A School of Excellence, grounded in lineage.
Yushukan means School of Excellence. We are a serious, traditional Goju Ryu dojo at the Tweed Heads South Honbu, founded by Sensei Sam Seigers in 2020 after years of training and teaching across Australia, Japan and the USA.
Excellence here does not mean perfection. It means striving to improve, refusing to settle, and approaching training with sincerity. It shows in technique, but also in respect, discipline and the way a student carries themselves inside and outside the dojo.
- Tweed Heads South Honbu Dojo
- Kids start from 7+
- Working With Children Check
- Public liability insurance
- Seiwakai / JKF Gojukai affiliated
- Traditional Goju Ryu lineage
- Transparent pricing
- No long-term lock-in
- Controlled, supervised, grade-appropriate training
Sensei Sam Seigers
Sensei Sam Seigers
Founder and Chief Instructor
4th Dan Seiwakai Goju Ryu International · 3rd Dan JKF Gojukai · 25 years teaching
Sam Seigers founded Yushukan in 2020 after years of training and teaching across Australia, Japan and the USA. He still travels to Japan and Okinawa to train under Seiichi Fujiwara Hanshi and other senior teachers, so what you learn on the mat stays connected to the source.
Read the full lineageWhy Sam teaches karate
Grant Ratcliffe Kyoshi on Yushukan
From Chojun Miyagi to Sensei Sam.
Lineage matters because karate is a living tradition passed from teacher to student. Through it, students inherit not only forms and methods, but values, training principles and a connection to the roots of the art.
- 1888
- 1909
- 1933
- 1944
- 2020
Five generations of unbroken transmission. Each rank documented. Each grading certifiable.
Yushukan students grade to black belt within Yushukan before becoming eligible to attempt grading in Seiwakai or JKF Gojukai. The lineage is the standard we train to, not a shortcut to their rank.
Sensei Sam holds rank through two complementary lines. His 4th Dan is through Gojuryu Seiwakai Karate-Do International, the line of Gogen Yamaguchi, Shuji Tasaki and Seiichi Fujiwara Hanshi. His 3rd Dan is through the All Japan Karate Federation Gojukai, the line of Meitoku Yagi, one of Chojun Miyagi's direct students, via Akio Iwase and Sensei Rod Hyatt. Both trace to Miyagi. Both are legitimate and complementary paths to the same source.
What the lineage actually adds up to.
- 25+
- Years teaching
- 5
- Generations of lineage
- 4
- Dan Seiwakai Goju Ryu
- 2020
- Yushukan founded
Sensei Sam Seigers
Miyagi to Seigers
+ 3rd Dan JKF Gojukai
Tweed Heads South
A small dojo by design.
You train with the named instructors, not a rotating roster of part-timers.
Sensei Sam Seigers
Founder and Head Instructor. 4th Dan Seiwakai, 3rd Dan JKF Gojukai.
Sensei Luke Karmen
Senior instructor at the Tweed Heads South Honbu.
Sempai Tony Barnwell
Instructor at the Tweed Heads South Honbu.
The standards every student trains to
Respect
For instructors, senior grades, training partners, the dojo and the tradition.
Effort
Train with sincerity and give your best at your level and ability.
Consistency
Improvement comes through regular training and taking responsibility for your own progress.
Discipline
Listen, follow instruction, and maintain self-control at all times.
Humility
Karate is a lifelong path. Stay open to correction and willing to learn.
Safety and control
Practical training, always carried out with control, awareness and care for others.
Fully insured, every class.
Certificate of Currency No. 92298 issued by Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's. Valid 24 February 2026 to 24 February 2027.
- Public Liability
- $20,000,000 any one occurrence
- Products Liability
- $20,000,000 any one occurrence and in the aggregate
- Professional Indemnity
- $2,000,000 any one claim and in the aggregate
- Period of Insurance
- 24 February 2026 to 24 February 2027
- Underwriter
- Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's led by QBE Underwriting Limited, Syndicate 386 & HDI Global Specialty SE-Australia
- Policy No.
- PMEL99/0128146
Choose Kids, Teens, or Adult Karate Ready.
Start properly with a structured 3-week pathway. $99 to begin, $90 each for two or more family members. No pressure, no long-term lock-in.
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