Shihan Charles Woon-A-Tai, MS, HF

Charles Woon-A-Tai, 8th Dan, M.S., began training under his younger brother Frank, in 1967. In November 1974, he received his Shodan from Master Okazaki.

Charles, Keith and Josef were founding members of Frank’s first dojo in Guyana in 1968. As shown in the photograph, Charles was awarded a Member of the Order of Service of Guyana, and received the Medal of Service from none other than His Excellency, Dr. Cheddie Jagan, late President of the Republic of Guyana, for long and outstanding service to the youth of Guyana in the field of Martial Arts.

Charles won a silver medal in team kata at the Second Pan American Karate Championships in Lima, Peru in 1974. This was awarded by the Great Master Nishiyama, a karate-do genius. He also was a member of the Guyana team that participated in the IAKF First World Championships in Los, Angeles, California in 1975.

Charles, a successful businessman, sat on many sporting boards approved and sanctioned by the Guyana Government. He was, until recently, President of the Guyana Karate Federation, which is affiliated to the World Karate Federation (WKF) that has millions of members in over 180 countries. Charles is a member of the IKD Shihan-kai and President of IKD Ontario.