Barry Johnston

Barry Johnston is the founder and President (Kancho) of the International Sabaki Karate-Do Teshinkai Organization and recognised as Grandmaster of the system.    

Kancho Barry Johnston has been teaching on a full time basis for over 45 years and currently directs the expansion of the Teshinkai system into Asia initially and eventually the other continents of Europe Africa and America. 
Kancho Barry Johnston has a mission to bring quality karate training to all people, regarless of race, religion, gender or socio economic background. It is his firm belief that a well balance martial arts program is capable of changing the lives of individuals and communities in a positive way through exercise, healthy living, personal self defence and positive mindset. 

A resident of Bendigo, Victoria Australia, he operates one of the nations most renown martial arts schools, the "Bendigo Mixed Martial Arts Academy!" The school is World Headquarters to the Teshinkai Organisation, but also offer's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai Kickboxing to round off the full mixed martial arts approach that is highly sought after in the world today. The facility also boasts the regions largest weight training facilities and this provides the basis from which true high performance training can be achieved.   

Kancho Johnston has been teaching karate on a full-time basis now for over 45 years. Many thousands of students have trained under his tutelage and many hundreds have gone on to achieve black belt and earn competition recognition. 

As a competitor Johnston competed in various State titles at the time which led him to eventually compete in the Kyokushinkaikan International Kurjurnas Brawijaya Cup held in Indonesia in 1981. Upon returning from this tournament Kancho Johnston established his school and started his journey of a lifetime in martial arts. He knows all too well the changes and opportunities that martial arts provided him and so he shares these same opportunities with others.  

In 2001 Australia became the first country in the world to offer martial arts as a recognised vocational training program. The Department of Sport and Recreation Australia in conjunction with the Office of Training and Further Education released its Certificate II, III, IV and Diploma of Sport Coaching for Martial Arts. It was Johnston who worked with the government department to provide the key concepts that allowed the program to be accepted and agreed upon by all martial arts disciplines as the universal standard in the industry at the time and its subsequent  release in 2003. Over than 14,000 martial arts industry qualifications were issued buy Johnstons Registered Training Organisation (Australian College of Sports Development) between 2003 and 2014. The program helped to inject over  $40 Million into the industry over this period. Other achievements by his college includes the “Skills for Life” program (a martial arts based Vocational training Program for Secondary Schools) many thousands of school students enrolled in the program, assisting the to improved their overall "ENTER" score, should they have wanted to continue training into university.

Kancho Barry Johnston's relationship with martial arts has helped change and improve the lives of all people, not just in the physical sense but in the development of character and respect in our young and the physical and mental health of a community’s older practitioners. 

Kancho Barry Johnston has a mission to bring the benefits of martial arts training to the general public, and in time provide a significant contribution to the communities he serves and leave a legacy that will be recognized for years to come.