Welcome to the Society Of Martial Arts. My name is Barrie Revell, President of SOMA.
This page is designed to provide information to prospective members on what we, at SOMA, are all about. Inside the many pages of this website you can see for yourself some of the benefits of becoming a member of SOMA and what our multi-disciplined martial arts society can offer you.
We believe that we have, among our membership, some of the best martial artists in the country and we are working towards making our organization the premier multi-style martial arts organisation in Australia. We cater for all styles – Japanese, Chinese, Korean based and others.
My own martial arts journey began at the age of eleven at a local youth club in the UK. I immigrated with my parents to Australia in 1963 and was immediately attracted to a judo and karate club called the “Kangaroo Karate and Judo Club” run by Moss Hollis, a pioneer of Australian martial arts.
You can read more about this great Australian martial arts pioneer under the “History of SOMA” on page 6 of the Membership Information Booklet that can be found under the tab headed MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS and also on the page entitled “The Late Moss Hollis” which can be found under our HISTORY tab.
Over the years I have trained in various styles of karate but mostly in Shotokan and Shito Ryu. I have also trained in kung fu, judo, ju-jutsu and self defence.
Later, I was fortunate enough to become a private student of the late Bill Vaughan who you can also read more about in our tribute to him in the Membership Information Booklet and also on his dedicated page on this website entitled “The Late Bill Vaughan” which can similarly be found under our HISTORY tab.
Bill polished my open hand combat skills and taught me weapons including iaido katana, bokken, bo and sai.
If you are not currently a member of an Association (or even if you are) then the Membership Information Booklet together with the vast resources on this website should give you enough knowledge about us to be able to decide whether you would like to become a member of SOMA.
If you would like to talk to somebody you can call or email any of the contacts on our “Contact Points” page.
We welcome you to join us!
Barrie Revell, Kensei
President SOMA
PHOTO: Barrie Revell displaying his Kensei sword-master certificate.