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Please contact Sensei Doug Smerek at (403)560-4508, or info@seiwakai.ca, for further details.

A junior class usually consists of white to orange belts, ages 12 and under. Senior classes are ages 12 and up.

Karate competitions are broken up into two parts – Kata and Kumite.

Kata are forms, and Kumite is semi-contact free sparring. Each part is then further broken up into divisions of ages and belt levels.

We usually have a club tournament once a year.

Our club is a member of the KAA (Karate Alberta Association), which holds at least three competitions a year all over Alberta. Should you make the provincial team (14+ years old and green belt+) then you can compete at the nationals. If you place 1st or 2nd at the nationals then you make the national team and can compete all over the world.

If you are training 2-3 times a week, and miss less than 20% of classes, you may earn a black belt as quickly as 5 years.

If you fail a test, it’s not the end of the world.

Since we grade twice a year, you can take a retest at the next grading.

At our club, we test twice a year.

Our season usually starts in September and ends in June. Typically we have one grading in December and one in May.

Yes – after a grace period.

You will be tested during our gradings at that level. If you meet our standards, then you will be awarded that belt.

Yes.  What kind of martial art you took in the past will determine how many skills you will transfer.

You will not forget the training of the past and can only build on to it.

• Karate – Japanese martial art
• Tae Kwon Do – Korean martial art
• Kung Fu – Chinese martial art
• Judo – Japanese martial art with an emphasis on grappling, throws, and submissions