Traditional Japanese Martial Arts in Lindsay
Training Dedicated to Individual Growth.
Traditional Japanese Martial Arts in Lindsay
Training Dedicated to Individual Growth.
Traditional Japanese Karate & Shindo
Karate Kawartha Lakes Mission Statement
Karate Kawartha Lakes is a traditional Japanese martial arts organization focusing on the Wado-Kai Karate and Shindo developed by Hanshi Masaru Shintani. Our goal is to move into the future with ties to the past developing confident, strong, principled individuals that become role models within their community.
The organization has set the following objectives:
- We will strive to offer families and youth from all economic, cultural and social backgrounds access to effective Karate and Shindo that will enable them to develop self confidence, physical fitness, focus and concentration to achieve their positive potential in life, become role models in the community and to develop valuable skills and experiences as an individual.
- We will provide training that will increase the participant’s capacity to make healthy choices, engage in positive behaviors and enhance personal safety. Training will encourage the development of a positive attitude, constructive use of leisure time and skills for stress management, which build confidence and empower participants to nurture well-being for self and for others.
- We will educate the participants on the traditions, history and culture of a traditional Japanese art form which has been preserved over hundreds of years.
Get Started Today
Unleash your full potential and learn effective Karate and Shindo with the internationally recognized instructors at Karate Kawartha Lakes.
Our dojo is a member of the Shintani Wado Kai Karate Federation, the largest karate organization of a single style in North America, founded by Hanshi Masaru Shintani, appointed as supreme instructor by Hanshi Otsuka, the founder of Wado Karate.
You will develop and improve focus, self-discipline, effective self-defense techniques and strategies, traditional Wado kata and Bunkai that will last a lifetime!
Wado Kai Karate
Hanshi Hironori Otsuka
Hanshi Hironori Otsuka
Wado, meaning “the way of peace and harmony”, is one of the four major styles of Japanese karate, and is perhaps the purest form of karate-do. It follows the philosophy of classical bujitsu, Code of the Samurai, as Sensei Otsuka applied this outlook and experience to his teaching. He rejected hardening of certain parts of the body becau
Wado, meaning “the way of peace and harmony”, is one of the four major styles of Japanese karate, and is perhaps the purest form of karate-do. It follows the philosophy of classical bujitsu, Code of the Samurai, as Sensei Otsuka applied this outlook and experience to his teaching. He rejected hardening of certain parts of the body because he believed it to be useless preparation. The aim of Wado Kai Karate is perfection of technique, as well as the development of a mind which is both tranquil, yet alive and to develop the ability to react intuitively and without hesitation in any situation. The training and concentrated effort required in Wado Kai helps the student acquire inner strength and calmness of character. Students also learn the virtues of self control and humility. Karate-do for Sensei Otsuka was primarily a spiritual discipline. In his own words: “Violent action may be understood as the martial arts, but the meaning of martial arts is to seek and attain peace and harmony”.
Basics, such as blocking, punching, kicking, and joint twisting, as well as pre-arranged or free style sparring and kata, comprise the training foundation of Wado Kai Karate. Equally emphasized and fundamental to Wado is Taisabaki – body shifting and hip movement to avoid the full brunt of an attack, which is a technique derived from
swordsmanship. This hip extension is unique to Wado karate, and separates the system from the other traditional Japanese styles. The use of the hip provides Wado practitioners with considerable advantage as techniques are driven from the core (stomach & back muscles) which, generate far more power than the arm muscles alone. Additionally, it provides 4-8 inches of additional reach or penetration, adding to the technique effectiveness. Perhaps the most significant advantage that the Wado tai-sabaki offers its practitioners is the abiltiy to use the forward hip motion and/or the retracting hip motion to generate a powerful technique. This allows the practitioner to utalize the same arm consecutively, and more importantly this facilitates the abiltiy to turn any block into a strike, or any strike to a block at any time during the execution of the technique. Otsuka Sensei, was the first to develop free sparring in training and competition to assess ones progress. Sparring didn’t exist in other styles, and Otsuka Sensei realizing the importance of this type of training created the training foundation, and competition rule system that is still used as the basis for all karate competition across all styles to this day.
Hanshi Hironori Otsuka
Hanshi Hironori Otsuka
Hanshi Hironori Otsuka
Master Hironori Otsuka was born June 1, 1892, in Shimodate, Japan, where his father, Dr. Tokujiro Otsuka, operated a clinic. As a boy he listened to a samurai warrior, his mother’s uncle, tell thrilling stories of samurai exploits. This may well have been where the first seeds were sown that would later be some of the guiding principle
Master Hironori Otsuka was born June 1, 1892, in Shimodate, Japan, where his father, Dr. Tokujiro Otsuka, operated a clinic. As a boy he listened to a samurai warrior, his mother’s uncle, tell thrilling stories of samurai exploits. This may well have been where the first seeds were sown that would later be some of the guiding principles and philosophies of Wado Karate.
Otsuka Sensei began martial arts training at five years of age under his great uncle, Chojiro Ibashi (Shintani & Reid, 1998) By age thirteen he was formally studying Shindo Yoshinryu Jujutsu, a traditional Japanese martial art from which modern judo was derived, under Yokiyoshi Tatsusaburo Nakayama. Whereas most schools at that time stressed throwing or grappling techniques, this school stressed atemi (striking and kicking techniques). His martial arts training continued even when, in 1911, he entered Waseda University to study business administration. It was during this period that Master Otsuka began studying atemi-style Toshin-Kenpo while he continued his studies in Shindo Yoshin-Ryu. When his father died in 1913, he was forced to quit school and return to Shimodate to work in a bank.
By 1921, at the relatively young age of 29, he was awarded the coveted menkyo-kaiden, designating him the successor as master of this style. A year later he began karate training under Gichin Funakoshi, the man who introduced karate to Japan from Okinawa. Otsuka Sensei had heard of Funakoshi’s visit to Japan and journeyed to Tokyo to witness the demonstration. Later, when Funakoshi decided to stay in Japan and teach karate at the Meishojuku Gymnasium, Otsuka Sensei asked to stay and study with him. In 1927 he left the bank at Shimodate,and became a medical specialist treating martial arts injuries in order to devote more time to the martial arts. In 1929, he started the first karate club at Tokyo University, and the next five years would see him establish clubs in many other universities as one of Funakoshi’s most senior students. During this time, Otsuka Sensei also had the opportunity to study with other prominent karate stylists of the time, including Kenwa Mabuni of the Shito-Ryu Style, and Choki Motobu, who was known for his emphasis on kumite and the Naihanchi kata.
Otsuka Sensei eventually began disagreeing with Master Funakoshi over developmental issues. Particularly Otsuka Sensei’s desire to develop free sparring drills, which Funakoshi denounced as an impurity in karate training, with a potential for great injury due to the deadly nature of some karate techniques. By the early 1930’s, Otsuka Sensei eventually parted company with Funakoshi, and traveled to Okinawa to learn more deeply of karate from the masters who had instructed Funakoshi. It was his belief that Funakoshi had over-simplified and over-modified several karate techniques and katas in the interests of teaching large groups of beginners. Otsuka Sensei combined knowledge of Funakoshi’s karate with his new knowledge of Okinawan karate, and added several of his own adaptations from Japanese bushido (the way of the warrior) to form Wado karate. Otsuka Sensei eventually opened his own dojo as the Dai Nippon Karate Shinko club April 1, 1934. According to records published by
Shintani & Reid (1998), the name changed to Dai Nippon Karate-do Shinbu-Kai, then to Ko-Shu Wado-Ryu Karate Jutsu, which was subsequently shortened to Wado-Ryu Karate Jutsu, followed finally by Wado Ryu. Otsuka
Sensei registered Wado karate in 1940 at Butokukai, Kyoto, and it has become one of the four major styles of Japanese karate, the others being: Shotokan, Shito, and Goju. In the same year, Otsuka Sensei organized the
All Japanese Karate-do Federation, Wado-Kai which served as the world wide sanctioning body for Wado karate and its affiliates. As early as 1934 he had developed rules and regulations for competitive free sparring to be
incorporated into his system, the first karate style to do so. These rules have been wholly or partially adopted by virtually all modern martial arts competitions.
In 1966, Otsuka Sensei received the Kun-Go-To, or “The Fifth Order of Merit of the Sacred Treasure” from the Emperor of Japan, who also bestowed upon him the Soko Kyokujitsu-Sho medal for Otsuka Sensei’s contributions to the development and promotion of karate. In 1972, he received the Shodai Karate-do Meijin Judan or “First Generation Karate-do Master of the Tenth Dan” and was designated the head of all martial arts systems within the All Japan Karate-do Federation. Otsuka Sensei passed away on January 29, 1982, after which Wado karate separated into several organizations based upon differences in leadership and teaching concepts.
Hanshi Masaru Shintani
Hanshi Hironori Otsuka
Hanshi Masaru Shintani
Hanshi Masaru Shintani, Ju-dan ( 10th Degree Black Belt) was a direct student of Sensei Otsuka (the founder of Wado Kai Karate). Hanshi Shintani founded the Shintani Wado Kai Karate Federation (SWKKF), and at the time of his death, he was the highest ranking Sensei outside of Japan. Hanshi Shintani devoted over 50 years to the study of
Hanshi Masaru Shintani, Ju-dan ( 10th Degree Black Belt) was a direct student of Sensei Otsuka (the founder of Wado Kai Karate). Hanshi Shintani founded the Shintani Wado Kai Karate Federation (SWKKF), and at the time of his death, he was the highest ranking Sensei outside of Japan. Hanshi Shintani devoted over 50 years to the study of Karate. He held ranks in Judo (Sandan), Aikido (Shodan), and Kendo (Shodan).
Born February 3, 1928 in Vancouver, British Columbia, the child of Japanese immigrants. His mother was a member of the Matsumoto clan, a respected samurai clan whose history goes back hundreds of years. Like virtually all West Coast Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, his family was uprooted and moved to the rugged interior of British Columbia for the duration of the war. One day in 1940, a group of youth, including Hanshi Shintani, came across an older man standing barefoot in the snow punching a tree and shouting. This was his initial contact with the person who would introduce him to Karate. He was named Akira Kitigawa and was a practitioner of Shorin-ryu, one of the older Okinawan Karate styles. Soon the eager young men were beating the bark off of trees with punches, blocks & kicks. After nine years under Sensei Kitigawa’s direction, Hanshi Shintani was graded to 6th dan when Kitigawa returned to Japan.
Sensei Shintani met Sensei Otsuka in 1956 at a Karate seminar. In 1958, Sensei Otsuka approached Hanshi Shintani with an invitation to join his organization, Wado Kai. Impressed with the character and integrity of Otsuka, Hanshi Shintani respectfully accepted the invitation. Over the next years, he learned the Wado kata syllabus from Takeshi Isiguro, one of Otsuka Sensei’s Sandan students residing in Canada. In 1979, Otsuka graded Hanshi Shintani to hachi-dan (8th dan). At the same time Sensei Otsuka presented him with a ku-dan (9th dan) certificate, to be revealed by Shintani after a suitable period of time had passed (he declared his ku-dan rank in 1995) and appointed Hanshi Shintani the Supreme Instructor of Wado Kai in North America. Hanshi Shintani’s devotion to and mastery of Karate was remarkable. He constantly refined and improved on the most basic of Karate techniques & concepts to advance the way of Karate. He refused to allow the vital and dynamic nature of Karate to become stagnant and ritualized, to deteriorate into a stylized dance of impractical techniques and no longer comprise a ‘real’ martial art. He said that there are no symbolic moves in Kata, every technique must be performed as if ‘real’.
Karate Kawartha Lakes
Karate Kawartha Lakes
Hanshi Masaru Shintani
“Karate Kawartha Lakes” was founded to govern the Kawartha Lakes group of dojos as the schools grow and as new schools open. The intended purpose; to provide support, and maintain standards and operations at all the schools.
Karate Kawartha Lakes direct history began when Darren Marshall, Sanford deWitt and David Blanchet opened Lindsay
“Karate Kawartha Lakes” was founded to govern the Kawartha Lakes group of dojos as the schools grow and as new schools open. The intended purpose; to provide support, and maintain standards and operations at all the schools.
Karate Kawartha Lakes direct history began when Darren Marshall, Sanford deWitt and David Blanchet opened Lindsay Wado Kai on October 2nd 1995. By 2005, as they had all moved to different parts of the province or country, Sensei Kris Reynolds continued to pass down Sensei Shintani’s teachings of kindness and humility to the Lindsay community.
Sensei Reynolds renamed the school “Kawartha Lakes Wado Kai” October 5, 2005, the first step in the creation of “Karate Kawartha Lakes”. Karate Kawartha Lakes dojo’s are not-for-profit. Our instructors teach on a volunteer basis. Their primary goal is the development of students in the art and as positive role models within their community. The money collected from students is used to meet the financial responsibilities involved with the operation of a karate school. All Instructors are required to attend Black Belt workshops monthly, as well as
tournaments and seminars when time and money permits to ensure the quality of their teaching is unsurpassed.
Sensei Kris Reynolds is the chief instructor of Karate Kawartha Lakes. He began learning Karate in 1996, and currently holds the rank of Go-dan (5th degree black belt) in Wado Kai Karate with the SWKKF. Sensie Reynolds also holds a Go-dan in Shindo, a Yodan in the World Traditional Karate Association and an I-Kyu rank in Iaido with the Canadian Kendo Federation. In 2004 he fought with Team Canada at the World Championship and Olympic exhibition of Koshiki (a full contact tournament system) where he earned a bronze medal for the Canadian team. He has trained as part of the S.W.K.K.F. National Team from 2005-2014 and has travelled around the world learning and competing to bring new knowledge and experience back to the Karate Kawartha Lakes dojos.
Sensei Reynolds is the past chair of the Bunkai committee and of the Shindo committee for the Shintani Wado Kai Karate Federation. He developed the beginning framework for the SWKKF Bunkai certification program, and helped to develop the clinic framework for the Shindo Federation of North America, including the creation of Gensho Shodan No Shindo, the current Godan grading kata recognized by the federation.
Hard contact, Bunkai and Shindo are what fuels Sensei Reynolds’ passion for the martial arts. Classes are intended for students 13 and older and will focus on Kata refinement, Bunkai and effective combative techniques. Classes are not focused on sport karate. Sensei Reynolds classes involves using physical force to hurt or damage someone or something as necessary for self-protection, and the protection of those you care about.
Rank & Grading
Karate Kawartha Lakes
Rank & Grading
The kyu belt system was designed to give students a sense of accomplishment along the long journey from white to black belt. In earlier years there was only three belts; White, Brown, and Black. Even then, the brown belt was the same belt as the original white one, only it was stained by the years of training outdoors. Karate-ka never w
The kyu belt system was designed to give students a sense of accomplishment along the long journey from white to black belt. In earlier years there was only three belts; White, Brown, and Black. Even then, the brown belt was the same belt as the original white one, only it was stained by the years of training outdoors. Karate-ka never wash their belts, only their uniforms.
Moving up through the belt system is a very personal thing and no two people will progress at the same rate. It is important to look inward to assess if you are progressing, not to ask your instructors. Physical ability is only a part of the requirement; honesty, humility, honour, strength of character, and most of all, a pure heart are the mark of a good karate-ka. When these attributes are apparent, along with the required skill level, grading may take place.
Grading for kyu belts will be held twice a year (Spring and Fall) for all Karate Kawartha Lakes dojos. All eligible students recommended by their instructor will perform and be judged by the Karate Kawartha Lakes standard.
It is important to understand, for students, and for parents, that karate is not a sport, and unlike other activities you may participate in, that students do not progress through rank as a measurement of time. Simply because a student has been training, or at a current rank for any given period does not entitle them to grade to their next rank. It is equally important for students, and parents of students to understand that although most karate schools use the same belt system to indicate rank, the standard required by Karate Kawartha Lakes is high, and
rank will not come quickly or easily.
After a grading a student will receive guidance and suggestions based on their performance, and where they should focus their training. A student passing or failing does not require explanation or justification to the student or the parent of the student.
Grading for Black Belts are arranged by the Shintani Wado Kai Karate Federation. All students being recommended for a black belt grading will first successfully pass a Karate Kawartha Lakes pre-grading.
There will be NO exceptions to this.
*Minimum time requirements are in place for those students who are exceptional at their present rank. Most students, if attending two classes per week will progress at one and a half times the minimum requirements.
Shindo
Karate Kawartha Lakes
Rank & Grading
The art of Shindo was devised by Hanshi Masaru Shintani, 10thDan, in the early 1970’s. Sensei had made the Shindo methods and principles known to Otsuka Sensei who gave it his full endorsement. He began teaching Shindo in the early 1980’s. The roots of these basics and other techniques taught by Hanshi can be traced directly back to his
The art of Shindo was devised by Hanshi Masaru Shintani, 10thDan, in the early 1970’s. Sensei had made the Shindo methods and principles known to Otsuka Sensei who gave it his full endorsement. He began teaching Shindo in the early 1980’s. The roots of these basics and other techniques taught by Hanshi can be traced directly back to his extensive Wado Kai training under Otsuka Sensei. Hanshi Shintani used the sabaki motion and explosiveness that he was renowned for to develop the same effects with the Shindo. After introducing Shindo to his students, Sensei requested that a training and grading process be put into place, based on five katas; SHINDO NIDAN, CIO BO TIE, SEI SHAN NO SHINDO, CHINTO NO SHINDO, and WANSHU NO SHINDO. Sensei had a personal influence on the final outcome of all these katas.
There are three segments of the Shindo curriculum that was devised by the Shindo committee - Basic, ntermediate and Advanced. Each course is designed to build upon one another to create a strong basis for the dan level rankings and instructor certification that will follow. The aim of the Shindo committee is to further develop and spread Sensei Shintani’s teachings and philosophies across the continent. For those of you who had the privilege of being associated with Sensei Shintani, you know how important Shindo was to him. He once held the Shindo up in front of a class at a black belt workout and said... “This is my life”. In essence, it is a gift to his students and to society which showed the true nature of all martial arts.
Karate Kawartha Lakes Instructors
Sensei Reynolds
Sensei Beuermann-King
Sensei Reynolds
Sensei Kris Reynolds started karate in Lindsay, Ontario in 1996 under Sensei Darren Marshall (a student of Hanshi Rick Levielle). He was graded to Shodan in 2001, and received his Godan in 2017. Sensei Reynolds also holds a Godan in Shindo, and a Yo-dan from the World Traditional Karate Association.
In 2004 Sensei Reynolds competed alongside Sensei Sanford Dewitt at the World Koshiki Championships (a bare knuckle full contact karate competition), which was part of the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he won a bronze medal for team Canada in the heavyweight category.
From 2006 to 2012 he was the manager, and in 2012 became the Heavyweight fighter for the Shintani National Karate Team.
In 2005, Sensei Reynolds took over as chief instructor of the Lindsay Wado Kai dojo where he had started karate 10 years earlier. In 2014, he started Karate Kawartha Lakes, a non-profit association which in 2018 included 6 dojos between the Kawartha's and Ottawa.
Kris has assisted on many national committees including as chair of the Bunkai committee and chair of the Shindo committee for the Shintani Wado Kai Karate Federation. In 2015 Sensei Reynolds created Gensho Shodan no Shindo, a Shindo kata which has been adopted by the S.W.K.K.F. as the official 5th dan Shindo grading kata.
In June 2024 Sensei Reynolds was appointed to serve on the S.W.K.K.F. Senate.
Sensei Reynolds is enormously grateful for the significant positive impact that the SWKKF and many of the SWKKF senate members had on his life and hopes he can pay that impact forward to the young karate-ka he meets.
Sensei Reynolds teaches a Karate and Shindo class each Thursday evening, as well as a range of Black Belt clinics for the region.
Sensei McCleary
Sensei Beuermann-King
Sensei Reynolds
Sensei McCleary is an instructor and a founding board member of Karate Kawartha Lakes. He began studying karate in 2008, and he received a Yo-dan (4th Degree Black Belt) in Karate from the SWKKF in June of 2021, and a Yo-dan in Shindo later that year. Sensei McCleary has been integral on both the SWKKF Bunkai and Shindo committee's, and was chosen to perform Shindo kata for the organizations official video. A former national team competitor for the S.W.K.K.F., Sensei McCleary is a very talented competitor, instructor and coach.
Sensei McCleary teaches a karate and Shindo class each Tuesday evening at Alexandra Public School in Lindsay.
Sensei Beuermann-King
Sensei Beuermann-King
Sensei Beuermann-King
is an instructor and founding board member of Karate Kawartha Lakes. Beverly began learning karate at the Lindsay dojo in 2009, and received a Nidan from the SWKKF in March of 2018. Sensei Beverly has served on the Governance committee, the reference manual committeeof the SWKKF.
Sensei Beuermann-King teaches a family karate class each Wednesday evening at Mariposa Elementary School in Oakwood.