introduced to him by a neighbour, who was a returned serviceman.
“He would
gather up a group of kids and they would train together after
school.”
In
1958
the Gojukai opened in Hawaii,
Kyokushinkai and Shotokan arrived in Hawaii as well. Before that there
was only
Kempo and Okinawa-te and the training wasn’t all that
serious.
With the
introduction of these Japanese karate organisations things changed.
People
began to understand the values of the martial arts and became a lot
more
focussed about how they should be practised. Hanshi’s most
revered teacher as a
young man was Anton Navas Sensei. Navas Sensei took Hanshi under his
wing and
from 1959 through 1966 guided him in what the true meaning of the
martial arts
was.
Joining
the Marines changed Hanshi's life, he
went from living as a happy go lucky islander to being part of the
armed forces
elite and living a much more structured Western life-style, this was
quite a
culture shock for him. As part of the Fleet Marine Force Pacific, he
was a
specialist in the field of teaching armed and unarmed combat with a
background
of reconnaissance for which his job was to be on call to engage the
enemy or
secure information. The Force also served as the protection squad for
senior
officers.
Hanshi
also participated in the Fleet Marine
Force Pacific Drum and Bugle Team marching squad where he played the
bugle. It
was with the bugle team that he first came to Australia in 1962 both
playing
the bugle and exchanging ideas and practice on combative warfare which
was part
of a highly confidential military operation at the time. The team
eventually
visited Okinawa and mainland Japan, it was on his first trip to Tokyo
that
Hanshi met the legendary founder of Japanese Gojukai, Yamaguchi Gogen
Hanshi.
After
receiving his Sandan, 3rd dan from
Yamaguchi Gogan and at Yamaguchi Gogan’s direction Hanshi
arrived
in Australia
with his family in 1966. He immediately set about introducing the
relatively
unknown world of Karate to the Australian public. From small beginnings
the
school of Goju Karate has become one of the most widely practiced of
the styles
of karate in Australia. This is due in no small part to the skill and
dedication of Tino Ceberano, Hanshi.
After
the passing on Yamaguchi Gogen in 1989
Ceberano Hanshi formed his own karate organisation and the IGK
(International
Goju Karate) was born. The IGK
has now come to stand for the
“International Goju Kobujutsu Kenkyukai” or
International
Goju Traditional
Martial Art Research Society.
Hanshi
is in constant demand around the world
to provide seminars and other training. He spends a significant part of
his
life travelling the globe. We in the IGK and at the Seifukan in
particular have
the very good fortune of having Hanshi see us as part of his close
family. 
