Manjimup karate master Klaus Mueller steps away from teaching after 46 years

Karate and community have been a part of Klaus Mueller’s life for more than 50 years, including as a teacher of the martial art since 1978.

Running classes from Manjimup to Pemberton for the last 46 years, Mueller decided to step away from teaching to focus on his own karate journey.

His final training session ran on Saturday, with 26 students coming to experience his teaching,

At the end of his training session Mueller was awarded the rank of 7th dan, one of highest honours a martial artist can receive.

“There’s probably only six 7th dans in Australia,” Mueller said.

The certificate is issued by the Government of Japan and earned Mueller the title of Kyoshi, which roughly translated means professor.

After the training session a farewell lunch was held at a nearby park with more than 100 people coming to to show support for the community icon.

“We had a fabulous day,” Mueller said.

“I had someone I trained with 40 years ago turn up and we reminisced about the early days we would train together.

“The whole thing was fabulous.”

Karate has significantly influenced Mueller’s life he said, with his children also taking to the mats to learn the martial art.

He said he began his training after emigrating to Australia from Germany and experiencing discrimination for his nationality.

Through karate he has learned discipline and respect from the art form.

Mueller said he won’t be stepping away from karate entirely because he plans to continue his training .

“I’m sure I’m going to miss teaching a little bit,” he said.

“But I’m really looking forward to spending some time with my older friends and travelling.”