Windsor Karate Club

About

http://windsorkarateclub.ca/
http://windsorkarateclub.com/

Story

The Windsor Karate Club was founded in September of 1981 and operated out of the old Windsor Regional High School on Wentworth Road as part of the continuing education program. As the club grew and our program began to expand we felt we needed a more permanent and stable location. By 1987, we had added childrens classes and would require additional training time to meet these needs.
In July of 1988 we purchased the old Mapleton Hall in Three Mile plains. At the time, the building was unoccupied and had not been used for several years. The building had been neglected and its condition had deteriorated significantly. There were several places where the roof had collapsed and portions of the structure had begun to show the effects of prolonged exposure to the elements. In addition, the foundation was cracked in several places and it was feared that if not repaired immediately, the building might collapse. The students and parents worked tirelessly for the remainder of the summer and well into the fall repairing and bringing the old building back to life. We managed to resume classes in September of 1988 however there was still much work to be done. With the most pressing and immediate projects completed we continued working and renovating over the next few years tackling items on an as needed basis when the money was available.
The style of Karate practised at the Windsor Karate Club is Shito-Ryu which has a rich and colourful history as well as an interesting and complex curriculum. The style we originally practised was Chito-ryu which although phonetically similar to Shito-Ryu are vastly different. Chito-Ryu was practised at the Windsor Karate Club from it's founding to about 1997 when Sensei David Akutagawa, our former Chief Instructor for Canada, left the Canadian Chito-Kai Association and formed Renshikan Karate-do International. The changing of styles was slow and difficult and it took about 5 years fully assimilate the new methodology and curriculum. In October of 2008 Sensei Akutagawa passed away suddenly and tragically and the technical responsibilities of Renshikan fell to its senior students. In 2013 The Windsor Karate Club became the Head Dojo and training centre for Shito-Ryu Karate Nova Scotia as members of Shito-Ryu Karate Canada. Shito-Ryu Karate Canada was founded by Sensei Allen Tanzadeh of Toronto who is also the Technical director.
The Windsor Karate Club is the oldest Martial Arts School in Hants County. All Instructors are well trained experienced black belts. Many of our students have competed Provincially, Regionally and Nationally and some have gone on to represent Canada at international events.
David Griffin is the Head Instructor and founder. He has been training for over 40 years. He is a former competitor and head coach of the Nova Scotia Karate Team and is currently an internationally certified referee.