TRADITIONAL OKINAWAN KARATE IN EDMONTON
International Okinawan Shōrin-ryū Seibukan Karate-dō Association (IOSSKA)
国際沖縄少林流聖武館空手道協会
人に優しく己に厳しくそういう精神が厳しい稽古の中で培うものである。
This spirit of being kind to others and being strict with oneself is cultivated through rigorous training.
島袋善保 Shimabukuro Zenpō, Kaichō IOSSKA.
I am an old man of Japanese ancestry trying every day to embody the technique and culture of traditional Okinawan karate-dō.
For me, a very Japanese concept, wabi-sabi 侘び寂び, captures that endeavor: "Nothing is perfect; nothing lasts; nothing is finished.
NEWS
Lucy and Murphy studying the Seibukan book.
It is the practice that changes you. It is the trying that matters. You see, this is really an art. It takes a lot of practice but now people don’t like to practice so much. They will find easier ways to do it and when that happens, the art will be lost.
Mei Chen
Jared trained with Sensei Brian Arthur at the Tōkyō Fuchū Seibukan dojo.
Thank you, Sensei Arthur, for teaching him.
We are proud to have these formidable sensei wearing our dojo gear.
Chris Denwood, Whitehaven, UK.
Paul Wilson, Kelowna, BC.
Steve Vinden, Okotoks, Alberta.
John Chioco, Laurel, Mississippi.
I teach dentō (traditional) Okinawan karate. One of the lessons it and Zenpō Sensei have, in turn, taught me is that traditional values are openness, generosity, kindness, and respect. Homophobia, racism, transphobia, misogyny, and religious intolerance are not traditional values; they are just old hatreds.
Craig and Clayton at the Karate Day demonstration in Naha on 26 October 2025. They radiate the rigor and discipline of Seibukan. I am very proud of how they represented the dojo in Okinawa.
Clayton, Jared, Genna, and Craig with Zenpō Sensei and Zenshun Sensei at the Seibukan hombu (headquarters) dojo in Chatan, Okinawa.
I am proud that all of them made the effort to get there. We believe it's essential for our seniors to train with the best Seibukan sensei in the world, not as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but as regularly as possible, so they can bring back what they learned to elevate the karate of our dojo.
Clayton, Craig, and Jared at hombu dojo in Okinawa.
Genna training at hombu dojo.
The spirit of our dojo: Craig and Genna after participating in the Karate Day demonstrations in Naha, Okinawa on 26 October 2025.
Seibukan karateka on Karate Day 2025, Naha Okinawa.
Our dojo members are beside and behind Zenpō Sensei, who is in the center, wearing a cap.
It's always a happy occasion when a student comes to their first class. Here, Martin gets one-on-one tutelage from Lucy.
Welcome to the dojo, Martin!
The Seibukan banner that hangs in our home, signed by Zenpō Sensei, Zenshun Sensei, and Zenei Sensei.
Training in Okinawa
Lucy and Doug with Zenpō Sensei and Zenei Sensei, May 2025.
We go to Okinawa regularly because Zenpō Sensei is unequivocal that it is necessary:
Karate is from Okinawa, so you must go back to Okinawa and see what we do; every karate technique you must correct in Okinawa. Make sure you visit your sensei and feel all Okinawan people.
Please visit Okinawa, to feel traditional Okinawan karate, and eat Okinawan food and breathe Okinawan air. Many things you have to experience in Okinawa.
Our dojo funds instructors and senior students to travel to Okinawa to learn from the finest Seibukan sensei in the world. In October 2024 three went there, as the Canadian representatives at the 62nd anniversary celebration of Seibukan. Craig stayed for two weeks; Lucy and Doug were there for a month. It was demanding, illuminating, and marvellous.
Lucy and Doug returned to Okinawa for three weeks in May. They will be going again for a month this coming March. It will be their ninth trip since 2014, despite not going for four years because of the COVID pandemic. They will be joined by three other members of dojo who will be taking their first trip there. Three other dojo seniors went in October. It was Clayton's fourth trip, Craig's second, and Jared's first. They later joined by Genna later in the month.
Our members get to Okinawa often, because we think it's essential. Our purpose is to be a bridge between the karate and culture of Okinawa and good people in Canada seeking to move with more grace through life.
Araha Beach, where we stay in Okinawa.
In what's become a happy tradition, we had lunch with Sensei at a Chinese restaurant. We loved the conversation over good food, as Sensei reflected on karate, Okinawa, and his life.
When we were in Okinawa, Zenpō Sensei told us he would never change kata. Our dojo will always follow his example; we will, to the best of our abilities, be faithful to the tradition that has been passed down to us.
Our last training session this trip was at the Urasoe Dojo this very wet morning. Kyan-san gave us this beautiful sampler that she wove herself. Weaving is a traditional Okinawan art form.
We get treated so well here by such good people. Lucy and I are going to miss them so much as we head home. "Ichariba chodee": "Once we meet, we become family."
Our Edmonton Dojo
9000 km from Okinawa, we are doing our best to uphold the great tradition of Seibukan karate-dō.
