St. Albert Karate Club

2026 ISKF Canada Nationals

Team St Albert at the nationals: Kiyoshi & Katelyn

One bronze, three gold and Youth Female Grand Champion

2026 ISKF Canada 43rd National Competition
The welcome address:

Hello everyone – including those who wandered in here thinking this was the Tim Horton’s line-up.

My name is Vic Charlton. I’ve been around longer than the University of Calgary. I was asked to give a welcoming message but feel a little diffident in front of this illustrious crowd. In fact at college I was voted the person least likely to complete a coherent …

That said, bear with me . . . We’ve already had a few seminars from some inspirational instructors. But in the cycle of life, inspiration doesn’t start in a vacuum, it starts somewhere. It starts with the parents. So first, a big welcome to the parents who have travelled, for many, a long distance, to this competition. You are your children’s first and foremost teachers, where inspiration begins. Second, the provincial directors. You are the linchpins around which your organizations revolve, directing this inspiration. Third, the sensei or club instructors. You are the artisans that mold or shape that inspiration. And finally the students, the karateka, the future generation continuing the cycle of inspiring ISKF Canada. For you, this may be your first event but it is only one event in your lifelong pursuit of learning. Regardless of age or experience, we should never stop learning. Someone once said, probably an Englishman, if you give instruction to a wise man, he will be yet wiser.

Now, welcome all, bienvenue, to the 2026 43rd ISKF Canada National Championships in this the 60th year of the University of Calgary. Welcome. Bienvenue.

Maintenant en Francais (approximativement):

Bonjour à tous – y compris ceux qui sont entrés ici en pensant que c'était la programmation de Tim Horton's. Je m'appelle Vic Charlton. Je suis là depuis plus longtemps que l'Université de Calgary. On m'a demandé de transmettre un message d'accueil mais je me sens un peu timide devant cette foule illustre. En fait, à l'université, j'ai été élu la personne la moins susceptible de réaliser un résultat cohérent...

Cela dit, soyez indulgents avec moi... Nous avons déjà eu quelques séminaires animés par des enseignants inspirants. Mais dans le cycle de la vie, l'inspiration ne commence pas dans le vide, elle commence quelque part. Tout commence par les parents. Tout d'abord, un grand accueil aux parents qui ont voyagé, pendant beaucoup, de longues distances pour participer à cette compétition. Vous êtes avant tout les enseignants de vos enfants, là où l'inspiration commence. Ensuite, les directeurs provinciaux. Vous êtes les pivots autour desquels vos organisations tournent, orientant cette inspiration. Troisièmement, le sensei ou les instructeurs du club. Vous êtes les artisans qui façonnent ou façonnent cette inspiration. Et enfin les élèves, le karatéka, la génération future qui perpétue le cycle d'inspiration ISKF Canada. Pour vous, cela peut être votre premier événement, mais ce n'est qu'un événement parmi d'autres dans votre quête d'apprentissage tout au long de votre vie. Quel que soit l'âge ou l'expérience, nous ne devrions jamais cesser d'apprendre. Quelqu'un a dit un jour, probablement un Anglais, que si on donne des instructions à un homme sage, il sera encore plus sage.

Maintenant, bienvenue à tous, bienvenue, aux 43e Championnats nationaux ISKF Canada 2026, dans cette 60e édition de l'Université de Calgary. Bienvenue. Bienvenue.

2026 ISKF Alberta Provincials

Another good day of training . . . two bronze, a silver and a gold.

Some KUGB History

Circa 1980

Stultification Through the Dogma of Kata

Kata--prescribed movements of defence, counter and attack--are essentially unchanged since their conception; yes, some minor changes have been instituted from contemporary interpretations but nothing substantial. Kata developed two, three or more hundred years ago were, perforce, circumstantially constrained by the period in which they were developed. Height is an obvious parameter in design of techniques with little variance due to standard deviation. Next would be clothing -- long over-garments would restrict kicks to low level but would enable the garments to be grabbed with one or both hands.

Successive rectilinear motions (e.g., 3 steps forward, 3 steps back) belie their conceiver's intent when viewed through a two hundred-year-old lens; turning counter clockwise through 90 degrees to receive an attack (all the heian kata) is similarly incomprehensible.

What is understood, from extant records, is that the kata were intended as mnemonics for self-defence--and self-defence against non-expert opponents; and, from modern understanding (Abernethy) that the opponent is always in front.

Here's where kata in place comes into play; it is a brain exercise (visualization) with practical application. Most kata (certainly all Heian and Tekki) are amenable to this type of training. It is fundamental training in the St. Albert Karate Club, moving away from dogma.