Con Kassis was born in Ioannina, Greece, on April 17, 1959. He first became interested in Karate at the age of 15, when he started to practice Shotokan Karate Do occasionally. It wasn’t until the age of 20 that he decided to take up Shito Ryu Karate Do. He became so devoted to learning, that rarely a day would go by without practice. In 1982, Con began to teach, and in 1987 he was introduced to Kenei Mabuni, an event which changed his life dramatically.
Master Mabuni decided to take Con as his personal student. Under his guidance, Con’s understanding of Karate began to mature significantly. At the age of 35, Con became the World Karate Federation’s youngest Kata Judge – at a time when only 25 officials in the world held this status, the highest possible for competition karate.
His passion for teaching grew immensely, and his achievements were to continue. He has produced countless state, national, and international champions in competition, and has become one of the most respected Karate teachers, not only in Australia, but around the world. He holds the rank of "8th Dan Shihan" in Shito ryu as well as the title of Vice President of World Shito-ryu Karate-do Federation (W.S.K.F.) Finally, on 2010 he becomes chairman of Refereeing Committee of World Karate Federation (W.K.F.).
His success undeniably derives from the many years of expert technical knowledge received from the world’s foremost living authority in Shito-ryu Karate-do, Kenei Mabuni, 10th Dan Grandmaster.
