Instructors

Damien Martin

Damien Martin is the Kaichō of Southern Cross Martial Arts; that is to say, he is the Head Instructor.

Damien has been training in the martial arts for over 40 years having initially commenced training in Judo in 1982 and then Karate in 1983. Over the past 40+ years he has extended his interest in and explored the history and practices of a variety of martial arts; modern and traditional.

Damien has worked extensively with kids and young people both in and out of the Dojo and currently works as a behaviour support practitioner. He started his registered Kidz Karate classes in the 1980’s and has spent decades researching, studying and improving the results. He has extensive qualifications in psychology, education, OH&S, leadership and risk management, as well as a Masters of Autism Studies from Griffith University. Damien still works regularly teaching martial arts to kids, some of whom have trained with him for over 25 years (obviously they are not kids any more).

Continuing his interest in all aspects of the martial arts he has researched and implemented many traditional aspects into his training, holding a 8th dan in Gōki-Kai Karate (Kaicho), a 7th dan in Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate (Kyoshi), a 3rd dan in Ryukyu Kobudo, a 5th Khan in Muay Thai and is a 4th kyu Kudo Sempai and hold a Green Glove rank in Savate. He is also an instructor of the Ming He Quan (Calling Crane Boxing) lineage of Master Yu Dan Xiu in Fuzhou, China.

Damien continues his own study and practice and regularly travels to Okinawa and China to train.

Damien was inducted into the Australasian Martial Arts Hall of Fame for services to the Martial Arts in 2005. Damien founded the Gōki-Kai Kan in 2008 when he started Southern Cross Martial Arts.

Damien is also the branch chief of the Australian branch of the Ryukyu Kobudo Hozonkai group under the auspices of the Kinjo family in Okinawa.

Damien worked in the security industry for over 20 years where he was constantly exposed to some of the seedier and more violent characters in our society; an environment where techniques, tactics and training methods had to work! He has been lucky enough to travel the world with his work and has trained extensively in the US and the UK; he has also trained extensively in karate and Kobudo in Okinawa, the birthplace of karate; as well as researched the roots of Karate in Fuzhou, China.

Through his experience running an internationally recognised Registered Training Organisation (RTO) Damien is considered to be a pioneer and expert in scenario based self defence training and has been developing and delivering this training within the national training system for over two decades.

Damien is highly qualified in the martial arts and associated fields and holds instructor qualifications in Ming He Quan, Muay Thai Kickboxing and Docé Pares Eskrima; holds ranks in Judo, Kudo, Savate, and la Canne de Combat; and is a member of a number of internationally recognised martial arts organisations.

Damien continues to compete on a National level in kata and weapons kata and won gold medals at the recent 2025 Yonchun Invitational White Crane Conference/Tournament in China.

Damien is a published author, having co-written a book on firearms and defensive tactics, as well as authoring a number of industry journal articles as a subject matter expert on use-of-force, restraint, restraint related deaths and, of course, martial arts. These articles have been published in Blitz Australasian Martial Arts Magazine, Okinawa Karate News, Australian Hospital and Healthcare Bulletin, and Security Oz Magazine.

Damien is also the course developer for the increasingly popular Martial Arts & Autism course, being delivered across Australia.

Proudly a member of the Australasian Federation of Traditional Karate & Kobudo http://www.aftk.org.au/

Damien is a Certified Practising Traditional Karate/Kobudo Instructor (CPTKI) with the Australasian Federation of Traditional Karate & Kobudo.

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