We are members of the Japan Karate Association (JKA)

The Japan Karate Association (Nippon Karate Do Kyokai) is an educational body for the study of Shotokan karate-do that provides its members with worldwide technical standards and certification. It was founded by Master Gichin Funakoshi in 1955 in order to preserve and improve the teaching of Shotokan karate-do. The Association was approved as a corporation by the Ministry of Education in 1958, and is registered as a non-profit organization with the Government of Japan. Its Chief Instructor is Sugiura Sensei.

Note that the JKA is not the only organization which teaches Shotokan karate. Over the years, some instructors have broken away from the JKA to teach on their own, and some of their students have in turn broken away from them, and so on, so that there are now many organizations and instructors throughout the world that all teach some sort of variation of Shotokan. Some of these are good and some are not. Unfortunately, it is difficult for prospective karate students to know which are which. Membership in the JKA at least provides some guarantee of authenticity.

We are members of the Japan Karate Association of British Columbia (JKABC)

JKABC is an affiliation of karate clubs that train under the guidance of Shihan Yasuo Sakurai, 7th DAN. First brought together in 1989 under the former name ‘NASKA”, these clubs provide instruction that is consistent with the standards of the Japan Karate Association, an organization with which they are all affiliated.

Among the benefits of JKABC membership are opportunities to receive instruction from Sakurai Shihan and other visiting instructors, to attend monthly joint training sessions, to attend special events, and to participate in gradings by JKA certified examiners. Currently, member clubs operate in Chilliwack, Tsawwassen and Kelowna, in addition to North Vancouver.