History of the Atlantic Karate Club
The Atlantic Karate Club began in 1969 and was located at St. Philip's Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia under the direction of Jose Levy. Jose was from Montreal and returned in January 1970, which left the club with no instructor.
During that time Jose left his senior students, John Dean and Don McGraham, in charge. They would would take the club on another journey to search for someone to teach them Martial Arts.
They would read Martial Arts Magazines for articles on styles, and contact Government Sports Agencies to locate someone to teach them martial arts like Karate, Wushu (Kung-Fu), Taekwondo, etc. They began to write letters to different clubs and organizations, and they would receive letters responding to their letters from various arts. They brought some of the instructors from other styles to the AKC to research their style.
During this time they had read about a National Karate Association Championship Tournament, held at the Canadian National Exibition in a magazine. They decided to write to the president of the NKA who was Masami Tsuruoka Sensei at that time. He returned a polite letter, indicating he was too busy in the time frame they were asking. Masami Tsuruoka Sensei suggested a similar group in Hampton, New Brunswick was going to be taught by his top student.
His top student at the time was Shane Higashi, a San Dan (3rd degree black belt). He would be traveling to New Brunswick on his vacation and suggested we co-ordinate our efforts with the Green Brothers of Hampton, New Brunswick.
They went to New Brunswick to see and meet Shane Higashi and were impressed with him and his style which was Chito Ryu. It was 1970, and they began the initial steps to become a member of Chito-Ryu.
The AKC at that time was the only organized karate dojo in Nova Scotia. There were other dojos studying other styles in Halifax and throughout Nova Scotia at the same time, but fell into disused within a few short years.
Sensei Higashi took special interest in the AKC and the province of Nova Scotia. He turned it into one of the most popular styles on this side of Canada with the dedication of instructors such as, John Dean, Don Graham, Dr. Cole, and Sensei Michael Delaney.
Today the Atlantic Karate Club is the oldest martial arts club in Nova Scotia. It continues on with the direction of the Chief Instructor Glenn Euloth.
Written By: Sensei Steven Gionet
Amended By: Glenn Euloth with information from Sensei Michael Colling.