Peter Rich first walked into a Kyokushin Dojo in 1991. Classes were held in the Eltham Leisure centre Fridays and the Community hall on Mondays. It was a Friday night and Peter had given in to pressure by his older brother Andrew to just try it. With no previous Martial Arts experience besides teenage backyard brawling he really had no idea of what was involved. Sempai Elica Georgevski (now Sensei Elica Thompson) normally instructed classes but on Peters first night Sensei George Kolovos took the class and instantly captured Peters imagination.
"I was sure Sensei George was six and a half feet tall. He had this presence about him, of strength. "
The hard physical training and strong regimentation struck a nerve in Peter and he was surprised at how enjoyable all the hard work actually was. So Peter continued training under Sempai Elica but was an unreliable student and certainly not naturally gifted and after only six months training had a lay off while he traveled around Australia for several months. Shortly after his return he traveled with the group to watch the 1993 South Australian Championships and was so inspired that his training suddenly changed and he started training constantly in classes and at home.
It was around this time that Eltham Dojo moved into a factory in Brougham Street and more classes were available. Peters whole life became Karate with other training partners such as Andrew Perret and Dean Motschall to spur him on. Weekends and holidays meant a chance to escape to the bush of Panton Hill or the dead pine forest at Eildon. In the bush they would smash logs ,kick the trees ,break the rocks and sprint to the mountain top to pump out basics in the rain. Peter was constantly trying to make up for his late start and poor flexibility with hard training always running the hill one more time after everyone else had stopped. His hard training was recognized by his instructors and they awarded him the 1994 Eltham Student of the Year.
Peter started to enter every tournament and was with out a loss in full contact for his first twenty fights. Peter also became a valuable member in the Eltham Ippon team which managed to win four consecutive Teams Championships and the AKKA Ippon Shobu Teams Tournament.
Peter was no longer just training at Eltham but was traveling to Ascot Vale to train with Sempai Maria Gibilisco and to the city to train with Sensei George Kolovos. As a member of Sensei Georges Fighting Squad there were huge demands put on the fighters and a high dropout rate. As his experience and weight increased he moved through the divisions. In 1995 he moved up to the Open division and realised just how far there really was to go after getting knocked out in only ten seconds by a knee to the jaw by Simon Falzon in Griffith. He then went home again without a trophy after being defeated by a much more experienced David McGovern. In that same year he went to New York as coach to Sempai Maria Gibilisco in the 1st Womens World Tournament where she placed fourth.
In 1996 he entered the New Zealand International tournament and was pushed up into the Heavyweight division by changed cut off weights and had his eyes opened to the hard hits of the Heavyweights in the final by Richard Hood . He took second place but also won the Tamashiwari Division by breaking 21 boards in four strikes.
1996 also saw him win the Full Contact Karate Cup , place 3rd in the Ultimate Challenge and grade to Shodan (Black Belt). He narrowly missed selection for the World Weight Category Tournament but traveled as assistant coach for Maria Gibilisco who won the Womens Heavyweight division
His teaching started as a Green Belt teaching the Eltham Kids and has seen him teach in Williamstown and Moonee Ponds including the B squad, a group of up and coming fighters from Sensei Kolovos' Dojos. In 1997 he had a slow year and although not having put in the work he entered the Australian Championships and was reminded of the need for preparation after being knocked out by a third dan from South Africa and defeated with thigh kicks by Peter Graham in the Gippsland Tournament .But the following year he entered the Nationals again and won the Gippsland tournament and the Canberra ring tournament.
1999 saw him open his own club with the Gibilisco sisters and this was the birth of the FAFC.
Peter traveled to Sydney to win the Australian Championships and graded to Nidan later that year.
1999 was also the start of the Glenroy Panthers Kickboxing. After training around with a few kickboxing instructors and learning from each of them Peter combined his previous experience with the new skills and created the Panthers style of Kickboxing. Peter has ensured the Panthers style while remaining realistic and effective also caters to beginners and those wishing to use the great workout kickboxing offers without the fear of injury and excessive contact.
He has continued to evolve the style as he continues to learn. The Panthers style has enabled Peter to produce many successful students in various kickboxing divisions from light kickboxing bouts to full contact kickboxing promotions as well as competing himself in the Kickboxing ring.
Peter has also been involved in numerous demonstrations performing tile and board breaks and has a hand in training fighters to national level and training alongside national and world champions. He has attended seminars with Martial Arts greats such as Shihan Bobby Lowe , Sensei Kenji Midori, Sensei Gary O'neil , Shihan Cameron Quin , Sam Greco, Sensei Masuda ,Shihan Jim Phillips , Sensei Kazumi, Hanshi John Taylor , Royce Gracie , John Will ,Sensei Joe Thambu , Sensei Judd Reid and many more.
He has judged and refereed regularly since 1995 in both Karate and Kickboxing competitions.
Peter still has a burning desire to better himself and to pass on all the benefits that hard training has to offer as a fighter and for everyday living. It was this desire that led Peter to step out of the comfort zone and return to white belt in the dynamic style of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Amazed at the control the BJJ practitioners had once on the ground Peter spent any spare time he had to learning the new skills and in 2003 introduced BJJ to the FAFC. He has now attained a BJJ Blue belt and continues to learn when possible from both Doug Meijer and Andrew Devitt.
Peter now a 3rd Dan continues to learn from whoever he can is sure this is only the beginning, the foundation, of a long and eventful life in the Martial Arts
Career Highlights
Full Contact
1992 1st MKK novice division
1993 1st MKK intermediate in March, 1st MKK intermediate in Aug, 1st MKK End Of Year Championships
1994 1st South Australian Championships middleweight under 5th Kyu, 1st MKK intermediate,1st Western Suburbs middleweight intermediate, 1st North Shore middleweight intermediate
1995 1st MKK Open
1996 3rd Ultimate Challenge Middleweight, 1st Full Contact Karate Cup Middleweight, 2nd New Zealand International Heavy Weight
1998 1st Gippsland Heavy Weight, Winner Canberra Ring Fight.
1999 1st Vic Challenge ,1st Australian Championships Heavy Weights
2002 Winner Super cruiser weight Kickboxing
Top 16 Maki All Japan Tournament
Non Contact
AKKA Ippon Shobu Team Tournament 1st
MKK Teams Tournament Winning Team 1993,94 95 and 96
1994 MKK Championships 3rd
1995 National All Styles Green belt division Victorian Champion
MKK End Of Year 1st
3rd 2003 KIA Australian Championships
Kata
1995 2nd MKK End Of Year Open
Tamashiwari (Breaking)
1st New Zealand International Tournament
