Adam Camuglia – 5th Dan

Adam Camuglia

Adam CamugliaAdam Camuglia joined Yoseikan in November 1978 at the age of seven. He was the youngest of a small group of children and adults to form the first Yoseikan club at the Hainsworth Recreation Centre, Girrawheen, Perth.

In 1981, Adam won the Junior Male Kumite Division in Yoseikan’s first Karate tournament. In December 1983, Adam achieved his junior black belt. In the same year he met Martial Arts movie star Chuck Norris, who was a source of motivation.

Over the next five years Adam developed his teaching and tournament skills, competing in various tournaments and learning to teach Karate. In 1988, Adam achieved his goal of WA State Team selection. In the six years that followed, Adam won 2 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals, at National Karate Championships. His greatest achievement came in 1989, winning a bronze medal at the Asian Pacific Karate Championships, Japan as a member of the First Junior Australian Team.

In 1991, Adam was selected in the Senior Australian Team that competed at the Asian Pacific Karate Championships in New Zealand after winning the lightweight division at the National Karate Championships in front of his home crowd in Perth. In October 1993, Adam was again selected to represent Australia at the Oceania Karate Championships in New Zealand. He won the Middleweight Division and was runner-up in the Men’s Open. He retired from competition Karate later that year.

In November 1989, Adam opened his own club in Palmyra. In January 1990, he achieved his most physically challenging goal – 1st Dan black belt. In 1994, after five years of hard work, Adam produced his first junior black belt – Kylie Cochrane. That same year he travelled to the United States to teach Karate. In 1996 he was awarded the rank of 2nd Dan Black Belt.

In November 1998, Adam was awarded with a commemorative plaque in recognition of 20 years as a member of Yoseikan-Ryu Karate. In September 1999 he married Iona Scott, (also a Yoseikan-Ryu Black Belt) becoming the first Yoseikan-Ryu black belts to be married. Together with his brother-in-law Duncan Scott (also a Yoseikan-Ryu Black Belt) they ran Melville Yoseikan-Ryu Karate for a total of 12 years before handing over the running of the club to Branco at the end of 2001. During this time at Melville, they produced 3 more junior black belts Brett Colum, Maryanne Foley and Christa Van Wyke and WA Karate Team Member and Bronze Medal Winner at the 2001 National Karate Championships – Brody Kolewyn.

In 2001, after coaching WA at the successful National Karate Championships in Perth, he achieved 3rd Dan Black Belt and along with his wife, Iona, went on four year working holiday in the UK. During this time they ran an afterschool Karate club for under privileged children of South West London. In 2003, Adam was bestowed life membership of Yoseikan-Ryu Karate for 25 years service. Since his return from the UK in 2005, Adam resumed his role as WA Karate Coach and has recently been appointed the National Coaching Coordinator for the Australian Karate Federation.

In November 2008, Adam celebrated 30 Years with Yoseikan-Ryu Karate along with Tony Smith. Today, Adam concentrates his efforts on developing the next generation of Yoseikan-Ryu members as the Head Instructor of Yoseikan-Ryu Karate Altone in Beechboro. Along with assistant instructors Iona Camuglia and Ian Ross, he has been running the club since 2007. He currently teaches Health & Physical Education at Mater Dei College in Edgewater.

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