Our Small But Mighty Club

Under the strong leadership of Sensei Megan Bond, we are an eclectic club with people from all walks of life. Currently, our members are all adults or young adults, many who joined our club several years ago as a family. In the past, we have had several school-age students taking part in our club. Several of our members have earned black belts, with our highest ranking members having 4th degree black belts. We work hard together to meet our own personal goals and we value the Shintani ways of humility, peace, and harmony.

We encourage you to drop by to try out a class to see if it is a fit for you. Whether you are just starting out or you have already had some karate training, you are welcome here.

Our Senseis

Sensei Megan Bond

Club Coordinator

Sensei Mike Reynolds

Sensei Melissa Lyon

Sensei Wes Lyon

Treasurer

History of Shintani Wado Kai

Wado Kai Karate is a Japanese Karate style founded in 1939 by Hironori Otsuka.

It is an amalgamation of Funakoshi's Shotokan Karate, jujutsu and kempo.

Wado Kai, means the ‘Way of Peace & Harmony”. It is one of the four major styles of Karate in Japan and remains one of the purest forms of Karate-do.

This style of karate was Brought to Canada in the 1960’s by Masaru Shintani, who was a student of master Otsuka. Sensei Shintani then founded the Shintani Wado Kai Karate Federation, of which Westcoast Wado Kai Karate Club is a member of.

Sensei Shintani and Sensei Otsuka

How We Started

The Westcoast Wado Kai Karate club was founded by Sensei’s Oliver Fitzpatrick, Melissa Lyon, and Wesley Lyon in 2013 to continue the teachings of Hanshi Masaru Shintani.

Our lead sensei of the club is now Sensei Megan Bond.

Sensei Oliver Fitzpatrick

The Wado Kai Technique

Similar to most other Karate styles, Wado Kai includes:

Basic techniques (waza), which include punching, kicking, blocking, open and closed hand strikes, and study of grappling and joint-twisting maneuvers.
Kata (sequences of techniques done against imagined attackers).
Kumite (prearranged and free-style sparring) are equally emphasized training foundations. Equally fundamental to Wado is taisabaki, or bodyshifting to avoid the full brunt of an attack, this technique was derived from Japanese swordsmanship.

There are many other facets to Wado Kai Karate that make it a unique and valuable interpretation of Karate-do.

In Wado Kai Karate, as skill and knowledge are acquired through training and concentrated effort, the student is expected to develop inner strength and calmness of character, in addition to the virtues of self-control, respect for others, and humility.

"Violent action may be understood as the way of martial arts, but the true meaning of martial arts is to seek and attain the way of peace and harmony" - Sensei Otsuka