Our Press Release as it appeared in Eastern Times

150 Athletes, Officials In Karate Tournament

MIRI: 150 athletes and officials took part in the 2nd Invitational Karate Tournament held at Kelab Rekreasi Petroliam premises, here, recently.
Organised by Goshin-Ryu Karate Association of Sarawak, the two-day event attracted various clubs and federations from Brunei, Sabah, Johor, Kuching, Sibu and Miri, namely, Goshin-Ryu Sarawak, Sabah Karate Federation, Goshin-Ryu Johor, Asahi Karatedo Club, Brunei Karate Federation and Malaysian Shito-Ryu Karate-do Association Sarawak (MASK).
The best boy and girl overall champions were Alvin Anthony from Sabah, with two gold medals and Fiora Richard, also from Sabah, who won two golds and a silver medal.
The best promising Goshin-Ryu karate boy and girl were Mohd Khaliq Mohd. Laksemana and Nur Nadirah Abdul Ghani.
The categories were in both kata and kumite for juniors (8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15, 16-17 years old) and seniors (open category).
It was an exciting event with much camaraderie and sportsmanship among the participants.
The event was declared open by MSN’s Northern Zone Assistant Director, here, Harifen Hj Mansor.
The patron of the association, Hj. Ahmad Lai Bujang was also present at the closing ceremony. 

PRESS RELEASE - 2nd Goshin-Ryu Karate Invitational Tournament

The Goshin-Ryu Karate Association of Sarawak will be holding an invitational tournament from the 11^th to 12^th April, 2009 at Kelab Rekreasi Petroliam (KRP), Lutong.

 An estimated 120 athletes and officials from around the region are expected to attend.  They will come from various states within Malaysia including Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Johore, Kelantan, Labuan, Sabah and Sarawak as well as from outside of Malaysia including teams from Brunei, Kalimantan and Jakarta comprising diverse clubs and styles ranging from Hayashi-Ha, Shotokan , Shito-Ryu, Goju-kai, to Goshin-Ryu among others.

 This tournament’s objectives are to foster goodwill among all participants and also to gauge the potential our local athletes against a diverse and more experienced group of exponents as among the teams coming are the Brunei national team, Sabah Karate Association and Penang Goshin-Ryu.

 Various events in both Kata (forms) and Kumite (sparring) have been organised.  The Kata events will be held on the 11^th followed by Kumite.  The finals for both kata and kumite will be held on the 12^th at Machinda Hall, KRP.  Events are scheduled from 9am to 5pm everyday.

 The Goshin-Ryu Sarawak was officially formed in 2008 and has appointed YB Hj Ahmad Lai as the association’s patron. The association hopes to grow and spread to other parts of Sarawak. The association will strive to promote the karate Sport as a tool to instil good values among youths and produce fine athletes to represent Sarawak in the national squad.

 The association had its humble beginnings as the Karate Kids Klub based in KRP, Lutong under the care of Shihan Al-Harir Muhammad.  He is the Chief Instructor and Technical Advisor for Goshin-Ryu Sarawak and also has served as Sarawak SUKMA coach for 2006 (Kedah) & 2008 (Trengganu) for karate and is currently entrusted by Majlis Sukan Negeri Sarawak the task of talent scouting for potential SUKMA 2010 karate athletes.  The club is also designated as Pusat Cemerlang under the Majlis Sukan Negeri.

 The association currently runs its training at KRP for various age groups as follows:

       Children’s session under 12s Saturdays and Sundays 930 – 1100am; Tuesdays 730–900pm;

       Youths’ session under 25s Saturdays and Sundays 230 – 400pm; Wednesdays 730–900pm;

       Adults’ session Mondays and Thursdays 730 - 900pm.

 Please contact Puan Salbiah at 016-8542151, Mdm. Nurliza at 012-8075979 or Mr. Chong at o16-8791969 or email goshinmiri@gmail.com for more information or if you wish to help in other ways.

PRESS RELEASE - Upgrading

Shihan Al-Harir & family with Soke Clement

Candidates and Committee Office-bearers with Soke Clement

Miri, 22^nd February 2009 – About 38 athletes from the Sarawak Goshin-Ryu Karate Association were upgraded by SOKE Clement Soo, the Grandmaster and founder of the Goshin-Ryu style of Karate (Goshin-Ryu Malaysia) at Kelab Rekreasi Petroliam, Lutong.

 Two karateka, Al-Hasbi Bin Al-Harir and Nur Nadhirah Bt Abd Ghani were conferred with a 2^nd DAN Black Belt while Mohd Faiq Bin Zainuden was conferred with a 1^st DAN Black Belt.

For his contributions and efforts, SENSEI Al-Harir was conferred a 5^th DAN Black Belt which allows him to use the title SHIHAN (Master Instructor) for Goshin-Ryu Negeri Sarawak Karate Association.

 During the Upgrading, SOKE Clement also identified a few Goshin-Ryu karateka with the potential to progress further and be included in the National Squad.

 SOKE Clement Soo is the current Secretary-General of the Malaysian Karate Federation (MAKAF) and, the previous Chairman of the Asian Karate Federation (AKF) Referee Council.  He is also a member on the Disciplinary and Legal Committee of the AKF Commission and the first Malaysian to qualify as a World Karate Federation (WKF) referee.