Do you smoke or drink? If not why?

No, I don’t smoke. I drink water & green tea.

On special occasions I might have one or two alcoholic drinks, however, this is very rare. My parents were heavy smokers. I also worked in hospitality for many years. The combination really opened my eyes & made me realise the very negative affects that smoking &

How do you feel Children relate to you as AGKK Chief Instructor?

I show all people respect the same level of respect, children included. Children connect with important virtue & give me the respect & courtesy I show them.

There is a follow on effect from this, whereby children learn & realise the importance of showing respect to all people they meet & deal with. Children know I am there to help them & give them positive direction & advice in their lives. The Kids really enjoy training. I look forward to seeing them come to Karate & say “Hello Sensei”. I in return greet them with a friendly smile & take an active interest in them.

Children respond well to the positive self-discipline I teach them & they realise the importance of how it actually helps them in their everyday living. All children want direction & a medium to enhance their journey. Goju Kai Karate will do this. Many children tell me how their day was at school & share the positive aspects of their day.

The children look up to me as a positive role model for them to follow. I cultivate their positive energy & improve their self-esteem. I enjoy children & helping them. That is why I give them my time. I also have four children of my own.

AGKK has a distinctive Badge and Logo. What ways does it represent a source of pride and meaning to your students and their Karate Club?

As soon as a Student comes to training they want to wear their Gi (uniform), Obi (belt) & club badge.

The uniform & first belt is white. This symbolizes purity & readiness to receive new knowledge & represents and an important fresh-new start in their lives.

The AGKK Club Badge links us directly with our ancestral roots in Japan. The clenched fist represents the historic founder, “Chojun Miyagi”, Goju-Ryu, and our direct founder, “Gogen Yamaguchi”, the Japanese Karate Federation Goju Kai.

The Japanese Kanji says hard-soft way of the empty hand & my name Bernie Haughey. AGKK stands for our Club name, Australian Goju Kai Karate. By wearing uniform, belt & club badge, AGKK pays respect to Students and Masters who have trained before us. It shows respect to their spirit, their commitment & dedication to train consistently & to the best of their ability as their Karate forefathers did.