Sensei Ric Light opened the first karate dojo in Byron Bay in 1977, and he is back teaching people again, at 70 years of age with a technique that has produced plenty of champions.
Ric himself has had an impressive record in competition that includes being the NSW kung fu and Australian kickboxing champion, as well as a Hong Kong free-fighting champion, and being in the Australian karate team to compete against Japan.
Ric sees his real strength in teaching. His local dojo has produced many champions at local, state, national, and international levels; in karate, kung fu and kickboxing.
Female national karate champion
Trainees include the first ever female national karate champion Fairlie Beckner and Australian kickboxing champions, Peter Blumson, and Darren Perris.
David Eckford trained with Ric between the ages of 12 and 17, when he quit school and moved to Japan to train with one of the last grand karate masters, Hayashi Teruo Soke. David became the only non-Japanese to win the All-Japan karate championships.
Twenty years after being expelled from Mullumbimby High he earned a PhD in human movement at the University of Queensland (UQ). This kicked off a career as a professor and global leader in sports coaching. Ric retired in New Zealand as Professor Emeritus and returned to Byron Bay in 2021.
Ric’s teaching and karate dojo can be found at the Ewingsdale Community Hall.
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