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PEI-East
Shotokan
PEI-East Shotokan had
its first practice in the summer of 2000. The dojo is located in the village of
St-Peters Bay, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It consists of a small group of
dedicated practitioners.
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Canada Shotokan
In the fall of 1972, Gene
Malec, George Quessy and Norman
Welch formed Canada Shotokan with three dojos - Westmount YMCA (Montréal, PQ),
Sept-Îles (Québec), and UBC (Vancouver, BC). Currently, Canada Shotokan has 22 dojos throughout
British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.
Norman Welch has been the president of Canada Shotokan since its
inception in 1972. Currently, Alan Kazuta (North Delta, BC), and Roland Duval (University
of Ottawa) serve as Canada Shotokan's executive vice presidents. |
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Shotokan Karate of
America
In 1956, Tsutomu Ohshima opened
the first karate dojo in the United States at the Konko Church in Los Angeles, California.
In 1957, Tsutomu Ohshima was asked
to demonstrate karate during the annual Nisei Week judo tournament held in Little Tokyo,
Los Angeles, the first public demonstration of traditional Shotokan Karate in North
America. This demonstration was the beginning of the Nisei Week Karate Tournament, now the
oldest annually held tournament in North America.
From these beginnings, Shotokan Karate of America has over 150
dojos across the US and Canada, with affiliations worldwide. SKA maintains a high level of
non-commercialism and is devoted to teaching karate at its highest levels, as a martial
art and a way of life. To this end, SKA conducts lectures, seminars and regularly
scheduled intensive training sessions for all students, as well as continuous training
program for advanced students and instructors.
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North America
In 1955, Tsutomu Ohshima, one of
Master Funakoshi’s last direct pupils (1948-1953, Waseda University, Japan), came to
the United States and was the first to teach karate in this country. That same year he
organized Southern California Karate Association, which has grown over the years to become
an International non-profit organization, Shotokan Karate of America Inc
(SKA). |
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Japan
In 1922 having mastered two major
styles in Okinawa, Master Gichin Funakoshi, then president of Okinawa Association of the
Spirit of Martial Arts, was chosen to demonstrate Karate at the first National Athletic
Exhibition in Tokyo. This led to the introduction of the ancient martial art to the rest
of Japan. At the urging of friends and officials, he remained in Tokyo to teach. |
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Okinawa
In the 16th century,
Shaolin Boxing found it way to Okinawa from China. It combined with native Okinawan
techniques to develop into several Okinawan styles.
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China
Although the origins of karate are
extremely vague, we do know that about 1400 years ago while teaching at the Shaolin Temple
in China Daruma Daishi used techniques basic to karate. Later these techniques developed
into fighting forms known as Shaolin Boxing.
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