Karate Canada is the national association representing the sport of

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Formerly the National Karate Association (NKA) of Canada, the organization was founded by

Masami Tsuruoka , was a Japanese Canadian karate instructor and practitioner recognized as "The Father of Canadian Karate" by Black Belt Magazine. Although mainly responsible for establishing the Chito-ryu style in Canada, Tsuruoka is also known as founder of ...

. In 1964, Masami Tsuruoka and four other karate instructors incorporated the association in the cities of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, and Tsuruoka was elected the first president of the organization. The NMA was organized to promote and develop the art of traditional karate in Canada into a respected sport and to provide a framework for Canadian competitors to gain international recognition. In March 2009 the NKA assembled its National Council, chairs of key committees, athlete representatives and select provincial and territorial representatives for a strategic planning retreat where they voted to investigate changing the name of the organization to Karate Canada. Today Karate Canada represents several traditional karate styles active in Canada. Karate Canada includes all ten provinces and two territories and is recognized as the national sport governing body of karate in Canada by the Canadian Federal Government. It is partially funded through

Sport Canada Sport Canada is a branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage that develops federal sport policy in Canada, provides funding programs in support of sport, and administers special projects related to sport. Its mission "to enhance opportunities ...

. Each province and territory has a local organization which represents their interests and concerns at the national level, and is responsible for the standards and development of traditional karate within their respective provincial or territorial jurisdictions. Karate Canada is the only national Canadian karate organization recognized by the

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; french: Comité olympique canadien) is a private, non-profit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization ...

(COC) and the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

. Karate Canada conducts annual competitions, and the winners are the only karate athletes recognized as national champions by the COC and Sport Canada.

External links

Karate Canada

References

{{World Karate Federation Sports organizations established in 1964 Karate organizations Japanese karate Traditional karate 1964 establishments in Canada Karate in Canada