Monday, October 12th, 2026 we will not be training due to the statutory holiday. We will resume training on Thursday, October 15th.
Have a wonderful long weekend, and happy Thanksgiving!
Tag: karate
Labour Day
We will have an optional practice session Monday, Sept 7th for Labour’s Day at the usual training time and place; however, this will not be a normal training session, just an opportunity to practice together.
We will resume regular training sessions on Thursday, September 10th.
Have a great long weekend!
2026/27 Training Season Begins
We are excited to announce that training for the 2026/27 season will begin on Monday, August 31st, 2026 at 7PM at the High River Fitness location!
As before, classes will run from 7-8PM for all White to Orange belts. For Green to Black, classes run from 7-8:30PM. Classes are held in the matt and mirror rooms on the second floor of the High River Fitness facility on Monday and Thursday nights each week throughout the season, which runs from September to June each year.
Fees are $60 per person per month, with an additional once-per-season annual fee for Karate Alberta membership (fee amount to be confirmed as KA announces this later in August) per person.
New and returning members ages 8 years and up are welcome.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We look forward to seeing you all in a few weeks!
Sensei Gillian 403-336-0909
Sensei Travis 403-336-9974
End of Season 2025/26
June 11th was our final class of the 2025/26 training season!
We will resume training in September for the 2026/27 training season, and look forward to seeing you all then after some much needed time off to rest and recuperate. Look for updates here later in August for dates of our first training session in September.
Congratulations to all of our students for training hard up until the end of this year. We hope you have a good summer off regular classes, and come back rested and ready to train with intensity and focus in the fall.
Special thank you to Senpai Laurie, for his persistent support, guidance, and positive energy throughout the year – we couldn’t have done this without you!
Also thank you so much to Sensei Robert’s daughters, Dyllan and Chase, for their very generous donation to the High River Karate Club and Vulcan Tekka Karate Clubs from the Robert Robinson Memorial Team Roping event earlier this spring!
Good work this year, everyone – have a great summer!
Grading & Summer Holidays
Congratulations to our first group of students grading this year! You all worked very hard and have improved so much to reach this important milestone, and we look forward to watching you progress as yellow belts over the next year!
Summer Holidays / Important Dates & Updates
Last Class for 2025/26
We will be taking the last half of June off this year, in addition to our regular holiday of July and August. Our last class for the 2025/26 season will be Thursday, June 11th. We will be resuming classes in September – stay tuned for a return date later in August!
FEES for JUNE will be half price as a result of our schedule change – $30 per person for the month.
Karate Alberta Tournament Cancelled
The June Karate Alberta tournament has been cancelled for this year due to issues with volunteer capacity and venue availability. More info here.
Grading
We have several more students to grade this season, and will be busy over the next few classes doing this. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Tasaki Kai Tournament 2026 & Easter Break
Congratulations to everyone who competed at the 2026 Tasaki Kai Goodwill Invitational Tournament on Sunday, March 22, 2026!
We had two great groups of competitors from the High River Karate and Tekka Karate Clubs take part, and officials from both clubs supported the two Seiwa Kai Goju Ryu clubs from Calgary North and South in this annual invitational Kata tournament. All of the competitors did their best and we are proud of each and every one of you that competed this year.
Thank you very much to David and Monica for collecting photos during the event!
Easter Break:
We will be training next week on Monday and Thursday (March 30th and April 2nd) as usual; however, we will not be training on Monday, April 6th for the Easter long weekend, and will resume training on Thursday, April 9th 2026.
2nd Annual Sensei Robert Robinson Memorial Tournament
It’s been just over a year since we lost Sensei Robert and had our 1st Annual Memorial Tournament to honor him by carrying on the tradition that he started for our club.
Our tournament this year will be held on Sunday, March 1st, 2026 starting at 10AM at the 187 Foothills Air Cadet hanger at the Foothills Regional Airport (formerly High River Regional Airport).
Everyone is welcome to attend, and we encourage all of our students to participate. This tournament is an excellent opportunity for students to conquer their nerves and have a great time showing off the skills they’ve been working so hard on in class to family and friends.
We attend a few tournaments each year as a club, and this tournament is a good opportunity to practice performing kata in preparation for both future tournaments, and for our annual gradings which will be coming up this spring for those who are ready to progress to their next belt level.
Tournament Details:
- Sunday March 1, 2026
- 9:30AM Sign In for Competitors
- 10AM Tournament Start
- Competitors bring or wear your Gi, bring a water bottle, and a snack – we usually go a bit over lunch, so you may want a snack for the morning (we will be providing some treats as well)
- Fees – None – this tournament is free for all competitors!
- Participants will be from the High River and Vulcan Tekka karate clubs
- Draws will be divided into age and belt level categories (ex. K-12y, 13-18y, 18y+, White, Yellow, Blue, etc)
- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will receive a medal in each draw category
- Kata only
As always, please feel free to contact either Sensei Gillian or Sensei Travis if you have any questions or concerns!
December Update
The first half of our 2025/2026 season is almost over and we’ve had a great year so far, with lots of learning all around. Our returning members continue to grow and improve, and our newer members are starting to get the hang of basic movements and working on learning new kata and techniques.
Training for December will run until next Thursday, December 18th which will be our last official session; however, we will also have an optional training opportunity at our normal time on Monday December 22nd for anyone interested and available to join in.
We will be resuming training sessions on Monday, January 5, 2026 and look forward to seeing everyone back after the holiday break.
Have a safe and happy holiday!
Promotions
Congratulations to Travis, Laurie, and Gillian for receiving promotion to their next level Black belts this past week!
Travis – Nidan
Laurie – Sandan
Gillian – Sandan
It takes a lot of determination and hard work to get to the first level of Black belt, and even more to continue on after receiving it. Then the hard work begins in continuing to learn, develop, grow, and to share that knowledge with others.
In honor of Sensei Robert, these three black belts received their next level promotion from the Sankaku Karate Association, of which the Vulcan Tekka Karate, High River Karate Club, and Strathcona Community Association Karate Clubs are a part.
Congratulations, and many more years of learning and teaching yet to come!
2025/26 Training Begins
We’re back!
Our first training session for the 2025/26 season begins on Monday, September 8th, at 7PM upstairs at High River Fitness.
Fees are $60 per month per person (cash, check or e-transfer only).
We will be welcoming all new and returning members, ages 8 years and older.
Classes:
7PM – 8PM: White/Yellow/Orange, ages 8-12 years
7PM – 8:30PM: Green and above, 13 years and above
We are changing things up a little bit this year, with classes running from 7-8PM for White/Yellow/Orange belts and 8-12 year-olds, and 7-8:30PM for everyone else. By making this change, we are hoping to:
- help keep our younger members more engaged through the full class time, and
- give our more senior belts more of a chance to practice their kata and kumite skills
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. As always, we will be evaluating how this change is working out for everyone, and we are open to feedback on what is or isn’t working well.
Contact:
Sensei Gillian Hurst – 403-336-0909 – hurst.gillian@gmail.com
Sensei Travis Gauvreau – 403-336-9974 – travis_gauvreau@hotmail.com
