Karate does not have any racial, gender or other restrictions

What is Karate? Karate is a Martial Art born on the island of Okinawa, and it is based on Chinese and local ancestors systems. During few centuries of history Karate proved  its vitality and flexibility in adapting to the modern world.

The big advantage of Karate is that anyone can practice this Martial Art, regardless of age, race, gender or social origin. Everyone can find something interesting while practising Karate: self- and health improvement, cultural studies, self-defence, sport, discipline, etc. In fact, Karate is an ideal tool for cultivating those qualities.

Toronto Suiken Bugeikai is very pleased to have this opportunity to make available a Traditional Okinawan Karatedo programs at the Herbert H. Carnegie Centennial Centre (Arena) and Earl Bales Community Centre.

Traditional Karate vs Sport Karate

Sometimes people are interested what is the difference between Traditional Karate and Sport Karate. The main difference is in the ultimate goal of both phenomena. The goal of Sport Karate is achievements in tournaments and everything is subordinate to that goal. That also limits Sport Karate to just a set of rules, and it does not use the entire arsenal available in Karate.

In contrast to Sport Karate, the goal of Traditional Karate is the development of a complex and better person. The main approach of Traditional Karate  is: perfection of technique in order to perfect your mind. This means you become a better, more natural person through rigorous Traditional Karate training. Spiritual and physical development of a person is the ultimate goal of Traditional Karate. Sport is just a small part of Karate. Traditional Karate is more complex.

Karate is incompatible with aggression, Karate is intended to make you better

Karate does not cultivate violence, contrary to popular cultural perception. In fact, the main priority of Karate is avoiding violence. In confirmation of that, one of the patriarchs of modern Karate, Gichin Funakoshi, said: Karate ni sente nashi. That means there is no first attack in Karate. In other words, Karate and aggression are incompatible.

Only self-development and suppression of the Ego lead to avoiding aggression and violence. If your spirit is calm and your body is ready, there is no need to fight; you have already won. The best fight is the one which hasn’t taken place. In a real environment, in contrast to competitions, there exists a possibility of facing a life or death situation. Sometimes conflicts can arise from a wrong word, but if you are ready, that cannot disturb your calmness or provoke you to violence.

The primary goal of  Traditional Karate is self-development, which includes both spiritual and physical training trough Traditional Karate practice.

We hope you will enjoy Traditional Karate training like millions of people do worldwide.

Karate elevates your confidence and health

Children and adults have a lot of fun during Karate practice. For kids, it is a fun activity which improves their health, discipline and self-confidence. In the modern environment, full of various stresses, those qualities are very important to achieve.

Training sessions are held mostly three times per  week. That type of schedule allows us to develop and maintain students’ skills. Our training environment is always friendly. A very important tradition in Karate is the involvement of more skilful senior students as aids for their younger fellow students, usually to help them in mastering difficult techniques and concepts. This creates a unique atmosphere of camaraderie and team bonding.

Toronto Suiken Bugeikai is proud to invite everyone to attend Traditional Okinawan Karatedo training sessions. We sincerely hope that our programs can bring benefits to your life and to our community.

From Monday, January 30, 2023 (tentative) (before that only Earl Bales CC: Monday, Wednesday and Friday):

Herbert H. Carnegie Centennial Centre (Arena) – Monday, Wednesday and Friday (Silver Blade Room second floor)  – with some exceptions(for details please contact Programs and Schedule)

Earl Bales Community Centre – 4169 Bathurst St, North York, ON M3H 3P7 Tuesday and Thursday in Room #2

Our lineage in Okinawan Karatedo Kobudo Shorinryu Matsumura Seito:

Matsumura Sokon > Matsumura Nabe > Hohan Soken > Nishihira Kosei > Ricky Rose