< Back Sensei Ron Mattie inducted into the Canadian Black Belt Hall of Fame With great pride, the SWKKF Senate and membership would like to congratulate Sensei Ron Mattie, for being inducted into the Canadian Black Belt Hall of Fame. https://811184d5-cd1f-4953-859e-95ef22fe2c82.usrfiles.com/ugd/811184_6871df69c0334bcb887f2a081c688b5f.pdf Previous Continue Reading Next

Seishin No Shindo by Sensei Dr. Robert J. Graham I had thought about what kind of a kata that would be good for the Shindo and decided that a Kitagawa kata would best fit the movements of the Shindo as well as capture the essence of Sensei Shintani's movements. Seisho seemed liked a very good fit because it was not too long and was full of explosive movements. So, I proceeded to put together the kata and the Shindo, refining the movements over a period of about 6 months. I had told Sensei Shintani that I was doing this and had his approval, but he had not seen any of the work I had done at that point. Subsequently, I had Sensei to my home in Hamburg because he was doing a clinic for me at the Bailey Ave. dojo. The evening before the clinic, which was a Friday, I asked him if he would take a look at the kata I had developed and he agreed. We went into the basement of my home and I demonstrated the kata several times for him. When I asked him if there were any suggestions he replied, "No keep the kata just as it is." He then asked me what I called the kata and I told him "Seisho no Shindo." He thought for a moment and said to me. You will call it "Seishin no Shindo." He explained to me that Seishin means the true, straight way of a person with high character. He told me that I was of a very high character and that I had followed the true, straight way of his teachings and the Shindo. He said that when someone in Japan is of high character and follows a true path they are said to have "Seishin." He then asked me why I had chosen Seisho from all of the Kitagawa katas that were available. I told him that it seemed to me that it represented his movements and explosiveness so very well. He said to me, "That's really interesting Bob, because of all the Kitagawa katas that's the only one I had created myself. All the rest were Sensei Kitagawa's katas." He found it very interesting that I was able to zero in on his movements from the kata and select the one he had created even though I had no knowledge that he had done so. We then went upstairs to my kitchen and he asked me for a cup of tea. As I was making the tea, he was sitting at the table writing. When I served him the tea he handed me a Shindo certificate and said, "You are now a 7th Dan in Shindo. Then he looked at the cup of tea and said, "Oh that's beautiful, just beautiful." After he finished the tea, he turned on the baseball game. We didn't discuss karate or the Shindo the rest of the evening, only baseball.

< Back Iwa Yama Karate Club Sensei Walter Greening Address Spruce Grove, AB, Canada Didsbury, AB, Canada Practice Times Club Website or Social Media Notes Previous Map Next

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Shintani Karate Pioneers There are many pioneers that helped spread Shintani Wado Kai across Canada and the United States. Coming Soon.....

Brief History of Karate Some of the earliest origins of karate have been traced to the island of Okinawa in the Ryukyu Island chain. It is thought that a native style of self-defense developed here called te, or hand in English. Okinawa is within close distance to the coasts of Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea. Thus there has been extensive influence from a number of Asian cultures in the subsequent history of this island. Karate as it has developed is thought to be an amalgamation of te with some prominent Chinese martial arts, such as Shaolin Temple Monk fist boxing. In early years, karate was translated as "Chinese hand". (kara = China / Chinese and te = hand) An early event germane to the development of karate, occurred in 1477 during the beginning of the newly formed Sho Dynasty (Reid & Croucher, 1983 ). In order to manage unruly warlords, the king proclaimed a ban on the carrying of swords, and had all weapons, and the warlords themselves, brought to court, where they could be monitored. In 1609 when the Japanese annexed Okinawa, they maintained the ban on the carrying of weapons. However, Japanese samurai were exempt from this edict. It is suggested that during this time both the art of the hand, as well as weapon arts, or kobudo, were developing. The nobility were studying mostly te, and the peasant classes developing weapons systems based upon the use of familiar, and available tools, such as rice flails (nunchaku), mill grindstone handles (tonfa), sickles (kama), and other implements. On Okinawa, te began to develop into three similar, but distinct systems. They were tied to the major geographical regions of Shuri, Tomari, and Naha. Reid & Croucher (1983) state that these differences may have emerged through the divergent influences coming into each region. Shuri-te evolved more from the influence of the harder Shaolin Temple style under the likes of Sokon Matsumura, and Naha-te, these being more closely related to the "inner" Chinese styles. They emphasized the cultivation of ki (a.k.a. chi), or life energy and was fostered by Kanryo Higaonna. In the early 1920's, an Okinawan school teacher under the tutelage of Anko Itosu, named Gichin Funakoshi, was observed by the Japanese Emperor's son performing a display of Shuri-te karate. Funakoshi was subsequently invited to Japan to demonstrate karate for the nation, and later went on to be charged with incorporating it into the regular Japanese school curriculum. Funakoshi's adaptations to shorin-style karate later became known as shotokan, a name adapted from his own authored pen name. In 1935, a multi-style coalition of karate masters met to decide on a common name for their teachings, and "karate" was decided upon, with a slight change in the meaning to "empty hand", a decision which reflects the independent political stance at the time. Tomari-te appears to adopt aspects of both the hard and soft of Shuri-te and Naha-te, and has been associated with Kosanku Matsumora. Towards the late 1800's, the Shuri and Tomari styles merged into what was called shorin-ryu (the small forest school). Shorin is the Okinawan pronunciation of "Shaolin" in Mandarin-Chinese. The shorin-based styles tend to be light and high in stance. Many styles have emerged from this line, including kobayashi-ryu under Chosin Chibana, matsubayashi-ryu under Shosin Nagamine, and the shorin-ryu of Yasutsune ("Anko") Itosu. Naha-te emerged as goju-ryu (hard and soft school) under the development of Chojun Miyagi, with the goju style placing emphasis on breathing and tension. Another school, shito-ryu is a combination of both goju and shorin styles, while uechi-ryu is very similar to goju.

(905) 788-7999 < Back Welland Martial Arts Centre Sensei Ron Mattie (905) 788-7999 ddlabbe3@gmail.com Address 77 Division Street, Welland, ON, Canada Welland, ON, Canada Practice Times Friday - 7:00-8:30 pm (Adults - 12yrs and up) Sensei Mattie Monday - Juniors - 5:30-6:30 pm / Adult - 7:00-8:30 pm Sensei Labbe Thursday - Advance Juniors - 6:00-7:30 pm Sensei Poulin Wednesday - Special Needs - 5:30-8:30 pm Sensei Hancharyk Saturday - Special Needs - 12:00-1:00 pm Sensei Hancharyk Club Website or Social Media Notes Previous Map Next

(479) 531-7280 < Back NWA Wado Kai Karate Club Sensei Joanne Johnson (479) 531-7280 nwawadokai@gmail.com Address 4911 West Pleasant Grove Road, Rogers, AR, USA Rogers, AR, USA 72758 Practice Times Thursday all students - 6-8 pm (Central Daylight Time) Club Website or Social Media Notes Previous Map Next

World Kobudo Federation The Shintani Wado Kai Karate Federation (SWKKF) is affiliated with the World Kobudo Federation. The World Kobudo Federation (WKF) offers our members the ability to earn WKF Club Affiliation, Degree and Title recognition, access to Budo-Pro School Development Program, access to world class instructors and much more. Club Affiliation A WKF Club Affiliation is presented once the application form is completed and approved. For more information on joining the WKF, please email Sensei Neil Prime (nprime@shintani.ca ) or Sensei Darren Humphries (dhumphries@shintani.ca ). Dan Gradings In order to obtain a Dan rank with the WKF, a students club must be a member in good standing with the WKF and must fill out the WKF Certification Application Form. For more information on dan certificates with the WKF, email Sensei Neil Prime (nprime@shintani.ca ) or Sensei Darren Humphries (dhumphries@shintani.ca ). Title Recognition Title recognition in the SWKKF will be reserved for those individuals who represent the SWKKF in settings outside the SWKKF where titles beyond Sensei are customary. Any titles will be appointed by the Senate or recommended to the Senate for approval. All title appointments and applications will be approved by the SWKKF Senate before applying for title recognition from the World Kobudo Federation. SWKKF World Kobudo Certificate App Form The Shintani Wado Kai Karate Federation in partnership with the World Kobudo Federation will award rank titles as follows: Shihan Shihan is a master title. This title is presented to senior instructors who are involved in activities outside the SWKFF and is presented to an individual who qualifies at Rokudan or above. A Shihan does not necessarily progress to Kyoshi or Hanshi. Kyoshi Kyoshi is a master title meaning "teacher of teachers". This title is presented to senior instructors who are involved in activities outside the SWKKF and is presented to an individual who qualifies at Shichidan or above. A Kyoshi does not necessarily progress to Hanshi. Hanshi Hanshi is a master title for the headmaster of a style (it is acceptable to have more than one in the SWKKF). This title is presented to senior instructors who are involved in activities outside the SWKKF and is presented to an individual who qualifies at Hachidan or above. For more information refer to the World Kobudo Federation Website. https://www.worldkobudo.org Please e-mail Sensei Niel Prime or Sensei Darren Humphries should you need further information. e-mail address: Sensei Neil Prime (nprime@shintani.ca ) Sensei Darren Humphries (dhumphries@shintani.ca )

Historical Background of Para-Karate in the SWKKF The initiative for an equitable and fair karate environment goes back to 1985. See the Peter Ciolfi letter at the bottom of the page. 2014 Shintani Athlete with a disability and Shintani Coach become part of Karate Canada National Team and attend WKF World Championships in Bremen, Germany Shintani Coach creates Para Program for Karate Canada 2015 Shintani Athlete with a disability wins Gold at Karate Canada National Championships, Vancouver, BC 2016 Shintani Team includes Para athletes Shintani team competes at US Open winning Para Medals with two Shintani athletes with a disability (kata & kumite) Shintani Team Para athletes earn medals at the Calgary Karate Cup Shotokan Tournament 2017 Shintani team competes at Irish Open winning Para Medals with two Shintani athletes with a disability (kata & kumite) Shintani team competes at US Open winning Para Medals with two Shintani athletes with a disability (kata & kumite) Shintani team competes at Junior International Cup winning Para Medals with two Shintani athletes with a disability (kata & kumite) 2018 Shintani team competes at US Open winning Para Medals with Shintani athletes with a disability (kata & kumite) Shintani team competes at Junior International Cup, winning Para Medals with Shintani athletes with a disability (kata & kumite) Development and Growth of the SWKKF Para-Karate Committee 2018 : Para-Karate Committee began Membership was established (3 black belts, 1 senate advisor, 1 auxiliary member) The committee’s mandate was written Para-Karate rules and regulations for this event at SWKKF tournaments started to be developed The design of a training workshop for judges was discussed 2019: Mandate approved by the senate Rules and Regulations for Para-Karate division designed with WKF information as a reference Judging clinics started to be available to provide training opportunity This committee was senate approved to stand alone Preparation made for black belt training at black belt workouts 2020: Welland black belt workout hosted a Judging and Supporter training clinic Started development of SWKKF Instructor’s Manual for Para-Karate Started development of training clinics for instructors to become certified Para-Karate Instructors Started discussion on development of grading manual and grading sheets Started development of modified criteria and ranking system for Para-Karate students 2021: Development of videos i.e., how to instruct virtually (tips) Modified criteria and ranking for kyu belts established Guidelines for black belt gradings discussed Proposed budget for National Competition initiated Request for SWKKF website to include Para-Karate section – Manual was posted Began development of international competition guide 2022: Re-design SWKKF website to ensure Para-Karate Program is accessible Started discussion about marketing Para-Karate at local dojos International Competition guide posted on SWKKF website Development of more videos i.e., upper/lower body techniques, two-step flag kumite Begin training clinics for Para-Karate Instructors to become certified Confirm guidelines for black belt gradings Redesign SWKKF Website to provide a Para-Karate Program section that will be accessible and contain all Para-Karate Program resources, manuals and guidelines. Para-Karate at SWKKF Tournaments 2017: South Calgary began hosting Para divisions including Shindo (first division featured 3 competitors) 2019: First Para-Karate event at a SWKKF tournament in Welland (April 2019) Second Para-Karate event at a SWKKF tournament – Nationals (May 2019) 2020-2022 All F2F tournaments were placed on hold due to Covid-19 pandemic and public health restrictions International Para- Karate Competition with SWKKF Representation 2018 Shintani team competes at US Open winning Para Medals with two Shintani athletes with a disability (kata & kumite) Shintani Team competes at Junior International Cup winning Para Medals with Shintani athletes with a disability (kata & kumite) Shintani team member medals in Para weapons with Shindo Shintani Para team member competes kumite on podium in front of 1500 person audience 2019 Shintani team competes at US Open winning Para Medals with two Shintani athletes with a disability (kata & kumite) 2020 Para athletes compete in virtual events, both within and outside the SWKKF 2021 Para athletes compete in virtual events, both within and outside the SWKKF 2022 Para athletes compete in both in person and virtual events, both within and outside the SWKKF Future Possibilities of the SWKKF Para-Karate Program Regular in-person National Tournament with Para-Karate event Active Instructor’s training program Recognized certified Para-Karate Instructors and Judges Recognized SWKKF of Inclusion in policy and practice Increased and active Para-Karate membership in SWKKF April 15, 1985 Sensei Peter Ciolfi Letter on Para-Karate

(705) 786-0437 < Back Mariposa Wado Kai Karate Sensei Beverly Beuemann-King (705) 786-0437 mariposawadokai@gmail.com Address 755 Eldon Road, Oakwood, ON, Canada Mariposa, ON, Canada K0M 2M0 Practice Times Wednesday - 5-9 yrs - 6:00-6:45 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) Wednesday - Youth-Up - 6:45-7:45 pm / Kata Work - 7:45-8:00 pm Club Website or Social Media Notes Previous Map Next

Shintani Team Vision - To represent the SWKKF at tournaments, clinics and workshops in Canada and internationally. Team Structure Current Team Team History Expectations Committee & Staff Teams by Year Team Gallery Shintani Team Upcoming Events Title Date Time Location