24th Annual Shorinji Kempo Charity Kickathon raises $14,380 for CAMH

Every year during the month of May, Shorinji Kempo members worldwide engage in various forms of community support activities.

Here at Shorinji Kempo Toronto Branch, we have chosen to raise funds for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, particularly to help fund their efforts to understand and treat the causes of drug addiction.

The method we employ is our annual Kickathon - an event where we perform 500 continuous full force kicks with kiai (yell!) in return for sponsorship.

Reviewing the Kickathon training plan

This is our 24th successive annual charity Kickathon for CAMH and, from a practical point of view, that also means we are also 24 years older than when we started!

Our kicks are lower and a bit slower than in 1996, but thanks to our incredible sponsors we were able to raise $14,380 in our event this year.  Our Kickathon initiative has now raised a total of $179,160 for CAMH since it began.

The start

Halfway done (shaken but not stirred)

Nearly done (kicks getting lower)

We wish to thank our wonderful sponsors for their incredible generosity and loyal support of our event.

We also wish to salute the efforts of Lidia and her team at CAMH Foundation for helping make this event successful once again.

Immediately after the kicking

Finally, we commend CAMH for all its work in helping to understand and address the serious threat of drug addiction.

Gassho

Shorinji Kempo Toronto Branch 

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

22nd Annual Charity Kickathon for CAMH meets $10K goal!

On the sweltering evening of May 17th (why does the first really hot day of the year always coincide with our event?) the members of Shorinji Kempo's Toronto Branch gathered at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Russell Street site to hold the 22nd annual installment of our main charity activity - the Kickathon.

First some meditation

Every year we are getting older, and our kicks are not quite as high as they used to be, but we are still filled with a strong sense of pride and purpose every time we hold this event.

Then some stretching

The goal of the Annual Charity Shorinji Kempo Kickathon is to raise funds for the CAMH Foundation that will be used to alleviate the suffering caused by drug addiction in Ontario.

Lining up

Our evening began with a period of meditation then a warm-up and stretching.  Following that we lined up and launched into 500 consecutive full force kicks with kiai (yell).  Given the humid conditions the gym was rather airless, but once we launched into the kicking time just seemed to fly by.

Off we go!

Before long we reached our 500th kick and the joy of accomplishing our goal eclipsed any fatigue or soreness that we felt.  Also, we knew that it'll be 12 months before we do this again!

Halfway through

We would like to thank our truly amazing sponsors, many of whom who have generously supported our event for many years.  We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Lidia and her team at the CAMH Foundation for ensuring that the logistics of our event went so smoothly.

We can now announce that our event raised a total of $10,025 - we met our $10K fundraising goal thanks to our sponsors' generous support!

Since the Shorinji Kempo Toronto Branch Kickathon initiative began in 1996 it has raised a total of $149,280 for the CAMH Foundation.

"All done for another year" selfie!

Gassho

21st Annual Charity Kickathon raises over $9,000 for CAMH

A big thumbs up to our sponsors!

On the evening of Monday May 9, the members of Shorinji Kempo Toronto Branch gathered in the CAMH Main Gym to hold our 21st Annual Shorinji Kempo Charity Kickathon for CAMH.

Kicking earnestly

It is a tradition in Shorinji Kempo that all members perform some form of community service in the month of May to honor the legacy of our founder Kaiso Doshin So, especially his emphasis that personal development must be aligned with concrete action to help others.

Jun and gyaku geri

In our Kickathon we perform 500 full power kicks with kiai (yell!) in return for sponsorship.  One of the hardest things about it is the lack of inhalation during intense activity! This year we seemed to have gotten off lightly in terms of ill effects, but most of us experienced leg pain after a two day lag (unusual).

Thanks to our extremely generous sponsors we were able to raise $9,115.00 this year.

At the time of the event we only knew that we had raised over $8000

Since our event began we have raised $139,255 for the CAMH Foundation. The funds raised in the Kickathon are used by CAMH to support drug addiction treatment programs and research into the causes of drug addiction.  Our hope is that individuals trapped in addiction will be able to reach permanent and contented recovery via this funding.

Happy that we survived!

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of our wonderful sponsors and also to Lidia and her team at the CAMH Foundation for all their assistance with our 2016 Kickathon event.

Gassho

(update: June 20, 2016) 

20th Annual Kickathon for CAMH

Total raised:  $9,250.00

 

The members of Shorinji Kempo Toronto Branch held the 20th Annual Charity Kickathon in aid of the CAMH Foundation in the Main Gym of the CAMH Russell St site on the evening of May 27.

In this event we received sponsorship for performing 500 consecutive kicks (jun geri, gyaku geri) with full kiai. Surprisingly, we were able to manage fine despite the physical toll of the weekend long Cornell Camp a few days before.

 

We are pleased to announce that this year's event raised a total of $9,250 to support the activities of CAMH in the field of drug addiction (research into causes of addiction and support for treatment programs). 

We wish to warmly thank our kind sponsors for their wonderful and loyal support. In addition, we wish to thank Lidia Franchitto and her team at the CAMH Foundation for their expert logistical help.

Since the Kickathon event was launched we have raised a total of $130,140 for this important cause.

Gassho

2014 Closing Ceremony

Tony & Kevin

Our members gathered on the evening of December 22 for our 2014 Closing Ceremony (marks the final practice of the year).

Rafael & Maxim

The format was as follows:

• Kihon (basics)
• Demonstrations of technique/embu
• Chinkon-gyo
• Lecture (milestones from 2014 and aspirations for 2015)
• Close

Christian & Daryl

John & Tal

 The lecture included

• the grading successes of Toronto Branch kenshi during 2014
• our record Kickathon raise for the CAMH Foundation
• J. McCulloch's 20th anniversary as Toronto Branch Master
• Max's attendance at the 2014 Cornell Camp
• many visitors from Japan (Yurika - Hombu, Sayako - Tokai U., Hikari - Hyogo, Takuya - Osaka, Ayano - Aichi via Vancouver & Takeshi - Nihon U. via Vancouver) 
• our plans for future study opporunities in 2015
  
  

  

  Isabel & Yayoi

We hope you enjoy the photos taken from our event.

Hikari & Yan

Gassho

19th Annual Kickathon for CAMH Raises a Record Amount!

19th Annual Kickathon in progress

On May 28, 2014 the members of Toronto Branch held their 19th Annual Shorinji Kempo Charity Kickathon on behalf of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

We survived!

Thanks to our many generous sponsors we were able to raise $10,175 - a new record amount.

The final amount!

The funds raised will be used by CAMH to advance their life-saving work in the field of drug addiction. Since our event began in 1996 we have raised a total of $120,890 for this cause.



We wish to express our deep gratitude to everyone who supported our event and made it such a success.

Read more at the CAMH Foundation website.

Gassho

18th Annual "Kickathon" for CAMH - UPDATED

On the evening of May 22, ten members of Shorinji Kempo Toronto Branch held their annual charity "Kickathon" in aid of drug addiction research and treatments offered by CAMH.

Five hundred kicks and a lot of yelling later we were extremely pleased to have raised over $8,300 for CAMH's drug addiction programs.

Update: We have now finished collecting donations and are delighted to announce that the final total raised in this year's event was $8,745.

We would like to thank our many generous sponsors for their kind consideration in funding our initiative and also the CAMH Foundation for logistics and support.

Since this event was first held we have raised $110,715 for the programs of CAMH.

Gassho

Our 17th Annual "Kickathon" was a success!

6000 combined kicks later...

It was another hot and airless night in the main gym of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) as we each performed 500 kicks with a hearty kiai. Wishful thoughts of oxygen masks were combined with a feeling of accomplishment as we struggled on.

The reason for this physical anguish was our 17th Annual Charity "Kickathon" in aid of drug addiction treatment programs offered by CAMH.  Thanks to our many generous sponsors we were able to raise $7,520 this year for this important cause.

Indeed, this year the event hit a major milestone - we have now raised over $100,000 since the event began (the actual running total is $101,970).

Shorinji Kempo was founded in Tadotsu, Japan by Kaiso Doshin So in 1947 and has since then spread across the world.  Kaiso intended Shorinji Kempo to be more than just a martial art - he hoped that its members would play a positive role in society.  Every year in the month of May, Shorinji Kempo members all over the world engage in charitable and community events as a concrete reminder of Kaiso's goals.

Shorinji Kempo Toronto Branch has chosen to assist CAMH in its efforts to combat drug addiction as its annual "Kaiso Day" activity. Drug addiction is one of the most powerful and devastating maladies of our our modern age. It not only leads to the destruction of the addict's life but has numerous community impacts too.

It is clear that many centralized approaches have had limited effectiveness in dealing with this issue (see the US "War on Drugs" for example).  However, providing help to those who wish to quit is a high payoff investment with an impressive success rate.  It is this type of approach that our event supports.
  
We would like to thank our many family members, friends, business donors and colleagues for their generous ongoing support of our charity event.

All done!

We also wish to recognize the great efforts of CAMH in helping Canadians overcome the challenges of addiction and mental illness.

The CAMH event  donation page will be online for a few more days, so please donate!

Gassho

16th Annual Charity "Kickathon" for CAMH Foundation

These legs are gonna do some kickin'!

2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Doshin So - the founder of Shorinji Kempo. Our founder always viewed his art primarily as a way of developing people to equip them to effectively contribute to society. All Shorinjji Kempo branches around the world engage in charitable work or social programs in the month of May in memory of the life of Doshin So.

Since 1996 the members of Shorinji Kempo Toronto Branch have held events in support of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Limbering up - with feeling!

This year we held our 16th Annual Charity Kickathon on behalf of the CAMH Foundation at the CAMH Russell Street site in the university area of Toronto.

The Kickathon in full swing!

All members completed 500 kicks in return for generous sponsorship from many donors.
The final total raised this year was $6,450.

We would like to thank our wonderful friends, families, co-workers and employers for their incredible generosity in supporting this event.


The funds raised in our Kickathon will be used by CAMH to support:

1. Research into the roots causes of drug addiction
2. Treatment programs to help addicts wean themselves off drugs.

We sincerely hope that this initiative will help addicts rebuild their lives and know once again the joy of living.

We would also like to thank the staff of the CAMH Foundation for their hard work in managing the donations this year.

Thumbs up for CAMH!

Gassho