About Sensei Jerry Hastings and Shoto Karate
Sensei Jerry Hastings
5th Dan, Black Belt (Godan)
Instructor, Examiner, Competition Judge
Sensei Jerry’s life time dedication to karate has afforded him the opportunity to visit Japan where he trained with Japanese Chief Instructor Shian Uweki, Sensie Naka and Sensei Stan Schmidt. He has also attended numerous seminars and gashku training weekends across the world in order to improve his skill and knowledge. Having exposure to these high level karate teachers has deepened his appreciation for the spirit and traditions of Shotokan Karate as he continues to seek the five maxims of karate. He enjoys competing at Senior national competitions to keep his skills sharp, the friendships he has made with other karateka and teaching kids
Seeking to continuously improve his own standard, he attends regular karate classes, keeps fit, continues to compete at a national level, practices the basics of karate and studies various martial arts. A good student makes a good teacher and teaching karate remains a passion for Jerry where he aims for his students to believe in themselves and aspire to become better than before.
Sensei Jerry welcomes everybody to the Shoto Karate Dojo and looks forward to meeting you.
Shoto Karate and the Japan Karate Association JKA-SKC
Shoto Karate is affiliated to the Japan Karate Association, JKA-SKC is headed by Keith Geyer and assisted by a group of senior instructors, one of whom is Sensei Jerry Hastings. (4th from the top left) All have an enormous amount of training experience gained at the Honbu (Headquarters) dojo of the JKA in Tokyo.
The aims and objectives of the JKA-SKC Australasia, are to foster, administer and advance the art of JKA karate. Our goal is to educate, motivate, guide and honour our students and instructors while promoting excellence in karate ethics.
Our purpose is to develop a strong fighting spirit in each of our members and to inspire them by conducting courses, gasshukus, seminars, kyu and dan gradings and by staging karate competitions for children and adults.
Japan Karate Association
The JKA-SKC is an organization of like-minded instructors who all have a long history with the Japan Karate Association. They formed JKA-SKC in order to foster, administer and generally advance the art of traditional JKA Shotokan karate, which is the style originally pioneered by the Okinawan Master Gichin Funakoshi and further developed in Japan by Master Masatoshi Nakayama.
The JKA was founded in May, 1949. By 1955, the first headquarters dojo had been built at Yotsuya in Tokyo and a year later the JKA set up the first-ever karate specialist instructor intern (kenshusei) trainin program at the headquarters dojo, and accepted its first round of trainees. This was the start of the finest karate instructor training program ever created, a program never matched or even approached by any other karate organization. It is through this program that the JKA has built up its unique cadre of distinguished karate instructors. Through continuous contribution and its commitment to society, the JKA was recognised in 2012 by the government of Japan as KOEKI SHADAN HOJIN (public interest incorporated association) the only Japanese martial arts associations to date to be given such recognition by its government.
The World’s Foremost Authority on Karate
With a vast membership in over 100 countries, the JKA is the world’s largest and most prestigious karate organization, clearly defining itself as ‘The keeper of karate’s highest tradition.’