Nantanreikan Seibukan Karate Dojo

Shimabukuro Zenpo Hanshi took Lucy and I to the tomb of his father, Shimabukuro Zenryo Hanshi, the founder of Seibukan. It was a very special moment for us. The foundation of karate-do is a reverence for its traditions and past masters. And long ago, before karate was even called karate, it was often practiced on the flat area just in front of Okinawan tombs.

For the person who takes karate-do seriously, one of the most important elements of training is regularity and consistency. We are happy to be able to offer five classes per week. Most of our students can't come to every class, but some still practice at home.
I visit Toronto, where my son lives, a few times a year, and my usual practice place there is the Central YMCA on Grosvenor St, which has a couple of lovely studios on its top floor. That's where I trained today.

空手には人種も国境もない。 Karate ni wa jinshu mo kokkyō mo nai.
Karate has neither race nor borders.
... Shimabukuro Zenpo Hanshi Supreme Instructor Shorin-ryu Seibukan
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This photo is a few years old and Nik's wearing a green belt now, but she still makes the dojo a better place every time she steps into it. This picture embodies the spirit we seek together.

In our dojo, there is a specific dynamic. On the one hand, we work very hard to make our technique conform as much as possible to the standards of Seibukan and Shimabukuro Hanshi and Hanshi Smith. On the other, we recognize that each karateka (practitioner) comes to us with and works through their own strengths and limitations, and that applies to the human experience well beyond punching and kicking and stances.
The mission of Nantanreikan Seibukan is to mediate and cultivat...e the relationship between the individual and the ryu-ha (our system of karate), in accordance with the particular values of the dojo and the particular way that we interpret and understand the tenets of Seibukan and the lessons of our teachers.
One of our seniors, Jonathan Banks, is extraordinarily intelligent, highly educated, and very articulate. He has a Doctorate in Natural Science in Geochemistry, Minerology, and Hydrogeology from the Freie Universität Berlin and is a leading research scientist in geothermal energy. Unlike many scientists, he also has a deep familiarity with some Asian and Western religious and philosophical traditions. I am encouraging him to write on the way of karate from his singular and well-informed perspective.
Here is the latest essay he sent to me, "Casing the Promised Land," which crosses Christianity, Hinduism, and Judaism to come to a thoughtful and very personal but widely applicable observation on the practice of karate:
http://nantanreikan.ca/…/Casing-the-Pro mised-Land%20-%20Jon…
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Even our youngest member doesn't shirk dōjō sōji (cleaning the dojo floor after each class).
For us, the dojo is a special place and we take responsibility for it. We do not expect anyone to clean up after us, and since we share the space with dance classes and other groups, we feel obligated to leave it in the best condition we can for them.

We are very proud to be part of an impeccable Okinawan tradition in Seibukan. Lucy and I have trained in Okinawa four times since 2014; our senior student Clayton has done so twice. We believe that going to the birthplace of karate and gaining even a little understanding of its culture is crucial for any serious karateka.
Here, Lucy is training on Toguchi Beach, north of Chatan.

One of our new students, David, getting some one-on-one instruction.

"The most important thing about karate is basic training and communication.
"Many young today will train extremely hard for a little while and then stop. This is not good. You must train little bit, but you must train often. Consistency is what creates a great martial artist, not brute strength. Karate is not for a rank, glory or for revenge. It is way of life: A way to protect yourself, a way to build health, and a way to bring people together. When we train, we train as a c...ommunity, so that we can push each other to become better than yesterday. I think of a dojo like a melting pot, it can bring many different people to do the same thing, at the same time, in the same place. It makes people homogeneous. This type of environment creates peace. Karate is about creating peace."
Higa MInoru Sensei

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Shimabukuro Hanshi, 10 dan, the head of Seibukan.

Happy New Year, from the Nantanreikan Seibukan Karate Dojo.

Clayton with other students practicing Passai at hombu dojo.

Clayton, one of our senior students, was in Okinawa and attended the last class of the year at hombu (HQ) dojo. He also participated in the year-end sōji (cleaning) of the dojo. Here he is with the head of Seibukan, Shimabukuro Zenpo Hanshi.

David, in black, came to his first class this week.
We're a small dojo, and that's important to us. We're not commercial; we're a registered non-profit and none of the instructors gets paid. So we aren't under pressure to enroll as many students as possible.
Being a small dojo means no one ever gets lost in the crowd. On David's first day, three instructors rotated to work one-on-one with him for the whole session. This is typical for a first-timer. We are dedicated to insuring that every student gets some individualized attention every class.

Clayton and Kudaka-san training together in the Ozato Dojo, Okinawa.
One of the wonderful things about being part of Seibukan karate-do is the opportunity to train in Okinawa, the birthplace of karate. This is Clayton's second visit there. Lucy and I have been four times. Some of our members are planning to join us when we go in 2019.

Shimabukuro Zenshun Sensei demonstrating gyaku tsuki (reverse punch).

"The most important thing about karate is basic training and communication.
"Many young today will train extremely hard for a little while and then stop. This is not good. You must train little bit, but you must train often. Consistency is what creates a great martial artist, not brute strength. Karate is not for a rank, glory or for revenge. It is way of life: A way to protect yourself, a way to build health, and a way to bring people together. When we train, we train as a c...ommunity, so that we can push each other to become better than yesterday. I think of a dojo like a melting pot, it can bring many different people to do the same thing, at the same time, in the same place. It makes people homogeneous. This type of environment creates peace. Karate is about creating peace."
Higa MInoru Sensei

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"The most important thing about karate is basic training and communication.
"Many young today will train extremely hard for a little while and then stop. This is not good. You must train little bit, but you must train often. Consistency is what creates a great martial artist, not brute strength. Karate is not for a rank, glory or for revenge. It is way of life: A way to protect yourself, a way to build health, and a way to bring people together. When we train, we train as a c...ommunity, so that we can push each other to become better than yesterday. I think of a dojo like a melting pot, it can bring many different people to do the same thing, at the same time, in the same place. It makes people homogeneous. This type of environment creates peace. Karate is about creating peace."
Higa MInoru Sensei

See More

"The most important thing about karate is basic training and communication.
"Many young today will train extremely hard for a little while and then stop. This is not good. You must train little bit, but you must train often. Consistency is what creates a great martial artist, not brute strength. Karate is not for a rank, glory or for revenge. It is way of life: A way to protect yourself, a way to build health, and a way to bring people together. When we train, we train as a c...ommunity, so that we can push each other to become better than yesterday. I think of a dojo like a melting pot, it can bring many different people to do the same thing, at the same time, in the same place. It makes people homogeneous. This type of environment creates peace. Karate is about creating peace."
Higa MInoru Sensei

See More