The Society Of Martial Arts (SOMA) was borne from the ashes of the Australian Martial Arts Association (AMAA) which was created in 1980 through the efforts of its founder – Bill (William) Vaughan (1931 – 2005). It was incorporated two years later in Adelaide, South Australia in 1982.
The AMAA was abandoned by almost all of its members in 2013 because it had become stale and some of its members were perceived as no longer following the ideals of the spirit of true martial arts.
Sadly, a certain member of the former organization was providing a member of a rival organization confidential information even before the Minutes of the meetings were typed and distributed to all the other members. This continued despite the said member being asked to stop on several occasions and it caused a major rift.
The vast majority of like-minded members then joined the newly formed SOMA.
In the early years, many martial artists also had input into the ideals of the SOMA. The most notable of these was Amos (“Moss”) Hollis (1930 – 1986) who was an early judo and karate pioneer.
Moss was responsible for creating the interest in numerous martial artists including our current President Barrie Revell and Sensei John Van Weenen MBE (currently 8th Dan), who is now one of the most senior karateka in Great Britain. Moss’s philosophy in martial arts was “If it works, use it!”