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Strengthen your Mind & Body.

Karate and self-defence classes in Canberra for kids, teens and adults.

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Get the latest information about classes in the ACT, our trial offers, class pricing, training locations, timetable, and more based on your selections.

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    Start your martial arts journey. Learn self-defence, develop confidence and get fit.

    Karate is a fighting technique that comes with many benefits. Our ‘Train the way you fight, fight the way you train’ concept means we teach karate that works, no wasted effort, no irrelevant techniques… just pure, effective karate!

    Our Club

    We study Goju-Ryu Karate. Our karate club is a member of the Japan Karate Federation Goju Kai Australia (JKFGA), the Japan Karate-Do Federation (JKF) Goju Kai, and the Australasian Federation of Traditional Karate and Kobudo (AFTK). All instructors are Black Belt qualified, certified and passionate about sharing their knowledge with our students.

    Japan Karate Federation, JKF Goju-Kai Australia logo Japan Karate Federation, JKF Goju-Kai logo Australasian Federation of Traditional Karate and Kobudo, AFTK logo

    Our Philosophy

    To understand the meaning of every training technique, essentialise its true form, commit it to muscle memory and ultimately our instincts.

    Our School

    Our Forrest Primary School and Phillip Honbu dojos are two of the seven training locations of Goshukan Karate Academy in Australia. We train and teach under the guidance of our chief instructor Stacey Karetsian Shihan, 7th Dan Kyoshi, in both Seiwakai Goju-Ryu and Japan Karate Federation (JKF) Goju-Kai.

    Book your Free Trial Our Lineage & History

    Our karate journey

    Get to know the Canberra ACT branch of Goshukan Karate Academy.

    A lot happens at Goshukan Karate Academy locally, interstate and overseas. Most of which have at least one representative from our Canberra branch. So from attending martial arts tournaments and karate seminars to overseas training in Japan, you name it, one of us is likely to be there.

    View our Blog Our Lineage & History

    Celebrating the Success of Stacey Karetsian Shihan

    Our Chief Instructor, Stacey Karetsian Shihan secures 3rd place at the 50th JKF GojuKai All Japan Karatedo Championships held in Okinawa, Japan. Read more

    Celebrating Grading Success at the 2023 Seiwakai Australia Training Camp

    Following 15 hours of intensive training, our remarkable ACT-based students earned their prestigious 1st Dan Black Belts, marking a significant milestone in their martial arts journey. This achievement reflects their unwavering commitment, discipline, and indomitable spirit, embodying the essence of our club. Read more

    Marie-Angela Pope Sensei and Ben Brillante Sensei's JKF Gojukai certification

    After undergoing 40+ hours of karate training in Japan in 10 days with Seiwakai Goju-Ryu Karate-do and the Japan Karate-do Federation (JKF) Gojukai, siblings Marie-Angela Pope Sensei and Ben Brillante Sensei, successfully attained their 3rd Dan Black Belt certification with JKF Gojukai in August 2023 at Osaka, Japan. Read more

    Biensy Knight, 2022 AMAC Australian Champion

    Biensy Knight took home first place in the '13-15 years Advanced to Black Belt Male Traditional Forms' at the '2022 AMAC Australian Titles' in Port Macquarie, NSW, becoming Goshukan Karate Academy ACT's first Australian Title holder since the opening of the ACT branch in February the previous year. Biensy faced tough competition in the qualifying rounds on Saturday, 10 December 2022, marginally passing his most formidable opponent by only 0.01 points. However, with a few adjustments following the instruction from his coach Ben Brillante Sensei, Biensy smashed through the finals the next day, blitzing past his closest opponent by a considerable margin, scoring above 9+ points from all three judges. Equally, Biensy's outstanding performance continued in the '13-15 years Advanced to Black Belt Freestyle Sparring'. Having fought the title holder and drew with him twice in the qualifying rounds, Biensy went on to win 3rd place in the finals on Sunday against an equally skilful opponent. Congratulations Champion! We are so proud of you.

    Karate Seminar, 33rd JKFGA Seminar, 21-22 April 2023, Adelaide SA

    Adelaide, South Australia, hosted the 33rd Japan Karate Federation Goju-Kai Australia Seminar and Tournament this year, with over 100 karate practitioners in attendance across Australia. Our instructor Ben Brillante Sensei attended and had the humble privilege of learning from four of Japan Karate Federation's highly regarded instructors, Seiichi Fujiwara Sensei (8th Dan Hanshi), Shingenero Sato Sensei (8th Dan Hanshi), Tatsuo Takegawa Sensei (8th Dan Hanshi) and Seigo Ishida Sensei (7th Dan Kyoshi).

    Little Ninjas, 4 to 8 years

    Our Little Ninjas program classes are the most popular this early 2023, with the Monday session nearing full capacity. To maintain a high quality of teaching, we want to limit the number of our four to eight years old students to 15 per instructor per class.

    Martial Arts Tournament, AMAC Round 1 2023, Canberra

    Congratulations to all seven students who competed in the first round of the Australian Martial Arts Championships, AMAC in Canberra on Sunday, 2 April 2023. Most of our competitors competed in a much larger division this time, with the 8 to 10 years division being the largest with ten competitors. It was a great day of competition and a fantastic result from our competitors. We finished the day with three 1st places, ten 2nd places and five 3rd places.

    Our Classes

    We have karate classes for all age groups.

    We provide a safe, welcoming, nurturing environment where all our students feel inspired and empowered to reach their maximum potential.

    Try a class for FREE

    Kids & Teens Karate

    Karate training offers unique benefits that embraces the positive building blocks of character development, physical development, and emotional development in all children and teenagers. It combines the practice of karate techniques with valuable life skills to create an interactive, educational, and fun training environment.

    Ages 4 to 8 years

    Little Ninjas

    The Little Ninjas program is designed to deal with the attention and learning capabilities of children between 4 to 8 years. There are 7 levels of advancement in this program and each one provides the child with new technical (karate based) skills as well as developing valuable life skills. The program is age appropriate and as the children grow and develop they are also able to learn and focus on more difficult tasks, games etc that are all designed to develop all of their skill sets.

    Ages 9 years+

    Junior Karate

    The Junior Karate Program follows the standard training and grading system that many traditional karate schools use. Students are placed in this program from 9 years of age. We will assess each student on their individual maturity level, skill level and learning ability and discuss this with you to determine the best course of action to take for your child and or teen.

    Adults Karate

    You're never too old to learn something new, so it's never too late to attend karate lessons and start training. Age is just a number, and no one is ever too old or unfit to learn this amazing Martial Art.

    Adults Karate Program

    Start your journey

    Our adult program introduces the benefits of karate training. It provides an excellent foundation for karate skill development to get you on your way to building total strength of the mind and body. You will learn the principles of self-defence and practical techniques from the first lesson. If you have ever thought of doing some karate lessons, we invite you to come and give our classes a try. Sensei Ben Brillante, a qualified and certified 3rd Dan Seiwakai/Goshukan karate instructor and 3rd Dan with the Japan Karate-do Federation (JKF) Gojukai, runs our classes in the ACT.

    Join Our Karate Club

    Continue your journey

    Karate training, at its core, is about learning to follow the principles of movement while developing fundamental skills and techniques. So, if you are looking for a karate school to continue your martial arts training and have prior learning in a traditional karate style, then you have most likely developed skills consistent with what we do. So, why not check out one of our classes, and find out if Goshukan Karate Academy is right for you?

    Goshukan Karate Academy ACT

    2026 Class Timetable

    We offer classes on Monday, Thursday, and Friday evenings at Forrest Primary School, 9 Hobart Ave, Forrest ACT, and on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, as well as Saturday mornings, at our Phillip Honbu Dojo at 4/25 Dundas Court, Phillip ACT. Get in touch with us today to learn more and book your free trial!

    Book your Free Trial
    Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
    Kids Karate 4-8yrs
    5:30pm - 6.15pm (Forrest Primary)
    Kids Karate 4-8yrs
    5:30pm - 6.15pm (Phillip Honbu)
    Kids Karate 4-8yrs
    5:00pm - 5.45pm (Phillip Honbu)
    Juniors Karate 9-12yrs
    6:30pm - 7.15pm (Forrest Primary)
    Kids Karate 4-8yrs
    5:15pm - 6.00pm (Forrest Primary)
    Tournament Training
    9:15am - 10:15am (Phillip Honbu)
    Karate Open 9yrs+
    6:30pm - 7.30pm (Forrest Primary)
    Juniors Karate 9-12yrs
    6:30pm - 7.15pm (Phillip Honbu)
    Teens/Adults 13yrs+
    7:30pm - 8:30pm (Forrest Primary)
    Karate Open 9yrs+
    6:30pm - 7.30pm (Phillip Honbu)
    Kids Karate 4-8yrs
    10:30am - 11:15am (Phillip Honbu)
    Karate Advanced
    7:40pm - 9.00pm (Forrest Primary)
    Teens/Adults 13yrs+
    7:30pm - 8.30pm (Phillip)
    Karate Advanced
    w/ Stacey Shihan
    7:30pm - 9.00pm (Seven Hills, NSW)
    Karate Advanced
    7:40pm - 9.00pm (Phillip Honbu)
    Karate Open 9yrs+
    11:30am - 12:30pm (Phillip Honbu)

    Student and Parent Testimonials

    What our members say about us.

    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5
    Sensei Ben and Justin were great with the kids. They were firm but not too harsh and were able to keep the kids in line. The kids still had a great time learning. Thanks Sensei Ben!
    Posted on Google Google
    Tian Shiu profile picture
    Tian Shiu
    31 July 2024
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5
    The club is led by Sensei Ben, a great karate practitioner, a very knowledgeable and experienced instructor with strong passion for karate and teaching karate.
    Posted on Google Google
    Tri Nguyen profile picture
    Tri Nguyen
    30 July 2024
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5
    Sensei Ben is an incredible teacher, always providing guidance and encouragement to his students. My son has been going to his classes for the last one year and loves it! The atmosphere in the classes is friendly and inclusive. With a number of classes to choose from, sessions by the lake in summer and clear progression through the different levels, karate with Sensei Ben is teaching my son the value of discipline and the importance of showing up. Highly recommend this!
    Posted on Google Google
    Padmapriya Muralidharan profile picture
    Padmapriya Muralidharan
    30 July 2024
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5
    Every since my granddaughter started Karate at Goshukan Academy her confidence has become more positive she loves getting up on Saturday getting ready for more learning her inspiration is so much better now thank you for teaching her how to become a better person
    Posted on Google Google
    Linda Seal profile picture
    Linda Seal
    30 July 2024
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5
    It's been a great karate journey for my kids, learning discipline, self-defence, or what's left and what's right, and building confidence and fitness. All important life skills for kids. It's a great environment to start karate. Highly recommended.
    Posted on Google Google
    Eric Li profile picture
    Eric Li
    30 July 2024
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5
    I have been practicing Karate with my son at this dojo for over a year and have enjoyed every single bit of it. Sensei Ben and Justin have been always good at what they are doing and are very helpful teachers. The content of classes is designed well and the class is well paced. The assistant teachers are attentive and nice. I reckon the mix classes on Monday and Friday nights are the best for families! I find it a good opportunity to get exercise myself and a chance to show commitment and hard work to my child instead of talking about it. Happy to recommend this place to any family.
    Posted on Google Google
    Jing Zhu profile picture
    Jing Zhu
    30 July 2024
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5
    Ben Brillante and his team are great teachers and very supportive. It is a very friendly dojo where all students and black belts know each other. Coffee after training on a Saturday morning is always a great chat! People of all ages from small kids up are welcome. Everything you learn is always explained about how it can be applied in a practical way for self defence. I am one of the oldest students and have only been training for about 6 months. I am feeling far fitter and more flexible and would highly recommend Goshukan Karate Academy!!!
    Posted on Google Google
    Mark Williamson profile picture
    Mark Williamson
    30 July 2024
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5
    I have trained with Sensei Ben on multiple occasions, and each time he has shown to be a proficient practitioner and competent instructor. I encourage anyone in the area to consider his dojo. Context: I am not a student, but another martial arts school owner.
    Posted on Google Google
    Reece Cummings profile picture
    Reece Cummings
    5 March 2024
    Google star 1Google star 2Google star 3Google star 4Google star 5
    Exceptional Karate Dojo Transforming Lives! We've been part of Goshukan Karate Academy for nearly a year now, and the positive impact it has had on my daughter's life is truly remarkable. Sensei Ben is not just an expert in karate but also an outstanding mentor who exudes professionalism in every aspect. Under his guidance, my daughter has not only honed her physical strength and self-defence skills but has also experienced a significant boost in confidence. The supportive and nurturing environment of the dojo has played a pivotal role in shaping her personality positively and it stands out as the only after-school activity that has made such a profound difference for us (and we've tried many!). Our heartfelt gratitude to the entire team for creating a space where personal growth is not just encouraged but celebrated. This dojo truly deserves its spot among the best, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a transformative and enriching martial arts journey.
    Posted on Google Google
    Jenny Shaviv profile picture
    Jenny Shaviv
    13 January 2024