AKC celebrates its fifth anniversary
The Amherstburg Karate Club (AKC) celebrated a milestone with their students and their parents last Sunday.
The club is owned by Sensei Chad Waldron, Sensei Matthew Gholampoor and Senpai Stefan Miller and they are three of the four instructors at the school. The fourth instructor is Sam Denommee.
For the fifth anniversary celebrations Aug. 16, instructors from the International Meibukan Gojyu-Ryu Karate-Do Association (IMGKA) came in from as far as Guelph to help train the instructors and students.
“We are celebrating and we are growing our knowledge,” said Gholampoor.
Gholampoor said five years is a big deal to the AKC.
“When you hit five years, that means business is going the right way,” he said. “We started from scratch.”
From training in backyards, they also called Encounter Church and Amherstburg Community Services home before they moved to their current location on St. Arnaud St. There are almost 85 students in the dojo, Gholampoor stated.
In addition to karate, there is jujitsu offered out of the AKC location.
Gholampoor added they all have full-time jobs but continue to offer classes in order to serve the community. They offer classes for children, youth and adults.
“The dojo is going strong,” said Miller, noting it has been eight months since they moved into their current location. “We’re gaining new members all the time.”
Miller said not only are their numbers growing, but the skills of the students as well. The new dojo is part of the reason for that, but he also credited the affiliation the AKC has had with the IMGKA for the last two years. He stated the IMGKA continuously support them and they often travel to keep their skills sharp.
“We go back-and-forth all the time to increase our level of training,” he said.
Miller also pointed out the addition of jujitsu, adding they have also gone from two to three nights of karate training.
“We’re going strong. We’re happy with the community support,” he said.
The AKC not only gets the support from the community, Miller continued, but they also return the favour. They sponsor sports teams, donate to such causes as the Fill the Bus Food Drive and the Amherstburg Food and Fellowship Mission and other causes.
Miller is also the commanding officer with the #202 Fort Malden Windsor Regiment Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps and the corps trains at the dojo and the dojo helps sponsor cadet awards.
“I find the organizations work hand-in-hand,” said Miller.
Such lessons learned at both include discipline, dedication and structure.
“There’s just so many symmetrical aspects to both programs,” he said.
For more information about the Amherstburg Karate Club, e-mail amherstburgkarateclub@gmail.com or visit their Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok sites.
AKC celebrates its fifth anniversary
By Ron Giofu
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