Calgary Gojukai - Overview
Ranchlands Karate Club has been in existence since September 1992, formed by Rob Richardson Sensei and Brent Regan Sensei. It has seen and influenced many students during this time. It began as a family oriented club, and still maintains this atmosphere, as very often parents will train alongside their children. Most parents joined the club in order to do an activity as a family, but soon found that they were staying because of their love of Karate-do even after their children decided to pursue other activities. Other members joined on their own and coming to love the art brought their friends and family members to experience what Goju-Ryu has to offer.
At the time of it's creation Ranchlands Karate Club followed a curriculum that was based in Goju-Ryu but was also heavily influenced by other martial arts. Then in 1996 Rob and Brent Sensei decided to pursue the more traditional methods of Goju Ryu and applied for membership in IKGA Canada. In October 1997 they traveled to Japan to receive instruction directly from Goshi Yamaguchi Saiko Shihan. Ranchlands Dojo continued to operate during this time, with classes being run by Carlos Tesler-Mabe Sensei and Rob Heisler and Kyle Heisler Sempai assisting.
After Rob Sensei's return to Canada in 1998, Ranchlands Dojo was accepted as a full member in IKGA Canada, and continued to grow. Ranchlands Dojo also applied and was accepted as a member dojo in Karate Alberta, part of the National Karate Association as Calgary Gojukai. With the introduction of Yamaguchi Style Goju Ryu a fresh and exciting element was brought into the training in Calgary. Today new students and old are able to receive some of the best training in Goju available. Past students continue to return to the Dojo and are challenged with the fresh approach to training. Students are encouraged to challenge themselves, both with their own progression in Goju-Ryu, and also in competition with other traditional Karate-do through Karate Alberta. We view competition karate to be separate from Traditional Karate-do, but complementary in that students are challenged to train harder and smarter at all levels. No one has to sacrifice their training in Goju-Ryu to be competitive, they just have to train hard and focus on achieving their goals.
In July 2003 Calgary Gojukai - Ranchlands Dojo was the proud host of IKGA Canada Annual Training Camp. We had the honor of hosting Goshi Yamaguchi Saiko Shihan, one of the most respected and senior masters of Goju-Ryu as well as the privilege of providing the venue for all IKGA Canada members to come together in the spirit of training and friendship. This camp proved to be a challenging and fun experience for everyone involved, and allowed IKGA Canada members to have access to the best training in Goju-Ryu to be found.
