Steve started martial arts training in 1970 at the age of 15 when, inspired by the infamous ‘Judo chop’ in a James Bond film, he went to learn Shotokan Karate from Sensei Otma Buchman. After Sensei Buchman retired from active teaching, Steve looked for an instructor under whom he and his club could train. Eventually he found Sensei Frank Nowak, an outstanding karate instructor recently arrived in Australia, who agreed to take Steve and his fledgling association as students.

Steve remained a devoted student of Sensei Frank Nowak and graded to fourth Dan in March 1991 not long before our founder’s death. In 1996, after national seminar experience and with many of his students gaining black belts (including four third Dans), he graded to fifth Dan. Sensei Steve has also had experience in Judo and Kung Fu and has been teaching Self Defence for Women for many years. Currently, in addition to instructing at his dojos, he teaches self-defence courses for southern schools and fitness classes for the Greek Community.

He now travels interstate regularly to teach and take gradings. Active in the Australian Karate Federation, Sensei Steve is a National Judge and a National Coaching Accreditation Scheme (AKF/NCAS) Level 1 coach. In 1994, he received a special Coach Recognition Award from the Australian Coaching Council.

Frank immigrated to Australia from Canada in 1992 after working in the Snowy Mountains at Thredbo for 11 years. While living in Victoria Canada he was a member of the Japan Karate Association and the Canadian Shotokan Karate Federation. Frank served as a Director of Karate British Columbia and his dojo in Victoria on Vancouver Island is still going strong. "I was fortunate that the geographic location of Vancouver provided regular seminars with the living legends of karate. Shihans Nakayama, Nishiyama, Asai, Okazaki, Yamaguchi and Kanazawa were regular visitors".

He was fortunate that his position of Director of Tourism with Tourism British Columbia took him to Japan on a regular basis providing opportunities to train at the JKA Honbu dojo in Tokyo and at regional JKA dojos in Japan. Coincidentally the BC tourism office in Los Angeles was a matter of a few short city blocks from the dojo of the legendary Sensie Nishiyama 9th Dan of the JKA.providing regular training opportunities. He received his JKA Sandan grading from Shihan Asai 9th Dan World Technical Director of the JKA in 1991.

On arriving in Hobart in 1992 he visited all of the existing karate clubs and quickly settled on Zanshin Shotokan. "I visited the Zanshin Club at the universtity where Sensei Steve was teaching a class and knew this was it. The training and commaraderie were great and the standards were excellent - world class". He is currently President of the AKF Australia, an AKF National Judge and Level 1 NCAS coach.

Frank's interests include fly fishing, tennis and Japanese culture. He is married with two children aged 17 & 20 and his son Paul is also a Zanshin member. Frank is a Senior Touirsm Planning Consultant with Tourism Tasmania in Hobart.

• 1st Dan Zanshin Shotokan
• Level I coach NCAS Australia
• State Judge Australian Karate Federation