Tag: karate

Grading & Summer Holidays

by GH

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

by GH

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

by GH

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

by GH

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

by GH

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

by GH

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

Summer Break, Tournament, and Gradings

by GH

Congratulations to all of the High River Karate Club athletes who participated in the Karate Alberta Spring 2025 Tournament in Calgary on May 31st!

For full results from the tournament, please visit the Kihapp website here and click on the High River Karate Club: https://www.kihapp.com/tournaments/19351-karate-alberta-provincial-tournament-spring-2025/results

We are so proud of all of you for a tremendous effort at the tournament – you all did amazing!

Congratulations to all of our Karate students who successfully graded for their next belt through the last 2 months!

Yellow Belt – Owen, Rawson, and Lena

Green Belt – Scarlet, Mark, and Jaden

Blue Belt – JoAnna, Zach L, Trey, Ivy, and Zach P

We finished our last training session for the 2024/25 season on Thursday, June 26th, and we will be off for a well-earned break until September – stay tuned for a start date announcement later in August.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER HOLIDAY!!

Karate Alberta Tournament

by GH

The Spring 2025 Karate Alberta Tournament is coming up on Saturday, May 31st 2025.

Who: Any interested High River Karate Club members (Yellow belts and above only)

What: Karate Alberta Spring 2025 Tournament

When: Saturday, May 31, 2025 – 9AM Start

Where: Joseph Kryczka Arena (Southland Leisure Centre)

2000 Southland Dr SW, Calgary, AB

Cost:

$50.00/person Single Event – Kata or Kumite

$20.00/person, For Second Events Kata or Kumite

$21.00 per Team, Team Kata

Ex. If you wish to compete in both kata and kumite, you would pay $70.00. If just kata, or just kumite, it would be only $50.

Please make all checks payable to the High River Karate Club directly, or e-transfer to hurst.gillian@gmail.com, or bring cash to class
PLEASE CONFIRM DESIRE TO COMPETE BY THURSDAY, MAY 22nd AT THE LATEST

Training Update:

We will be training on Monday, May 19th for anyone available to come to class over the long weekend

Have a great long weekend, and see you all next week!

Tournament Recap

by GH

Thank you to all of the competitors, spectators, judges and special guests who came to support the High River and Vulcan Tekka Karate Clubs at our first annual Sensei Robert Robinson Memorial Tournament!

At the tournament on March 2, 2025 – 20 competitors from the Vulcan Tekka and High River Karate clubs competed in individual and team kata. All of our participants demonstrated great physical ability, spirit (kime) and supportiveness for each other.

Thank you to Sensei Roberts family for attending as our special guests – it was wonderful to have you with us for the event.

Thank you Sensei Sue and Senpai Travis for the dedication to Sensei Robert which opened our event. Thank you to all of our black belt judges, including Senpai Serge and Sensei’s Lyle, Dot, and Sensei Blaine, who managed the tournament draws and supported our judges with competition protocol. It was an honor to present awards in recognition for dedication to the sport of Karate on behalf of Sensei Robert to Senpai Serge, Sensei Lyle, and Sensei Dorothy, for their many years of service in the High River Karate Club.

Thank you to all of our spectators who cheered on our competitors. We have collected a few photos from the event below. Please forward any you would like to add to Senpai Gillian at hurst.gillian@gmail.com

March 2nd Tournament

by GH

The first annual Sensei Robert Robinson Memorial invitational karate tournament will take place this weekend!

Date: Sunday, March 2, 2025

Time: 10AM Start (est. 2.5h duration)

Location: 187 Foothills Air Cadet Hanger at the High River Airport

Cost: No cost to participants or spectators

This tournament is open to all members of the High River Karate Club and the Tekka Karate Club of Vulcan. Family and friends are welcome to come cheer on our participants!

This tournament is an opportunity to see what our members have been learning in class, and for participants to practice performing their kata in front of an audience. Sensei Robert started organizing the tournament a few years ago, as it helps participants prepare for grading and other upcoming tournaments as well.

Participants are asked to arrive at least 15 minutes before the event to warm up and get used to moving around the concrete floor. Please bring a water bottle. We will have bottled water onsite as well, just in case.

We look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday!