Blog

Following Sensei Robert’s passing, and in keeping with his legacy and wishes for the clubs to continue to grow and thrive in High River and Vulcan, the clubs will be continuing regular training sessions and planned events for this karate season.

Senpai Gillian and Senpai Travis will be stepping up to take on leadership of the High River Karate Club going forward. Sensei Robert’s family has been extremely supportive of this transition, and have provided all of the supporting documentation and resources required to continue with the club. (A huge thank you to Sensei Robert’s family for your support!)

Karate Alberta has been notified, and they have confirmed that the clubs are in good standing, and have offered support for us to complete the necessary requirements as we work through this transition over the next few months.

We know that there will be challenges to work through in the next few weeks and months, but we hope that as students, and as their families, you will have patience and bear with us as we move forward together.

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to training this last Thursday night – we know that it took great courage to come to class again after Sensei’s passing – it was a truly moving experience, with students demonstrating skills learned from, and sharing memories of, Sensei Robert. We also appreciate that it was not possible for everyone to attend, and we look forward to seeing you all again at our normal training times and location going forward, with our next class on Monday, February 24th, 2025.

We will be going forward with the High River and Tekka Karate Club Invitational Karate Tournament this coming March 2, 2025 as planned. This is an event that Sensei Robert organized for the last several years, as an opportunity for students to practice demonstrating their kata in front of family and friends in a friendly, supportive atmosphere. The tournament will begin at 10AM on Sunday, March 2nd, at the 187 Foothills Air Cadets Hanger at the High River Airport.

Following the tournament March 2nd, we will be preparing for the April 13th Seiwa Kai Invitational Kata Tournament in Calgary, and will be working towards preparing students to compete in the Karate Alberta Tournament at the end of May 2025 (more details to follow).

Senpai Gillian, Senpai Travis, and Senpai Laurie, are committed to continuing to develop club members skills and grade students to their next belt level when they have completed the necessary number of classes, and demonstrated consistently the skills required for their level. All necessary syllabus and attendance information has been passed on to support this.

As a club, we will be giving flowers and a card to Sensei Robert’s family at the Celebration of Life on Sunday, February 23rd. The Celebration of Life runs from 1PM-4PM at the High River Heritage Inn. If you would like to sign the card, or visit together at the gathering, we plan to be there from 2PM.

Sensei Robert’s teaching will live on, within each of our students and instructors.

Domo Arigato Gozaimasu

For any questions at this time, please contact either of the following:

Senpai Gillian / 403-336-0909 / hurst.gillian@gmail.com

Senpai Travis / 403-336-9974 / travis_gauvreau@hotmail.com

It is with great sadness that we announce that Sensei Robert Robinson, Head Instructor and Sensei for the High River and Vulcan Tekka Karate Clubs died on Saturday, February 15th, 2025.

The loss of Sensei Robert has left a large hole in our club and our hearts.

We will miss Sensei Robert’s insistence that we ‘get it right’, and his determination to make us the very best versions of ourselves through the art of Karate.

We will miss his goofy sense of humor, his demonstration of technique and practical application of karate, and his drive to make us ‘push ourselves’ to improve our skills, each and every class.

Sensei Robert was a force for excellence in all of our lives, and has touched so many over his lifetime of achievements in training and teaching Karate.

Sensei Robert embodied the principles we strive for, as written in the Dojo Kun, and recited at the end of every training session.

Dojo Kun:

The ultimate aim, in the art of Karate, lies not in victory, nor in defeat, but in the perfection, of the character, of it’s participants.

A link to Sensei Robert’s obituary is below:

Sensei Robert Robinson Obituary

The 2024/2025 High River Karate Club season starts September 9th, 2024 at the High River Fitness location at 143 8 Ave SE, High River, AB.

Classes run from 7-8:30PM, Monday and Thursday nights each week (excluding some holidays) and are open to everyone ages 8 years and older.

Fees are $60 per month for all ages. Kidsport is an option for anyone needing assistance with fees. Prospective members are welcome to come try out their first one to two classes free of charge.

Please contact Sensei Robert for more information.

We look forward to welcoming new and returning members!