Our Okinawa journey begins….

The journey started about 5/6 years ago when I put on my shiny, new karate gi. I stepped into the dojo with the only intention to lead by example by showing my daughter that anyone can do karate, regardless of age and size. Little did I know where this journey would take me.

Writing this first post, I am now a brown belt wearing karate student. That first day feels like a lifetime ago but I have never looked back. Karate has taught me to step out of my comfort zone, push my perseverance and spirit to the limit and beyond. Your fellow students become your second family, helping you push through those “give up” moments, through the “I can’t” speech and the “Will I ever get it right?” doubts. Each student understands and respects each other because we travel the same path.

This year our path of enlightenment begins in the birthplace of Karate, Okinawa. Some of our black, brown and senior belt students (including me) will be competing at the 2018 1st Okinawan World Tournament as well as attending important training seminars. For a Karate student, it is an honour to be able to visit Okinawa to see, embrace and learn the history of our martial art. For most of our team it is our first trip and we look forward to it with excitement, anxiousness and wondering about the unknown.

The purpose of our blog is invite you into our world of Karate, sharing our sweat, our tears, our triumphs and memories as we prepare ourselves for the 1st Okinawa World Karate Tournament in August 2018. Together we will learn more about World history, Karate history, philosophy, technique, culture, traditions, kata and applications to teamwork and more.

Join us on our journey from preparation to our actual adventure in Okinawa. I will be posting regular blogs post and encourage you to visit our Facebook page for live clips of our trip.

Until next time…..Sayonara