Heiwa Kai Dojo was founded by Shihan Robin Campbell in 1989 as a karatedo school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Many people have heard of karate, a martial art originating in Japan, but fewer people know the difference between karate and karatedo. Karate is the techniques, the forms, the outward manifestation of karatedo. Karatedo, on the other hand, is a way of life. The karatedo student strives for perfection both spiritually and mentally as well as physically.
Our dojo operates as a program at the Routhier Community Centre (172 Guigues, phone 613-244-4470) and offers the advantage of small classes, meaning that each student gets personalized attention from our instructors.
In addition to our regular classes, we also go to tournaments, seminars, and camps. These events give us the opportunity to meet students from other schools, as well as being excellent training exercises. Camps in particular are a great chance to learn a lot of new material in a short time.
Our style does involve contact, with an emphasis on protecting the defender rather than padding the attacker. This has a great advantage in that the protection guards against accidental injury. We wear face masks and body gear that offers protection, but we leave our "weapons" - our hands and feet - unpadded to strengthen them. We don't go for breaking planks, bricks, or blocks of ice, but we do develop our weapons and test them with opponents. Rather than being a "demonstration" style, we emphasize practicality and learning in our classes.
