Danie van der Linde
Head Instructor
Shotokan Karate Waikato was founded in 2012 by Danie van der Linde. Danie is a Japan Karate Association 4th Dan Black Belt and registered Instructor with over twenty years of competitive and training experience. His passion for improving physical fitness, mental discipline, and spiritual strength is apparent in every class he teaches.
Danie has been a positive influence in the lives of many. His ability to reach children and adults alike is fast earning Karate Waikato a reputation as one of the Waikato's best Karate clubs.
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Starting his Karate career back in 1984 Danie has himself competed Nationally and Internationally in both South Africa and New Zealand. In recent years he placed 2nd in the South African WKF and South African JKA Nationals and was awarded Western Gauteng Colours before moving to New Zealand in 2011.
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Winner of the 2014 Central North Islands WKF Veterans Division Kumite. He has also placed 2nd in the 2014 JKA New Zealand National and was selected to represent New Zealand at the 2014 Gichin Funakoshi World Cup in Tokyo Japan.
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Danie has been involved with martial arts his entire life. As a child, he was taught the fundamentals of Karate when he started in Shotokan at the Alberton Funakoshi Dojo in 1984.
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In 2015 Danie was also awarded the Sport Waikato Master sportsman of the year award and was also nominated and won the Sport Waikato 2015 Sporting Personality of the Year award for his contribution in building Karate in the Central North Island as a Sport.
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Danie is also a qualified New Zealand Sports Coach having completed his National Certificate in Sport Coaching in 2016
Damian Wiseman
Assistant Instructor
Damian started training with the Cambridge club in 2017 and has rapidly grown to become a cornerstone of the club. With a high-performance background in cycling New Zealand and part of the coaching squad for the National Paralympic cycling team, he has a vast knowledge based in human physiology and mechanics.
Always innovating and growing our training strategies and training himself he is stepping up to the plate to start sharing his own unique teaching style in Cambridge.
Damian has obtained his 2nd Dan Black Belt from the Japan Karate Association.
Christopher Tse
Assistant Instructor
Chris started training in Shotokan karate at the University of Auckland club during the 1990s but stopped when he moved to Hamilton for work. In the meantime, he trained for a time in ITF Taekwon-do and another style of karate. He re-started his Shotokan training in 2016 at the Cambridge branch of the club, his children joining him soon after, and gaining his 1st dan in 2019. His approach to karate is somewhat academic and his interest is in how to make karate a way of life, karate and martial arts history, and the budo aspects of karate.
Chris has obtained his 2nd Dan Black Belt from the Japan Karate Association. D-Kyu Instructors License
