Shihan Cameron Quinn is, by the standards of ‘Theme Park…’, a luminary. He began training in Kyokushin Karate in 1971 and lived in Japan in 1976, studying Japanese and training at the Kyokushin Honbu dojo in Tokyo under Kyokushin founder, Mas Oyama.
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Blitz Magazine, Volume 31, Number 6 December 2017/January 2018
Okinawa is the birthplace of karate. Japan’s fifth-largest prefecture was a cauldron of conflict during the second world war and is now a bucolic territory, known to boast one of the largest populations of centenarians in the world. Continue reading
International Kickboxer Magazine, May/June 2014
Shannon “Shaggy” King is a man whose biggest fight has been to strike the ideal balance between working and fighting. Continue reading
International Kickboxer Magazine, Jan/Feb 2014
On October 7 of this year, Stan ‘The Man’ Longinidis was inducted into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame. While this is no small feat for any athlete, it’s especially rare for a kickboxer. As with his other achievements, Stan is the first. Continue reading
I am lucky enough to have Christian Ennor holding pads for me. He is among the best pad holders I have worked with; he is systematic and understands not only how fights work, but how to train for them.
One of the things I admire most about him – other than his insight into the intricacies of fighting – is his physical courage. He always positions himself in such a way that I can get maximum leverage and power into my strikes, which is always at his expense. That kind of self-sacrifice is emblematic of the very best trainers.
He is also proof that a great trainer needs intelligence and insight every bit as much as experience. Continue reading
Anthony ‘The Hitman’ Vella was one of the outstanding fighters of early Australian Muay Thai. He had twenty fights for nineteen wins; his only loss coming via injury while fighting Paul ‘The Hurricane’ Briggs for a super-middleweight world title. Before I met him, I walked past this picture every day on my way into the gym. Continue reading
Theme Park at its Darkest 