Our expert Instructors
Meet our key instructors
Kyoshi George Ciechanowicz, 7th Dan, founder & director of Kin Shin Kai. For more than 40 years George has been learning, teaching & developing practical self defense martial arts with a holistic focus – the ideal self defense is to learn skills where you hopefully do not need to get physical, but are trained to be very effective if you do need to
He has gratefully learned from some of the world’s finest, especially from the late master Tadahiko Ohtsuka & his Goju Kensha system, Patrick McCarthy & his Koryu Uchinadi, and Maul Mornie’s Bruneian Silat
George is a skilled educator and his twin passions are developing his students and his martial arts. George founded Kin Shin Kai in 1997 to focus on further restoring Karate’s lost self defense practicality and to develop students in a more small and personal ‘family style’ school setting. Kin Shin Kai thus primarily focuses on student & curriculum development, rather than ‘growing the business’. He personally still teaches classes at all levels, and takes a great interest & pride in helping each student learn to be their best selves
He holds a BA in Music & Philosophy and a DipEd – he is a trained teacher. Some other qualifications & competencies include sports medicine, remedial massage / bodywork and alternative health modalities including TCM / Acupuncture. These all inform his teaching
Shihan Michael Mules, 5th Dan. Training martial arts for more than 30 years, Michael is also a highly experienced & committed educator at one of Melbourne’s most reputable schools. Michael marries his first-rate teaching skills with a deep love and understanding of the martial arts to provide our Kin shin Kai students with an excellent learning experience
Some of the other martial arts he has studied include Shotokan Karate at Melbourne University, Aikido under sensei Joseph Thambu and also Ninjutsu
Shihan Nick Bell, 5th Dan, has been training martial arts (& tennis) intensively for more than 20 years. Nick has a personal trainer Cert IV, numerous high level Tennis coaching accreditations and a mostly finished sports science degree to add to his 5th Dan in Karate, Blue belt in BJJ and experience of numerous other martial arts
Nick is a very dynamic and motivating teacher who prides himself on an excellent grasp on identifying & correcting important technical detail missed by many other instructors
Sensei Mate Lezaja, 4th Dan, closing in on 20 years training. Mate is a very patient & detailed teacher reflecting his exceptional ability to exemplify in performance, and and explain with deep understanding, what makes our art so impressively functional.
This is actually using the natural power of correctly performed human movement to produces an effect way beyond the effort involved which is one of the core differences and benefits of the way we teach Karate
Mate is also very steeped in the values & respect embedded in the Traditional martial arts and has rounded off his ’empty hand’ Karate training with an intensive co-commitment to traditional Okinawan Kobudo (weaponry) where he is also a 5th Dan sensei!
Sensei George Dixon, 3rd Dan, with 20 years training and a great ability to assimilate the fine detail and deep understanding of our art, George is passionate about helping students develop and progress
George harnesses his IT logic & ‘attention to fine but important detail’ to teach our students in a very detailed, methodical & patient manner that they really appreciate
Sensei Tom Price, 3rd Dan, assists both with the Black Belt classes and also the teen and adult colour belt / ‘kyu’ grade classes where his more than 20 years of experience starting as a youngster together with his exceptional focus and memory enable him to help our students develop to a level way beyond just ‘good competence’
Tom’s own personal journey in battling as a teenager to successfully overcome persistent foot and stability issues makes him both a great example to others battling difficulty and also gives him a great ability to understand others’ struggles and encourage them to persist and overcome as he has
Sempai Ashley McGowan, 2nd Dan, with nearly 15 years of experience after commencing at a very junior age combines her detailed insight of the technique she is teaching with an enthusiastic and positive teaching style to engage and develop our Junior age students in particular
Ashley also is an enthusiastic practitioner of Chinese wushu athletic martial arts which she does with her brother Connor at the Melbourne University club. Connor is also a 3rd Dan Karate Black Belt with us
