Page 12 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 73

12 Issue #73 December 2018 www.sportsenergynews.com

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The Cornwall Girls’ Hockey

By Jim Riddell,

Seaway Karate Club Association Hosts 35th
Annual Tournament

Karate Styles Casey Leger Mississauga, and Vermont and New

York States competing. The home
n previous Karate Komments columns we have looked at how karate came side, Cornwall, had teams playing in
Ifrom China to Okinawa to Japan and from there spread to the rest of the the Novice B, Atom A, Peewee A and
world, becoming a mainstream sport in the process. In the early days of karate B, Bantam AA, and Midget BB and
in Okinawa it was referred to as Shuri-te, Naha-te, or Tomara-te; the three AA divisions.
cities from which it came. Each area had their own kata and techniques that Allan says that there are
set their versions apart from the other two. To complicate things, the cities he last weekend of October was
Ta big one for the Cornwall Girls’ approximately 380 young women
were close enough that sharing of knowledge and learning from each other
was not uncommon. There were no real formal styles, but rather masters who Hockey Association. From Friday, playing hockey in Cornwall, and the
had their own way of doing things. Formal karate styles didn’t start until after October 25 to Sunday, October 27, tournament provided opportunities
the sport gained popularity in Japan and today there are many different ones, arenas in Cornwall, Maxville, Char- for most of them. There were 12
most of which have roots to one or more of those three cities back in Okinawa. Lan, and Finch played host to the 56 divisions in which to compete, and
teams and close to one thousand young ages ranged from as young as 6 in the
Some of the more popular styles in Canada are Chito-ryu, Chito-kan, Gojo- Novice bracket to 18 in Midget. “We
ladies who participated in the 35th
ryu, Kyokushkin, Shotokan, Shito-ryu, Shorin-ryu, and Wado-ryu. In Cornwall Girls’ Hockey Association are up 20% from 2017,” says Allan,
Eastern Ontario three of those styles are quite popular – Chito-ryu, Shorin- “and this year is close to the biggest
ryu, and Shotokan. Gichin Funakoshi, known as the father of modern karate, Competitive Tournament. ever in terms of the number of games
popularized the sport in Japan by doing demonstrations for diplomats and According to tournament organizer played.”
educators, eventually establishing clubs in all major universities, and getting Bill Allan, this year’s event was The Cornwall Girls’ Hockey
karate into the school system. Funakoshi never named his style, just calling one of the organization’s biggest
it karate. He wrote many motivational messages to his students using the pen in several years, with teams from Association congratulates the 2018
name “Shoto” – to which his students added the word kan (meaning house in Montreal, Waterloo, North York, Competitive Tournament Winners:
Japanese) giving the style a name. Shotokan Karate tends to have deeper and LEVEL GOLD SILVER
longer stances than those of other styles. Shorin-ryu karate became a formal Novice B ........Smiths Falls Cubs ......................Cornwall Typhoons
style in 1933, founded by Choshin Chibana but in reality much older than that. Atom C ...........Glengarry Highlanders ..............Russell Coyotes
Chosin’s instructor was Anko Itosu, who was the top student of Matsumura, Atom A ........... Gloucester Stars .........................Cornwall Typhoons
who is credited with being the founder of Shuri-te. Shorin-ryu tends to have Peewee C ........Clarence-Rockland Lightning ...Ottawa Ice
higher, narrower, and more natural stances than those of Shotokan. Chito- Peewee B ........Canton Blades ............................Gloucester Stars
ryu – this is the style that we teach at Seaway Karate – was developed by Peewee A ........Nepean Wildcats ........................Cornwall Typhoons
Tsyuoshi Chitose in 1946 while living in Japan. Chitose, a native of Okinawa
Bantam A ........Norfolk-Potsdam Northstorm ....Nepean Wildats
was a medical doctor and also the grandson of Shuri-te founder Matsumura. Bantam AA .....Waterloo Ravens ........................Cornwall Typhons
Dr. Chitose blended Shorin and Shorei-ryu, creating a style with higher more
natural stances, with many dojos of this lineage placing an emphasis on self- Midget B ........Nepean Wildcats ........................Ottawa Ice
defence. Midget BB ......Vermont Stars ............................Cornwall Typhoons
Midget A.........Kanata Lady Sens ......................Kanata Rangers
The biggest difference between styles is usually in the different katas that are Midget AA ...... Gloucester Stars .........................Laval-Montreal
taught and are somewhat specific to each style. Several katas are common to
many different styles and have only minor variations. The Pinan/Heian series The Cornwall Colts
of five katas was introduced into the Okinawan school system in 1895 by Anko
Itosu and were later adopted by many different styles. The Naihanchi/Tekki and all Jr A teams
FPO Regardless of style, most dojos share the same components at class – doing have hung banners
series of kata is another that is commonly shared by many styles of karate.
across Canada
There are many more similarities between styles than there are differences.
a warm-up/work-out, basic technique drills, pad drills, self-defence drills
to honour and
along with specific specialty training such as pressure points, weapons, or
tournament/grading preparation. If you ask any karate practitioner which style
pay tribute to the
is best, it is human nature to be biased to the style that they practise. All styles
of karate are very good - it comes down to the knowledge and experience of
Humboldt Broncos
the dojo’s instructor team, the seminars and clinics that they have attended, and
the methods that they use in passing on their knowledge to the next generation for the 20018/19 Season
of karate students.