Last month my old karate coach, Tchantcho Augustin passed away. I’m not sure how many of you know Tchantcho but he was my karate coach back in the mid 80s when he used to give lessons at the now demolished Hilton Hotel on the Gulf Road. Up until recently he was the PE teacher at Le Lycée Français and the karate coach at The Little Gym. He was always super nice and he was really loved by everyone. I used to run into him randomly at Sultan Center every now and then and he’d always remember who I was. He taught a lot of children in Kuwait and he will be terribly missed. May he rest in peace.
The picture above was taken around 1985, I’m the white boy in the front row middle.
27 replies on “R.I.P. Tchantcho Augustin”
Terribly*** missed
Sensei Augustine was a wonderful coach with a beautiful soul. He taught my son Karate in ASK. May he RIP
That is so saddening news.. I took Karate classes with him in Safir…
How did he pass away, and how did you get to know the news ?
May his soul rest in peace…
Really Mokhles? He’s one of my friends dad Allah yer7amo….He passed away in Feb…
He coached me at the Hilton 1978-80. RIP
Got my blue built by him .. may his soul rest in peace.
He coached me in 1979 for a brief period, but I do remember his infectious enthusiasm.
RIP
Coached me all the way to a brown belt. You will be missed. 🙁
So sorry for your loss Mark. May he RIP.
I was in his class in the early to mid 80’s and he taught Judo not Karate at the Hilton. He was a great man, i remember enjoying being one of his students. RIP
white boy?
i hope that he will rest in peace too.
i know that it would sound weird but honestly when you wrote that you are the boy in the front row middle, i was looking for a bald boy…then i shook my head and decided to leave the pic. :p
I’m not bald dude
lol 😀 why i always believed that you are a bald man 😀
https://lesvisagesducameroun.kazeo.com/un-des-ambassadeurs-du-cameroun-est-mort-au-koweit,a4090466.html
He was my PE teacher when I was a the Lycee, What a guy ! I remember the day when he decided to quit teaching due to personal reasons, and everyone was giving the new PE teacher a hard time because everyone wanted Tchantcho back !
May he rest in peace!
So Sad, learnt Karate from him in Hilton in the 80s.. was surprised to see this post today. RIP he will be missed.
Ohhh No…. my heart just shattered on this very sad news… He was one my best and beloved Sensei, I truly loved him dearly! He used to be my sparring partner when I was a kid. Recently from time to time I would see him at Platinum gym and always greeted him with “Ous.” A Lovely man… so many fond and treasured memories at the Hilton Karate class.
He is sadly missed…
Holy shitballs I’m in that pic too!! To your left Mark!
I mean your right hehe left if you’re looking at the photo.
He was MY Karate coach too at the Hilton in the 80 s
R I P
May his soul rest in peace. I miss him a lot and do remember him. Indeed we all are blessed to know Sir Augustine. I was in Kuwait too and Sir was my dear coach in than Hilton hotel. Mark, thanks for your information. May i ask you, how is his wife. Sir Augustine had invited my family for dinner once. I used to say at Salmiya.
He started at the 1970s coming from lebnan. Thats why he spoke arabic with lebanease accent . I was his student from 1977 till his death . Because i was kuwaiti he opened the door for us to join kuwait krate federation . Us means sensie Waleed Al Awadi and me Ahmad Albaqsami. God rest his soul in pease . He burried in home town Nigieria
Sensei Augustin tchantcho taught me Karate when I was 19 at CJC club Beirut thanks to his good teaching I carried on with other professors worldwide and today at the age of 77 I received my 5th Dan from Dr Aly Darwich from Australia and he is the Grand master of DSKI
RIP Sensei Augustin I will never forget you
Your student Kamal Darouni (canada)
I am shocked to hear that Augustin died!. He and his wife Mary were our best friends in Salmiya in the mid-1970s. We spent a lot of time in each others homes, and often on the beach. In those days there was no social media, and after we left Kuwait we lost touch. Especially after the Iraqi invasion. If anyone reading this knows Mary’s contact details I would be pleased if you could post them.
I tried to post here a photo I took of Augustin and Mary in 1976, but I don’t see how to do it.
You can reach out to his daughter https://instagram.com/mxtchantcho
Dear Mark, thanks a lot for this contact!
Ian Campbell