December 30, 2018

Visitors from Japan

In 2018 we were fortunate again to have several visitors from Japan come to join our practice.

We are glad to belong to the worldwide Shorinji Kempo family!

Gassho

Chika-san (2nd dan) from Wakayama-ken





Takashi-san (3rd dan) from Mie-ken

Fujikawa-san (2nd dan) from Tochigi-ken



September 21, 2018

September 05, 2018

Grading sucess!


Congratulations to Julie and Max on passing their examinations for 6th Kyu (Julie) and 1st Kyu (Max) on July 9, 2018!

Gassho




July 25, 2018

Grading success!




Toronto Branch member Daryl Ola passed his examination for Junkenshi 1st Dan on July 23, 2018.

Well done Daryl!

Gassho

June 07, 2018

Toronto Branch Charity Kickathon Raises a Record Amount!


2018 total = $15,500

On the hot and humid evening of Wednesday May 30, nine members of Shorinji Kempo Toronto Branch gathered at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Russell Street site for our 23rd Annual Shorinji Kempo Charity Kickathon for CAMH.

Meditation first

Every year in the month of May, Shorinji Kempo members worldwide perform some form of community service as a tribute to the memory of our founder, Doshin So (1911-1980). At Toronto Branch our chosen activity is to hold a charity event in support of CAMH's work in the field of drug addiction.

A bit of stretching...

After a period of warm-up and stretching, we began the Kickathon proper. Those of us who just came back from the Cornell Shorinji Kempo Camp were participating with sore backs and stiff muscles (sponsors - please note that you were getting your money's worth!).

The Kickathon begins...

After 500 continuous kicks with kiai (yell) our Kickathon came to a close.

Huffing and puffing

Thanks to incredibly generous sponsorship from individual and corporate donors, we were able to raise a record amount this year.  Our final tally for the 2018 event was a truly spectacular $15,000.  The running total of funds raised since our first Kickathon in 1996 now stands at $164,780.

Feel the burn!

Almost there...

We wish to express our deep gratitude to our loyal crew of wonderful sponsors for making this year's Kickathon such a great success.

Also, we wish to commend CAMH for their important work to stem the suffering resulting from drug addiction and Lidia at the CAMH Foundation for her expert help with the event logistics.

We're all done - next stop the chiropractor!
 See you again next year!

Gassho

May 28, 2018

40th Annual Shorinji Kempo Cornell Camp

During the US Memorial Day long weekend, three members of Toronto Branch set off for Camp Barton in Trumansburg, NY for the 40th Anniversary Shorinji Kempo Cornell Camp.

The world's most beautiful dojo
It is almost unheard of for any annual Shorinji Kempo training event outside Japan to be held consistently for such a long time. Indeed, the Cornell Camp may be the longest standing annual Shorinji Kempo event in all of WSKO.

Getting ready to train
Once again we were delighted to receive instruction from Sakuyama-sensei of Takahagi Doin (Ibaraki, Japan). Sakuyama-sensei has an illustrious pedigree having been a direct student of Kaiso So Doshin, Nakano-sensei and even a co-star of Jet Li!


Ohashi-sensei (Cornell Camp founder) with Sakuyama-sensei
Sakuyama-sensei speaks English very well and can explain his teachings in a very detailed and accurate way. Also, Sakuyama-sensei's technical skill and understanding of body movement, mechanics, attention and energy is second to none.

Kevin, Sakuyama-sensei, John and Tal
The focus of much of the Camp was on the essence of Shorinji Kempo as a zen art. Although we were practicing self-defense techniques, Sakuyama-sensei always brought our attention to intent, feeling and awareness. Basic elements such as these are common to other zen arts as well as the practice of zazen itself.

The Camp attracted many of our friends from all across Canada, the USA and beyond and we had a great time with them.
Gary Dolce-sensei
We wish to thank Gary Dolce-sensei (Ann Arbor) and Neal Ziring-sensei (World Bank) for their incredible efforts in making 40 years of Cornell Camp a reality.

Neal Ziring-sensei
We also wish to thank Sakuyama-sensei for traveling all the way from Japan to give us such rare and valuable teachings.

What is the one thing that has made Cornell Camp a 40 year success?
Gassho

January 01, 2018

Happy New Year!

We wish you health, happiness and peace in 2018.

















Gassho