Tonkin graded to eighth Dan
Shihan Sam Tonkin, of Jikishin Jiu Jitsu South Africa, in Benoni, was recently graded to eighth Dan in jiu jitsu by the United Nations of Jiu Jitsu International Committee.
Tonkin has been participating in the sport for the past 46 years and has been teaching since the age of 18.
He has carried on a legacy of jiu jitsu which was passed down from his late father, Sam Tonkin Snr.
The awarding of an eighth Dan grade is not based on syllabus and examinations, but rather on what the instructor has given back to jiu jitsu and its people.
Tonkin is currently president of the South African Jiu Jitsu Council, president of Martial Arts Gauteng, country representative for South Africa at the United Nations of Jiu Jitsu, as well as for the International Jiu Jitsu Federation.
He has affiliated clubs in and around South Africa and is in the process of assisting one of his father’s former students to open a club in Namibia.
He has also assisted his former students in opening clubs in the USA, New Zealand and Australia.
The shihan still teaches all his own classes at his club, four nights a week, for students from the age of four.
