About Us

Montréal Shotokan Karate dojo was founded on April 28, 2002 by Simon Inwood. The initial practices were held at his place of work with a few colleagues and at a local community centre, where each Sunday Simon and George Quessy did their 100 kata practice. All practices were moved to the community centre in January 2003 because the other space was no longer available. However, the hours at the community centre were a little odd, in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and as a result the number of students was limited.

In June 2003 a chance meeting with dancer and yoga teacher, Catherine Lipscombe, resulted in the dojo finding a new home with better hours at the studio space of Mange Mes Pieds. So, in July 2003, the dojo moved to a studio warehouse in the heart of Montreal's vibrant Plateau neighbourhood, right on top of the 'Main'. Better hours and a better location resulted in a dramatic increase in membership. The dojo is made up of a young and diverse group of students and professionals mainly from the Plateau area, although this website continues to draw karateka looking for tradition Shotokan karate in Montréal.

The dojo is modest but the floor is great due to Catherine's care and restoration. We show our respect for it each practice by cleaning the floor as it is done at the Shotokan Ohshima dojo; some beginners jokingly refer to this as the hardest part of practice!

The dojo may be young with most members relatively new to karate, but its spirited white, brown and blackbelts courageously and enthusiastically take on the challenge of Special Trainings and other regional SKA/CSK events. Simon expects everyone to give their best, driving them to dig for their karate spirit. This is reflected in the students' unofficial battle cry, coined by a very dedicated student: "Let's go – let's go and make Simon proud!"

The dojo would like to gratefully thank the following people for leading classes: Ryan Hill, Michel Venne, George Quessy, Dominic St-Amour, Karen Borrmann and Gàbor Ketseti. Thanks also to Gàbor Ketseti and Lucie Marcoux for translation work, and to Maya Wiseman for designing the dojo website.