Combined Martial Arts

According to legend, the evolution of Karate began over a thousand years ago, possibly as early as the 5th century B.C. when Bodhidharma, a Buddhist Monk arrived in Shaolin-si, China from India and taught Zen Buddhism.

He also introduced a set of exercises designed to strengthen the mind and body. Bodhidharma's teachings later became the basis for the majority of Chinese martial arts. In truth, the origins of Karate appear to be somewhat obscure and little is known about the early development of Karate until it appeared in Okinawa. Sometime between the years 1784 and 1903, the term karate replaced that of Te.

This new name reflected the synthesis of the native Okinawan martial arts of Te with the influence of the Chinese Martial Arts the Okinawans had been exposed to.

Karate-do was modified and transformed into a way of life by Master Gichin Funakoshi in 1905. Before this, it was just a group of techniques that permitted self-defense without weapons.

Weapons bans, imposed on the Okinawans at various points throughout their history, encouraged the refinement of empty-hand techniques and, for this reason, was trained in secret until modern times.

Further refinement came with the influence of other martial arts brought by nobles and trade merchants to the island. Born in 1868, Funakoshi began to study karate at the age of 11, and was a student of the two greatest masters of the time, Yasutsune Itosu and Yasutsune Azato.

The first public demonstration of karate in Japan was in 1917 by Funakoshi, at the Butoku-den in Kyoto. This, and subsequent demonstrations, greatly impressed many Japanese, including the Crown-Prince Hirohito, who was very enthusiastic about the Okinawan art.

In 1922, having mastered two major styles of Karate, Funakoshi, then President of the Okinawa association of the Spirit of Martial Arts, was chosen to demonstrate Karate at the first National Athletic Exhibition in Tokyo. This led to the introduction of the ancient martial art to the rest of Japan.

Other masters then helped spread Karate throughout the country and the rest of the world. A general Federation of Karate Organizations was established in 1964 after Karate achieved a following abroad. This federation's main concern has been to establish unified forms, rankings, and rules of competition, and to keep contact with overseas Karate associations. Over the years, numerous schools and styles have emerged, some emphasizing the strengthening of the body, while others focused on quick movement.

The History of Combined Martial Arts Academy

Our members are people from all walks of life, with their ages ranging from 3 to 65+ years. A large part of our members not only joining the club initially but also then remaining members is the fact that they know they are being taught by the best in the business.

Over the past 20 years, the Combined Martial Arts Academy has been responsible for development of junior self-defense on the Gold Coast. Teaching the art of self discipline, focus and control, as well as practical safe self-defense techniques, Shihan Bill and his team of professional, qualified Instructors have enabled many children to learn the right way to defend themselves in a confrontational situation, with a strong focus on self-defence not retaliation.

This has now been taken to the next stage with the introduction of the STAR (Success Through Accepting Responsibility and or Stop, Think, Act, Review) Program. The STAR Program was developed by the Jefferson Centre for Education in the USA and is currently used by over 5,000 schools and 50,000 classrooms across the USA, where it has reached over 2 million students.

The Jefferson Centre focuses on the systematic teaching of common values. These values include honesty, respect, responsibility, integrity, courage, tolerance, justice, self-confidence and politeness. The Combined Martial Arts Academy is the only organisation in Australia currently teaching the STAR Program.

CMAA has provided children and adults alike with an avenue to maintain a central focus and to compete in structured, professional competition arenas in Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, America, Canada, Japan Korea and Italy.

Business Plans in the Long Run.

Combined Martial Arts Academy, (CMAA), the Gold Coasts leading Self-Defense Academy was established over 20 years ago by a man with vision. Founder, Shihan Bill Wakefield had a dream and through his dedication to his sport, his passion to assist others and the strong support of his local community Bill opened his first academy.

Bill is now highly in demand as a free lance consultant on developing professional full time schools. He has already been conducting seminars worldwide especially in New Zealand, North Korea, Cambodia, Argentina, Japan, and throughout Australia.

His current focus is to develop more professional Martial Arts Schools in India collaberation with Sensei Salil Nadkarni, and also the Middle East and thats why CMA was recognised as the fastest growing school in Australia awarded by EFC.