Karate club joins Lindsay’s Wado Kai school
Posted By Terrance Gavan
Posted 7 months ago
It's Friday night in Minden and five-year-old Courteney Semach is dressed in full karate "gi" replete with shiny sparring gloves.
Standing in the Physical Journey Fitness studio, turned karate dojo, Courteney Semach's face is a picture of pure concentration.
Courteney, who stands well under five feet, is sparring against Wado Kai karate sensei Kris Reynolds, a third degree black belt, who tips the scales at about 210.
Courteney weighs all of 80 pounds with her karate gi soaking wet.
But here she is, feet poised, fists raised, perched on one leg, hearkening a smaller, blonde-haired version of Lara Croft in a scene from Tomb Raider.
In a blink, and at the behest of her sensei, Reynolds, who asks Courteney to tumble a quick combination in his direction, Courteney obliges, and delivers a right fist, followed quickly by a right foot which connects to Reynolds's mid-section.
"Good kick Courteney," says sensei Kris, tapping gloves with her as they finish their short sparring session in the gym above the copy centre on Main Street.
To the uninitiated, or those unfamiliar with the sport and the art of karate, this appears just a tad incongruous.
But if you know some of the history behind this martial art of the opening hand, you already know that this is an important part of process.
Martial arts, and karate especially, is based on the simple but effective art of leveling size and weight advantage, through the equally simple notion of leverage and gravity.
In karate, as in life, the battle does not always go to the largest, nor the race necessarily to the swiftest of foot.
Reynolds says that the Wado Kai club – based in Lindsay, with Minden as a satellite – embraces all of the finer points of the karate way.
The Wado Kai karate school mission statement says that "physical ability is only part of our program: honesty, humility, honour, strength of character, and most of all, a pure heart, are the focus of our training and the essence of every successful karate-ka."
Don't let the high-falutin' rhetoric get in the way. Stand in the cheap seats on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday evening in the gym turned Wado Kai dojo in downtown Minden, and you become immediately aware that the words ring unerringly true.
This is a sport that's steeped in old grace, dating back to a time in the Far East when the art of the open hand was a necessary bulwark against tyrants and fools – sometimes encompassing both at once.
Today it's a process, an art, and a pretty nice way of getting into, and staying in, shape.
Reynolds joined the Lindsay Wado Kai club in 1996, and has attended events all over the world as part of an internationally recognized team.
His job is to act as mentor for two local black belt senseis (teachers) Gord Seabrooke and Sid MacKeigan.
Seabrooke said that he had moved away from the sport for a time, but the interest was rekindled about a year ago.
"I knew that Minden needed something, but we didn't have it," says Seabrooke. That something was karate, and Seabrooke says his interest in karate has been reinvigorated through his work with the local Minden kids. "We started out at Hyland Crest, and we were there for about a month."
He says he managed to work out an agreement with the owners of Physical Journey Fitness and the club has been there since last summer.
Both MacKeigan and Seabrooke said they recognized a need to get their club involved with an established organization and so they approached Wado Kai in Lindsay.
They were accepted into the fold and Seabrooke says that Reynolds, with his huge background, dedication and friendly teaching style was the perfect fit as the liaison instructor and the man responsible for overseeing the progress of the fledgling Minden club.
"They have a nation wide organization," says Seabrooke. "The big thing with being under an umbrella is it helps me and Sid to continue to learn."
Seabrooke says that the club is growing slowly and right now it has a strong contingent of mostly young kids. But Seabrooke is also looking forward to seeing an influx of older students and adults as soon as the word begins to spread.
For now, both MacKeigan and Seabrooke handle the bulk of the teaching chores, with Reynolds coming up one night per week to oversee the progress of the young students.
Seabrooke adds that he will be travelling to Lindsay to work out with his own sensei with the goal of attaining a second degree black belt in Wado Kai karate.
"The Wado Kai club has very stringent teaching standards, which is why we decided to join," says Seabrooke. He adds that they were also drawn to the philosophy.
The school states that it has a goal based on values of "kindness and humility."
Wado Kais states: "Our goal is to move into the future with ties to the past, developing confident individuals who will be positive role models."
For further information about Minden's Wado Kai club please feel free to contact Gord Seabrooke at 286-3151. Or pop by the dojo from 6:30 - 8 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
