Shintokukai Karate & Kobudo


Copyright © 2005	David Walker Shintokukai President & Technical Director: David Walker Renshi (Master: 5th Dan) spent the first twelve years of his martial arts career studying and later teaching Japanese Sport Karate. Desiring to expand upon his martial skills and repertoire, David Sensei went on to become a ronin (a "masterless" warrior) and over a period of ten years studied numerous disciplines, including a three year study of Aikido, before being fortunate enough to meet his current teacher and mentor: Masanobu Kikukawa Kyoshi (8th Dan, Okinawa Shorin-ryu Shinkokai) - the only native Okinawan Shorin-ryu Karate and Kobudo master currently residing and teaching in Canada. Having trained and demonstrated Karate in Okinawa, Japan, David Sensei chooses a balanced approach between eastern and western styles of teaching. While his classes are generally strict and focused, he simultaneously welcomes questions from his students and endeavors to answer them at the level of the students' ability to understand. David Sensei also spends considerable time each class discussing and demonstrating the stunning martial practicality of Okinawan Shorin-ryu kata (classical forms; an art of interpretation and knowledge nearly completely absent in modern sport-oriented systems, as well as left largely undiscussed in many classical styles except amongst the most senior practitioners). David Sensei is quoted as saying: "It is imperative that the serious practitioner of Karate understand the kata inside and out, its subtleties, its nuances and most important of all, its meaning." David Sensei also generously partitions his time amongst all of his students, beginners and advanced alike, sharing his knowledge with all that show the correct eagerness to learn (note: in some classical schools, beginners are taught only by other students, not the main teacher). David Sensei exercises the keen ability of helping his students uncover their own limitations and then over time guides them in consistently growing beyond those limitations, step by step from White Belt to Black Belt to eventually a working understanding of the art as a whole. In this way David Sensei derives great personal meaning and enjoyment from his teaching. As Technical Director, David Sensei's focus within Shintokukai, in addition to his duties as Head Instructor at the North Vancouver Honbu Dojo (headquarters), is on curriculum content and quality management of our instructor group, ensuring that Shintokukai's high technical standards are being met and correctly conveyed across the organization. David Sensei is also a BC-registered healthcare professional possessing a thorough knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, an area he has found to be highly synergistic with his martial arts studies. Working, residing and teaching in the community of North Vancouver, David Sensei balances a busy local lifestyle. Happily married and a proud father of three young children, David Sensei's greatest pleasure is spending time with his family.

David Walker

Shintokukai President & Technical Director: David Walker Renshi (Master: 5th Dan) spent the first twelve years of his martial arts career studying and later teaching Japanese Sport Karate. Desiring to expand upon his martial skills and repertoire, David Sensei went on to become a ronin (a "masterless" warrior) and over a period of ten years studied numerous disciplines, including a three year study of Aikido, before being fortunate enough to meet his current teacher and mentor: Masanobu Kikukawa Kyoshi (8th Dan, Okinawa Shorin-ryu Shinkokai) - the only native Okinawan Shorin-ryu Karate and Kobudo master currently residing and teaching in Canada.

Having trained and demonstrated Karate in Okinawa, Japan, David Sensei chooses a balanced approach between eastern and western styles of teaching. While his classes are generally strict and focused, he simultaneously welcomes questions from his students and endeavors to answer them at the level of the students' ability to understand. David Sensei also spends considerable time each class discussing and demonstrating the stunning martial practicality of Okinawan Shorin-ryu kata (classical forms; an art of interpretation and knowledge nearly completely absent in modern sport-oriented systems, as well as left largely undiscussed in many classical styles except amongst the most senior practitioners). David Sensei is quoted as saying: "It is imperative that the serious practitioner of Karate understand the kata inside and out, its subtleties, its nuances and most important of all, its meaning."

David Sensei also generously partitions his time amongst all of his students, beginners and advanced alike, sharing his knowledge with all that show the correct eagerness to learn (note: in some classical schools, beginners are taught only by other students, not the main teacher). David Sensei exercises the keen ability of helping his students uncover their own limitations and then over time guides them in consistently growing beyond those limitations, step by step from White Belt to Black Belt to eventually a working understanding of the art as a whole. In this way David Sensei derives great personal meaning and enjoyment from his teaching.

As Technical Director, David Sensei's focus within Shintokukai, in addition to his duties as Head Instructor at the North Vancouver Honbu Dojo (headquarters), is on curriculum content and quality management of our instructor group, ensuring that Shintokukai's high technical standards are being met and correctly conveyed across the organization.

David Sensei is also a BC-registered healthcare professional possessing a thorough knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, an area he has found to be highly synergistic with his martial arts studies. Working, residing and teaching in the community of North Vancouver, David Sensei balances a busy local lifestyle. Happily married and a proud father of three young children, David Sensei's greatest pleasure is spending time with his family.