Student Syllabus

Wado-Ryu is a Japanese style of Karate which was founded in 1939 by Hironori Ohtsuka. Wado-Ryu, meaning “School to the way of harmony”, is one of the four major Japanese Karate styles and perhaps the purest form of Karate-do.

Wado-Ryu was directed by Masaru Shintani, 9th Dan Black Belt and founder of the Shintani Karate Federation of Wado-Kai of North American until May 2000.

Mr. Shintani was a direct student of Ohtsuka Sensei, and was supreme instructor of Wado-Kai Karate in North America. Shintani Sensei passed away in May 2000.

In 2014 and early 2015, Sensei Lawrence Blakemore (of the South-Western Ontario Region group) and Sensei Willy Lebrun (of the Timmins Wado group) met in Sudbury to discuss the creation of a new organization adhering to the teachings of Masaru Shintani Sensei. The two groups founded the Martial Arts Promotional and Development Association (MAPDA).

As direct students and ranking Black Belts of Master Shintani, both Sensei Blakemore and Sensei Lebrun seek to pass on their knowledge to their students, and to positively develop all aspects of martial arts.