Shotokan Karate Thunder Bay
Volunteer Pool P7A 4A2 Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

"I have seen the best karate. All that really matters is what kind of human being you are." - Masami Tsuruoka

Today I went back to this old method of training I learned in karate, with ankle weights to improve my kicks.

Congratulations to Max for getting his blue belt.

Congratulations to Cory Halverson for receiving his black belt.

Congratulations to Zach for receiving a brown stripe.

Congratulations to Micha for earning a brown belt.

Kay and Masami Tsuruoka Sensei’s have been laid to rest together. Wednesday the fifth of August 2020. They opened the first Karate Dojo together in Toronto in ...1959, 1499 Queen St. West. Most Canadian martial Artists owe a debt of gratitude to these two wonderful people. Kay Sensei was the first female Black Belt in Canada! Masami Sensei trained in Japan with the famous Dr. Chitose, then moved to Canada! They then became our great fortune! Taihan Arigato Gosaimasita!!! (The highest level of thank you)! Thank you Sensei Monty Guest for the original picture and thank you to Shane Finigan for all the work to produce this memorial of The beginnings of Karate in Canada, resting together forever! RIP please feel free to copy and place this picture to honour this amazing couple in your Dojo! Proudly Canadian Scott Hogarth

We are open! Outdoor classes (with distancing ). There will be outdoor classes on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, 6:30pm, at the Pavillion, across from Waverly Towers, on Red River Road. (By the top of the hill, next to the old PACI high school). Send a message or call Sensei Matt Bauman at 807 474-1342 or Sensei John Charry at 807 344-3037 for more information.

Karate classes are open again with social distancing. Join today!

After taking as many precautions as possible in regards to COVID-19, we believe a point has been reached where the most prudent and responsible decision is to follow the newest Canada Health recommendations for all fitness centers/gyms to pause operations. We take our role in our community seriously and right now our community needs us to help limit the potential spread and flatten the curve in order to protect those most at risk. Thank you for your patience and understanding and please stay safe and healthy!

Our Karate club will be closed until further notice due to the Corona-virus and the closure of the Volunteer Pool. Please contact Sensei John at 905-506-0940 or Matt at 807-474-1342 for updates.

Congratulations to Lily for receiving the student of the month award.

We are happy to welcome Nalu, who is visiting from Kyokushin Kaikan Dojo in Japan

Congratulations to Alexys who competed at the Winter Games

Welcome to some of our new members.

Alexis Parales is ready for the tournament in Toronto.

Congratulations to David Kisselgoff for getting his black belt from the Canadian Karate Federation and Tsuruoka Organization.

HIROKAZU KANAZAWA SHIHAN (RIP) PRESIDENT OF THE SHOTOKAN KARATE-DO INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION 10 DAN KARATE JUDAN !!! :-) ;-) :-) HIROKAZU KANAZAWA (RIP) ( ... Kanazawa Hirokazu, 3 May 1931 8 December 2019) was a Japanese teacher of Shotokan karate. He was the Chief instructor and President of the Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation, an organisation he founded after he left the Japan Karate Association (JKA). Kanazawa was ranked 10th dan in karate !!! :-) ;-) :-) MOVIE ABOUT THIS ALBUM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHAVZxUyems https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK4uMO9hKb4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mxVpZYH3aI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbiBzGW0tyA EARLY LIFE HIROKAZU KANAZAWA !!! :-) ;-) :-) Kanazawa was born on 3 May 1931 in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. He trained in judo during his school years, and held the rank of 2nd dan in that martial art. He began training in karate whilst at Takushoku University under the then-head instructor of Shotokan karate, Masatoshi Nakayama. Kanazawa also learned from the founder of the Shotokan style, Gichin Funakoshi, and was one of the last living karateka (practitioners of karate) to have done so. Kanazawa was promoted to the rank of 1st dan in Shotokan karate with less than two years of training in the art; promotion to 2nd dan came three years later. In 1956, he graduated from university and joined the JKA. That same year, he was promoted to 3rd dan. Kanazawa won the inaugural All Japan Karate Championship’s kumite (sparring) championship in 1957. He reportedly won the kumite competition with a broken hand. That same year, Kanazawa was among the first to graduate from the JKA's instructor training programme. In 1958, Kanazawa won the kata (patterns) title and shared the kumite title with Takayuki Mikami. Mikami and Kanazawa had been classmates and roommates for a long time and, because they knew each other well, they launched a minimal number of attacks, mainly just circling until the time was up; thus, they shared the kumite title ... !!! :-) ;-) :-) PROMOTING SHOTOKAN ACROSS THE WORLD !!! :-) ;-) :-) In January 1961, the JKA sent Kanazawa to Hawaii to establish karate schools there. He was ranked 5th dan at the time. He established a dojo (training hall) and served as the inaugural President of the Hawaii Karate Congress. In May 1963, he left Hawaii to teach in Europe and Japan. In 1966, Kanazawa became Chief Instructor of the Karate Union of Great Britain, and the JKA promoted him to the rank of 6th dan that year. In 1973, the All Japan Karate Federation promoted him to 7th dan. In 1977, Kanazawa left the JKA and founded the Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation (SKIF). Since then, he taught and promoted karate through the SKIF, including the organisation of several karate world championship competitions. Despite leaving the JKA, he was reported to maintain some ties with former colleagues in that organisation. In 1990, Kanazawa demonstrated his art at the 10th Traditional Karate Tournament International, held in Las Vegas. In 1994 and 1995, he demonstrated his art at the 14th and 15th Traditional Karate Tournaments International. Kanazawa wrote several books on karate, which include: Kankudai (1969), Moving Zen: One man's journey to the heart of Karate (2001, co-authored), Karate: My life (2003), Karate fighting techniques: The complete kumite (2004, co-authored), and Black Belt Karate (2006). He was featured in Paul Walker's book, Lessons with the Master: 279 Karate lessons with Master Hirokazu Kanazawa. The International Martial Arts Federation promoted Kanazawa to 8th dan in 1978, 9th dan in 1988, and 10th dan in 2000 ... !!! :-) ;-) :-) ENGLISH TEXT ABOUT THIS ALBUM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirokazu_Kanazawa

Congratulations to our students for doing well in the grading this week.

Another group does team kata - Heian Sandan.

Team lata practice from last Thursday.

Day 2: Clinic with Malcolm Fisher Sensei Thank you Fisher Sensei for your very educational and energetic seminar. Osu! http://www.xylenepower.com/Fisher%20Shotokan%20Introduction

Day 1: Clinic with Malcolm Fisher Sensei http://www.xylenepower.com/Fisher%20Shotokan%20Introduction

Karate practice last night.

KARATE CLINIC THUNDER BAY BY SENSEI FISHER (See Fisher Karate on Google and YouTube) OCT 26 at 1pm and Oct 27 at 10am Call 344-3037 for details, cost is $45 dollars... Location: Volunteer Pool on Martha street. SENSEI MALCOLM FISHER: was awarded his shodan in 1976 by Sensei Masami Tsuruoka, father of karate in Canada. Malcolm Fisher is the only non-Japanese person to complete the original Japan Karate Association (JKA) Instructor Training Program from which he graduated in 1985 with a B licence. In addition to meeting the physical performance requirements of this program Malcolm Fisher wrote the 24 monthly papers required for graduation. In 1985 at the 1st Shoto Cup Malcolm Fisher received his Yondan from Sensei M. Nakayama, Chief Instructor of the JKA. For about 14 years after 1985 Malcolm Fisher was the dominant heavy weight male competitor in Karate Ontario. During the period 1987 to 1998, in national and international individual and team kumite competition, Malcolm Fisher placed first or second 16 times. Gaining and retaining a place on the Canadian national karate team requires consistent winning at the provincial and national levels. For example, in 1994-95 at the Karate Ontario Grand Prix tournament held in Newmarket, Ontario, while representing Brad Jones Karate-Do and Fitness, Malcolm Fisher came first of 12 competitors in men's Black Belt Plus 80 kg kumite.

It’s a great honour to be inducted into the Canadian Black Belt Hall of Fame. I would like to thank all those involved in this great event. I’ll see you all in Gatineau, Ous