Karl Norton is our head BJJ instructor at the Auckland Maai Hyoshi Dojos.
He has been a keen martial arts enthusiast from a young age and trained in various martial arts such as Karate and Tae Kwon Do before fully committing to Ninjutsu and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) as his core arts.
Today, Karl leads the BJJSchool under head coach and technical advisor John Will of Will - Machado, Australasia. Karl has also travelled to John’s school in Melbourne, Australia on several occasions to further his development and skills in BJJ.
Karl, like long time friend and martial arts associate, Steven Cockell, enjoys taking a holistic approach to martial arts and establishing a solid foundation on which to build essential basics and skills. Karl also believes that modern martial arts are built around a series of plans and strategies - the better organised and resourced you are, the more enhanced your result will be.
Karl’s background in martial arts is as follows:
1985 - 1990 Trained in various martial arts such as Tae Kwon Do and KyokuShin Karate.
1993 Commenced full time training in Ninjutsu, under the coaching of Glen Newport in Hamilton.
1998 Moved to Auckland and trained under the late Sensei Michael Gent, was awarded black belt later that year. Black Belt grading took nearly 2 hours consisting of tests against multiple attackers and weapons.
Was introduced to ground fighting and grappling through various guest instructors invited to NZ by Michael Gent.
1999 Michael Gent invited Mr John Will to NZ to train the Maai Hyoshi Dojos in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Commenced regular training in BJJ to complement stand-up fighting skills and has participated in all quarterly seminars held by John since that time.
2003 - 2004 Awarded Blue Belt in Machado BJJ by John Will for his dedication to the system.
2007 Awarded Purple Belt in Machado BJJ by John Will for his commitment to furthering the Maai Hyoshi Dojo’s understanding of BJJ.
2008 Began teaching and coaching BJJ classes in Central Auckland
Karl currently lives in Auckland with his wife and 2 boys. His other interests include Rugby League and gym training.
