Riding high on his dad's shoulders, Ben thrust his fist skyward to celebrate another amazing year at West Island Karate / Karaté De L'Île!  The Karaoke Christmas/Holiday Party is always our time to take a little break from training to enjoy some fun with our extended dojo family.  Sensei always says that Kyokushin is about training hard AND partying hard...and this evening was no exception.  We started with a veritable smorgasbord as everyone pitched-in with a delectable dish for our potluck supper.  It was a serious feast which fueled us for performing karaoke all night.  This year, we had over 1000 songs(!) to choose from (in both official languages to boot).  It's always a pleasant surprise to see some of our fellow karateka, who are normally reserved on the dojo floor, come out of their shell in a big way once they have a mic in their hand. :-)  Almost everyone took a turn on stage (as usual, Sempai Vince took more than a few :-)), and in the process, we discovered so many incredible and previously unheralded vocalists.  It was yet another unique way for the students, parents and teachers of WIK/KDL to share a common experience and bond away from the dojo floor.  Midway through the proceedings, a very trim looking Santa Claus paid a surprise visit to chat with the kids and hand out tasty candy canes to everyone.  After Santa's departure from the roof of the chalet, we continued singing into the late hours as snow started to blanket the area.  It was a beautiful and poetic start to the holiday season.  Click on the above picture to see some awesome photos from the party courtesy of Sempai David Boily (thanks Dave).  From all of us at West Island Karate / Karaté De L'Île, happy holidays and have a healthy and prosperous New Year!  Osu!

At West Island Karate / Karaté de L'Île, we know full well that being a parent is the most challenging job on the planet.  So to end November, we held our inaugural "Parents Night Out".  In essence, we babysat our students for 4 hours while their parents enjoyed a nice evening out on their own.  We suspected it would be a welcome break for them, especially during this busy time of year as everyone is getting prepared for the holidays.  The evening consisted of a fun 1 hour training (which went over by 15 minutes because the kids wanted to spar :-)), pizza from Pizza Nikkos (yumm) with sugar-free beverages, and a special screening of one of Sensei John's favorite movies:  the original 1984 version of The Karate Kid (accompanied by all the popcorn the kids could eat).  In fact, Sensei was so stoked for the movie, that he donned his "Sensei John Kreese" Cobra Kai dogi for the event which earned him both chuckles and quizzical looks from the kids! :-)  For the movie, we used a projector which gave us a HUGE 12 foot by 8 foot image and we pumped out some rockin' sound with a full PA system.  For all this, we charged a mere $20 with a portion of the proceeds going into our Fighters' Fund (the Fighters Fund is used to support our advanced students who have aspirations to fight full-contact tournaments).  Considering the hourly cost of babysitting these days, the parents recognized a good deal when they saw it, so we were quickly inundated with 48 kids! :-D  To the kids' credit, they maintained our usual dojo decorum and etiquette (for the most part :-)), so everyone enjoyed a great evening.  Some of our students had brought their friends as well and it was obvious that they enjoyed sharing this karate experience with them.  At WIK/KDL, we pride ourselves on instilling a sense of family throughout our dojo through events like this one.  The positive effect this has on all our students is obvious and the benefits far-reaching.  Thank you once again for entrusting us with your kids...it is greatly appreciated.  Click on the picture above to see all the photos from our first Parents Night Out (courtesy of your humble webmaster :-)).  Enjoy.

With the holidays fast approaching, Sensei John decided to hold gradings in both the beginner and advanced kids classes.  As anyone who has gone through a grading at West Island Karate / Karaté De L'Île knows full well, passing this test is anything but a given.  It is very demanding both physically and mentally (to say the least).  Every aspect of a student's ability is examined in great detail, including their fitness, their command of basic stances and movements, their knowledge of relevant terminology in Japanese, their execution of numerous kata with the focus, technique and conviction expected of their relative level, and of course the ability to channel all of these skills into kumite where their spirit is pushed to the limit (and often beyond).  This is strictly in keeping with Sosai's all-inclusive approach to Kyokushin Karate where kihon, kata and kumite are all equally important, and indeed, inextricably linked.  A student's performance during a grading is the obvious culmination of his/her training.  Regular and diligent training always bears fruit.  Sensei John is unapologetic for demanding so much from his students.  But in keeping the standards at the dojo extremely high, he knows they will benefit the most from this approach, not just in their training at the dojo, but also in all other aspects of their life.  Congratulations to everyone who was up to the challenge this time around.  Osu!  Click on the picture above to see all of the photos from the gradings courtesy of Sempai Anne-Marie Lemieux (thanks very much A-M).

Time for another West Island Karate / Karaté de L'Île roadtrip!  This "karate vacation" was in Quebec City where our team of 15 karateka spent the weekend with their families and competed at the Quebec Kyokushin Karate Championship. The tournament was hosted by Sensei Jonathan Ouellet of Karaté Kyokushin Québec and featured both kata and semi-contact kumite.  The extra work that our kids had put in prior to the competition was plainly in evidence as all of them did exceptionally well.  Yes, they brought home more "hardware" to add to their ample trophy collections. :-)  But most importantly, they raised the level of their karate during their preparation for the tournament.  That very significant "trophy" will stay with them long after the competition is over.  Click on the photo above for a closer look at the team and then see all the photos from the tournament in our photo gallery courtesy of Sempai Anne-Marie Lemieux and Marie-Hélène Gauthier (thanks so much ladies).  Then go check out the 11 videos of our team in action.  Very well done everyone!  Omedetou gozaimashita (congratulations)!  Many thanks to Sensei Jonathan, all the coaches and referees, and all of the volunteers for providing another wonderful tournament experience for our kids!  Osu!

This is probably the training that all the students (and teachers :-)) at West Island Karate / Karaté de L'Île look forward to the most...our annual Halloween Training!  It's the one class each year that our students get to forego their traditional dogis for whatever Halloween costume strikes their fancy.  Consequently Sensei and the Sempais go all out to ensure that it is THE most fun (and entertaining) training of the year.  But make no mistake...it is still a TRAINING.  So Sensei ensures that everyone works hard enough to earn the tasty Halloween treats that he passes out at the end of class.  It's always an amusing challenge to guess what costumes Sensei and the Sempais will don each year and they never disappoint.  This year, Sensei John came as a ringer for the Joker from the Batman movie "The Dark Knight" and was flanked by an odd-looking array of Sempais.  Sempai Manon dressed up as a fetching, sword-wielding pirate.  Sempai Victor fluttered into the gym at the Kirkland Arena on delicate wings as a disturbingly hairy-legged Tooth Fairy (complete with pliers tucked into his waistband for "emergency extractions" :-)).  Sempai Dave sported an awesome Wolverine hair-do and Adamantium claws protruding from his knuckles.  Unfortunately your humble webmaster didn't have time to get a costume, so I simply came straight from the office in my usual work garb (okay, I admit, I added the bowtie). :-)  As fun as our costumes were, the kids outshone us again!  Andrea Cappelli, one of our "karate moms", was gracious enough to share her pics of the Halloween Training with us so you can see all of the kids' crazy costumes.  Just click on her photo above to see the rest of Andrea's pictures.  Much appreciated Andrea!  As always, our annual Halloween Training was ridiculously fun and enjoyed by all.  Until next year...Osu! 

No, this is not some strange initiation/hazing ritual that we perform on newcomers to WIK/KDL. :-)  It was in fact a CPR/AED (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Automated External Defibrillator) course given at the dojo by the Heart and Stroke Foundation.  At West Island Karate / Karaté de L'Île, THE SAFETY OF OUR STUDENTS IS PARAMOUNT.  Accordingly Sensei John as well as many of the Sempais were in attendance to learn and/or refresh these valuable, potentially life-saving skills.  It was a very informative course, with much of the time being devoted to actual practice and application on various-sized "practice dummies".  This allowed us to get the proper feel and technique for giving CPR to an average adult, teen or baby.  Many common life-saving situations which might involve CPR or the use of an AED were covered (it was eye-opening how much energy was required to administer CPR for an extended period of time).  When all was said and done, each of us received CPR level A+ certification.

After a nice summer break from competitions, West Island Karate / Karaté de L'Île attended the first tournament of the season, the Budo Giant Challenge.  It was nice to see so many familiar faces and good friends once again, including Shihan Tom Flynn and Sensei Toni Flynn of Green Mountain Dojo in Vermont.  This tournament featured kata and semi-contact kumite for kids and adults, and was organized by Sensei Hugo Perez of Centre de Karaté Perez and Sensei François Desrosiers of Club de Karaté Kyokushin du Haut Richelieu.  The event was held to honor the memory of Shihan Jacques Sandulescu, an important figure in the history of Kyokushin Karate, who passed away approximately three years ago.  His widow, Sempai Annie Gottlieb, was in attendance and gave an emotional speech, reminiscing about her husband's difficult life growing up and his journey to Kyokushin Karate.  It was a beautiful tribute to Shihan Sandulescu from the person closest to him and we thank her for sharing those personal memories with all of us.  The tournament was a thoughtful celebration of Shihan Jacques Sandulescu's life and we would like to thank Sensei Hugo Perez and Sensei François Desrosiers for organizing and hosting this wonderful event.  Osu!

A group from West Island Karate / Karaté de L'Île had the unique opportunity to train with Soshu Shigeru Oyama thanks to a seminar organized by Sensei Denis Cordiero of Montreal Kanreikai Karate.  Born in Tokyo in 1935, Soshu Shigeru Oyama trained under Sosai Mas Oyama (no relation) during the early days of the development of Kyokushin Karate.  In 1966, Shigeru Oyama successfully completed the 100-man kumite and eventually founded the World Oyama Karate organization.  He currently holds the rank of 10th Dan.  One of his favorite demonstrations was the "sword catch", whereby he would stop a samurai sword being swung down at his head by catching it between his palms!  Click here to see a video of this very dangerous and impressive demonstration (obviously do NOT attempt this yourself!).  Many thanks to Sensei Denis Cordiero for organizing this very special seminar and for making it an event open to all karate organizations.  Osu!  Many thanks to Sempai Anne-Marie Lemieux (pictured kneeling in the front row above) for these photos.  Just click on them for a closer look. 

We were honoured to have our good friend Sensei Bert Janssens pay us a visit all the way from Belgium once again (click here for a short video from his visit in 2011).  Sensei Bert was Sensei John's very first opponent when he began competing in full-contact/knockdown tournaments.  As Sensei John fondly recalls, their very first word to each other was "KIAI"! :-)  And as often happens in this strange sport known as Kyokushin Karate, they became the best of friends after literally beating the tar out of each other with bare knuckles! :-)  We were fortunate enough to have Sensei Bert teach and train with us for two nights at Karaté de L'Île this week.  The training was full of Sensei Bert's informative and unique training methods, including his patented "jumping-on-the-spot kata" and supremely disorienting "spin-o-rama mawashi geri relay race" (Sensei Bert claims that Belgians are particularly good at the latter because of their uncanny ability to function under the influence of large amounts of alcohol). :-)  Too much fun!  Bert Sensei, thank you so much for teaching us once again.  Please come back to Montreal soon.  Osu!  Click on the photos above to peruse larger versions.

It was a glorious, sunny August day - the perfect day to celebrate Karaté de L'Île's first anniversary!  Situated in Ile-Perrot, Karaté de L'Île opened its doors almost exactly a year ago to the day, and immediately filled a void for quality Kyokushin Karate instruction in the area.  So on this day, Sensei John decided to do something special and hold our usual Saturday classes outdoors in the parking lot of the dojo.  This gave his students the opportunity to display the technique, attention to detail, spirit, unbridled fun :-), and sense of family that are the hallmarks of training at West Island Karate and Karaté de L'Île.  Many of the kids looking on decided to jump in with both feet and train with us.  From the smiles on their faces (as well as on their parents' faces) both during and after class, it was evident that they had a blast.  We then capped off a very fun day by serving fresh corn-on-the-cob and refreshments for everyone.  Thank you to all the instructors, students, friends and family who came out to help and support us on this special day.  Fortunately for us  our resident professional photographer, Sempai David Boily, was on hand to document the celebration with his unique photographic eye.  Dave has contributed a bounty of incredible pictures for this site over the years, but these are among his best if not THE best (Dave Sempai...you definitely outdid yourself this time...thank you for all your time, energy and generosity).  Just click on the picture at left to see his entire photo album (all 198 shots) of our KDL Open House.  Happy Anniversary Karaté de L'Île!  Osu!

The City of Pincourt's annual Firemen's Day is quite the wingding!  It begins with an impressive parade of shiny red firetrucks winding their way through the streets of Pincourt with sirens wailing.  Eventually they make their way to the main celebration site at Bellevue Park where there are assorted amusements for the kids (including a ridiculously tall inflatable slide), a huge stage featuring a live band, fresh corn-on-the-cob, firefighting demonstrations, and some incredible fireworks in the evening.  This year, Karaté de L'Île was part of the festivities.  Led by Sensei John, Sensei Steve and Sempai Manon, a large contingent of KDL students of all ages and levels demonstrated kihon, kata, nunchaku kata, kumite and tameshiwari.  The demo was enjoyed by parents and kids alike, in particular when they were given the opportunity to participate in the class themselves. :-)  Karaté de L'Île would like to thank the City of Pincourt for allowing us to share our karate with the local community...it was an honor and a ton of fun!  Click the picture above to see more photos from our demo (courtesy of your humble webmaster).  Osu!

Grading time!  It's always an exciting time for all of the students at West Island Karate / Karaté de L'Île.  It's a time for each student to take stock of themselves, in as honest a manner as possible, because there is simply no alternative.  The grading process forces you to check your ego at the door because it is unsympathetically revealing.  Weaknesses as well as strengths are laid bare for everyone - the Senseis, Sempais, your fellow students, parents, friends and YOURSELF - to see.  As you climb the ranks, the hurdles put before you become higher and the challenges more daunting.  You begin to appreciate and embrace the meaning of OSU in addition to leaning on the support of your fellow students to get you through it.  It is an extremely humbling - and as Sensei John often points out - very PERSONAL experience.  In particular, Sensei always emphasizes that THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT A GRADING is that you come away from it having LEARNED something.  For those up to the task, this invaluable, self-taught lesson can be very rewarding.

That was certainly the case for the trio of Stella, Philippe and Isaiah.  They began their training at West Island Karate between the ages of 4 to 6 respectively, and after almost 11 years(!), they earned their Shodan today having passed a grueling and exacting grading.  At the other end of the age scale ;-), Denis pushed his physical limits to their maximum to also earn his Shodan.  Even more impressive was Sempai Manon who went through the longest and most difficult grading of the day to earn her Nidan.  Omedetou gozaimashita (congratulations) Sempais!  OSU!  And a hearty congratulations to all our candidates of all ages and levels who successfully passed their grading on this day.  Well done!  Click here to see some photos of the grading courtesy of your humble webmaster.  Osu! 
 

The 2013 Canadian Junior Kyokushin Championships was very much about new beginnings.  After 11 years of hosting our annual tournament at the Kirkland Arena, Sensei John decided to move it to the Bob-Birnie Arena in Pointe-Claire.  This beautiful and spacious facility allowed us to provide an even better tournament experience, down to the smallest amenities like brighter lighting, a more intelligible sound system and a fully equipped lunch room.  A huge thank you goes out to Gilles Girouard, the section manager at the Bob-Birnie Arena, and the rest of the staff there for going the extra mile to accomodate us and ensure all our needs were met.  They were beyond helpful.

Speaking of the lunch room, the food sold there was provided by former West Island Karate student, Liz Sanderson.  All profits from those sales went to the West Island Cancer Wellness Centre in Beaconsfield.  And once again, as in recent years, Sensei John made a donation to her organization on behalf of the volunteers with a portion of the proceeds from our tournament.

The Canadian Junior Kyokushin Championships always strives to provide the best refereeing possible.  It is obviously important to recognize and reward our competitors' efforts accordingly, but primarily, quality refereeing ensures the safety of the competitors during kumite which is paramount to us.  This year, many of our Sempais were able to contribute in this regard for the first time, most after years of competing at the junior level themselves.  Like last year, they were combined into teams with more experienced referees under the watchful eyes of Sensei John's good friend, Sensei Hugo Perez.  Sensei Hugo, and the many Senseis and Sempais who have taken his refereeing course, kindly volunteered once again to lend their expertise to support us and to help provide a great experience for their own students who competed.  Thank you once again to all of them...domo arigato gozaimashita.  Your time and energy was very much appreciated.

Many students from Sensei John's second dojo in Ile-Perrot, Karaté de L'Île, were able to compete in our tournament for the very first time.  They were all truly winners simply for participating and gaining such valuable life experience.  It was particularly satisfying to watch the younger students, who have only been training with us since Karaté de L'Île opened its doors last August, display their training and spirit on the competition floor (while their parents displayed even greater spirit in the grandstands :-)).  These "rookies" augmented the "usual suspects" from West Island Karate, making for a very formidable team.  They had no choice but to be at their best as the skill level of the participants from all competing dojos was extremely high as always.  Thank you to all the Senseis, Sempais, coaches, parents, and of course the competitors, for making this another memorable tournament.  In particular, we would like to thank Sensei Rene Cruz and his entire team for making the drive up from Rochester, New York, as well as Sensei Jonathan Ouellet and his team who came in from Quebec City to support us.

Lastly, on behalf of Sensei John, thank you to all the volunteers who donated their time and energy to help us put on the 2013 Canadian Junior Kyokushin Championships.  We say this every year, but it bears repeating that we literally could not do this without you.  Because of your efforts, we once again provided an incredible experience for our own kids as well as the many others in the Kyokushin community.  Thank you.  And thanks to our own Marie-Hélène Gauthier (who recently decided to join her kids in this crazy adventure known as Kyokushin Karate by training with us), we have over 500 awesome photos of the tournament to share with you.  Much appreciated Marie-Hélène!  Until next year...OSU!

An enthusiastic team of over 40 competitors from West Island Karate / Karaté de L'Île descended on the beautiful campus of John Abbott College to attend the Yukan Karate Championship.  Organized by Sensei Denis Cordiero of Montreal Kanreikai Karate, this tournament featured kata, weapons kata, and semi-contact kumite for juniors and seniors alike.  The tournament kicked off with the Adult Black Belt Kata competition where high level kata were performed by 10 very accomplished karateka.  Among those 10 were our own Sempai Em and Sempai Manon who did our dojo proud by capturing the top two placings against some very tough competitors.  That seemed to set the tone for our juniors as they followed suit by turning in some excellent kata and weapons kata performances of their own.  The day ended with an excellent kata performed by our own Sempai Dave (pictured above...many thanks to Anne-Marie Lemieux for the photo) and some great kumite matches by our two other "seniors".  After his debut last year, our own J Lopez decided to give it another whirl this year.  Trained and coached by Sempai Kimm, J was able to take first place after three hard-fought matches (two of them against competitors who literally towered over him :-)).  Sempai Kimm then put on her coaching hat again to guide our other senior competitor, Laurie Laplante, through two tough kumite matches.  This was Laurie's very first time competing and she made an auspicious debut.  With no other women to fight in the 35-and-over division, she decided to go ahead and compete against the much younger and more experienced opponents in the under-35 division (her first match was against a black belt in her late teens!).  Quite simply, both J and Laurie demonstrated a lot of courage and heart, and provided proof-positive that "age is just a number".  Osu!  Congratulations to our entire team!  Many thanks to Sensei Denis and his hard-working team of volunteers for putting on another excellent tournament and for providing our students (and their parents and supporters) with a wonderful experience.  Osu!  Click here to see Anne-Marie Lemieux's wonderful photos of our team in action (thanks very much A-M).        

Sensei John ended the month with a grading for a few of our adult students.  As any West Island Karate / Karaté de L'Île student knows, being selected for a grading is not based solely on the amount of training time at the dojo.  As Sensei emphasizes over and over again, just "showing up" for class a few times per week on a regular basis is the bare minimum requirement.  To be considered for grading, Sensei evaluates all aspects of a karateka's development, in particular the effort and spirit shown during training.  Even then, passing a grading is never a given at WIK / KDL.  Everything from kihon, knowledge of karate terminology in Japanese, understanding of dojo etiquette, kata, kumite, and above all - tamashi (spirit) - is tested stringently and often in oblique, creative ways.  To put it simply, Sensei will challenge his students using his unique knowledge of each individual's strengths and weaknesses.  For those who do not pass the first time, being re-graded is a chance for redemption, and to prove to themselves that they have truly EARNED their next rank...no small feat at West Island Karate / Karaté de L'Île.  Congratulations to all the candidates who passed their grading on this evening - in particular to the "Three Vs" (Vince, Vlad and Witold) who earned their brown belts.  Omedetou gozaimashita!  Osu!

This month, West Island Karate competed for the first time at the Compétition Dokiju Kyokushin-Kan St-Hubert, hosted by Sensei Stéphane Marcotte.  This is a tournament for juniors featuring kata and semi-contact kumite.  Normally held at his own dojo, Sensei Marcotte was forced to relocate the tournament to the 94th Chapter of the Royal Canadian Legion in Greenfield Park due to a larger number of competitors than he anticipated.  The new venue was still a little cramped, owing to the number of supporters who came out to watch their kids compete, but at least there was sufficient space for two tatamis.  In the spirit of Kyokushin, everyone was cordial and made the best of it.  This did not detract from our team's competitive fire in any way.  Their hard work preparing for this tournament was rewarded as they turned in a great performance.  Well done to all of them.  Many thanks to Sensei Marcotte for welcoming us to his tournament.  Osu!

West Island Karate ventured to the south shore to participate in the Coupe Des Samourais, the first tournament of the year hosted by Sensei Alexandre Haché.  This year's edition featured junior and senior elite kata as well as junior semi-contact and senior knockdown kumite.  The kumite was contested in a unique "one-match" format where each competitor fought only one 3-round match.  As was the case last year, the one and only tatami was situated on an elevated stage, dramatically lit, and flanked by overhead video screens which displayed each competitor's stats as they were announced.  This always makes for a fun event for the competitors and their supporters in the audience.  As always, our team competed hard and gained a lot of valuable tournament experience.  Kudos to each and every one of them.  Many thanks to Sensei Haché for providing another wonderful event for our junior karateka.  Osu!

As is traditional at West Island Karate / Karaté de L'le, we rang in 2013 with our annual New Year's Training (or Kagami Biraki).  It's always a fun way for the entire dojo to "reboot" our training after the indulgences of the holidays and allows us to set the tone for the coming year.  It also gives us the opportunity to train alongside others in the local Kyokushin community and renew this common bond of friendship with them.  This year we were joined by Sensei Hugo Perez, Sensei Jacques Dupont, Sensei Richard Labonté, Sensei Sylvain Lee Ling, Sensei Benoit Poirier, Sensei Michael Spineti, Sempai Justin Mancini and many of their Sempais and students.  It was an honour to share the floor with and learn from all of them.  Click on the above photo for a closer look at everyone who attended this year's Kagami Biraki (many thanks to Benoit Chayer for the picture).  OSU!

Click here to read what happened at West Island Karate / Karaté De L'Île in 2012