Page 12 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 72

12 Issue #72 November 2018 www.sportsenergynews.com

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Continued from page 11 Paquette. “Winning teams also
could win cash prizes and one
By Jim Riddell, Pacifica van,” says Paquette. lucky team can drive away in a

Seaway Karate Club “We encourage the team to be new Ram truck and $5,000 for
creative in the picture as teams
their association.”
are chosen as winners and
The History of Karate receive great prizes and rewards The program is open to any

for their team.” novice minor hockey team
his is the time of year when many new students are beginning their
Tkarate journey so I thought it appropriate to touch on the history and This program can be of great within 150km of the Riverside
evolution of this martial art. Little is known about the early origins, but benefit to the community. Auto Group dealership.
the popular theory is that it first came to China from India, brought by a
Buddhist monk named Daruma who taught Zen Buddhism and Chinese “Any help in promoting local “We wish good luck to
boxing to monks at the Shaolin Temple. From there the early form of self- all participating teams and
defence made its way to Okinawa, a small island located approximately minor hockey teams is great. encourage them to be creative
half-way between mainland China and Japan. The residents of three Participating teams bond to
villages, Shuri, Naha, and Tomari, and their surrounding areas learned this create a theme which might in their team photo at the
new form of fighting to help protect themselves. The name given to this help them in taking a picture dealership,” says Paquette.
fighting style was Tode, meaning “Chinese hand”. The three villages were
not very far apart and as the art evolved, with the farmers, fishermen, and that depicts the traits we talked Don’t miss your chance to
others adapting to suit their specific needs, information was shared. What about in the program,” says win big for your team!
was being taught in each of these villages would eventually influence the
various styles of karate that are being practised worldwide today.
Brought to you by Scores
Karate was first demonstrated in Japan in 1917, but it didn’t catch on until
five years later when Jigaro Kano, the founder of Judo, invited Gichin Athlete of the Month
Funakoshi to do a demonstration for the ministry of education at the
famous Kodakan in Tokyo, and then stay on to teach. Kano’s sponsorship Shannon McRae
of Funakoshi was instrumental in getting the sport recognized in Japan, as
previous to this demo it had been considered an “Okinawan peasant art” Grade: 12
and would never have been accepted without his endorsement. In Okinawa Age: 18
practitioners trained in regular clothing but for this demonstration, taking School: Tagwi
place in front of royalty, dignitaries, and educators, Kano suggested that Home Town: North Stormont
Funakoshi wear a judo gi (uniform) to look more professional. The name November’s Athlete of the Month is courtesy
was also changed from “Chinese hand” to “empty hand” which was much of Tagwi Secondary School varsity girls’
more politically correct. As a result of this demonstration karate was rugby 7s coach Scott Mackenzie. “She’s our
implemented in the public school system, then two years later in 1924, the team captain and scrum-half. Shannon has
first university karate club was established at Keio University, and by 1932 a great sense of the game and knows how to
all major universities had karate clubs. The karate gi is not the only thing communicate out on the pitch,” he says. Shannon helped lead Tagwi to
that Funakoshi borrowed from Judo. Adopting the same coloured belt and several victories in their recently concluded 2018 season.
dan rank system as judo uses, on April 12th 1924 Funakoshi presented the Shannon is a multi-sport athlete who enjoys rugby, hockey, soccer, basketball,
first karate black belts to seven of his senior students. and swimming. She plans to pursue kinesiology after graduation.

“I like the fierce competition, the team building, and the opportunity for
Karate had made its way to North America in the 1930’s brought by
Japanese immigrants who continued to train quietly. After World War self-improvement that playing rugby provides,” she says.
Her sports hero is her dad.
II, many American servicemen were taught by Okinawan and Japanese
masters, later returning to the USA to open their own dojos. In Canada it Delivery Available
is Masami Tsuruoka who is credited with making karate popular. Born in
Canada, Tsuruoka trained for more than a decade in Japan with Chito – ryu ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT
founder master Dr Tsuyoshi Chitose. Returning to Toronto in the early SOUP, SALAD AND FRUIT BAR
1950’s Tsuruoka opened Canada’s first karate dojo, oversaw the sport and
helped in the initial development of karate in this country. Karate has
come a long way from its origins in China, Okinawa, and Japan. It is now
considered a mainstream sport worldwide and in 2020 it will become an 960 BROOKDALE AVENUE, CORNWALL
official Olympic sport. 613-935-7777