About

We are first and foremost a classical school of Shorin Ryu Karate, and are part of the Legacy Shorin Ryu Karate Jutsu Association. Our head instructor, Sensei Randy Dauphin, is a former world champion in karate who has trained dozens of students to their shodan (black belt), trains in numerous other martial arts, and has trained with Hanshi Gary Legacy, 10th dan, for over thirty years.

Hanshi Gary Legacy is a pioneer of martial arts in Canada who began his training in the 1970s, and is recognized internationally. He has trained under a number of teachers, including Benny Allen, Richard Kim, and Anthony Sandoval. Gary Legacy is the head of Legacy Shorin Ryu association based in St. Thomas, with hundreds of students who have trained in the association, and whose top students have gone on to lead schools in the southwestern Ontario area and abroad.

Sensei Randy Dauphin also trains in Iaido (training with the japanese sword) with Nicklaus Suino, an 8th dan in Iaido and an internationally recognized swordsman. Sensei Nicklaus Suino runs the Japanese Centre for Martial Arts (JMAC) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Our roots go back to the foundations of karate in Okinawa and the style of Shorin Ryu, founded by Sokon ‘Bushi’ Matsumura. Our quality of martial arts is recognized all over the world. All ranks achieved in Legacy Shorin Ryu are difficult to obtain and well deserved, none are given without significant effort and training.

Our Kitchener location is a classical martial arts school with a long history of quality instruction and exemplary students. We also have a strong footing in physical fitness, and our location offers a unique opportunity to pursue martial arts and fitness training in one location. We offer training in Shorin Ryu Karate, Iaido, weaponry (kobudo), as well as personal fitness sessions and a number of drop-in classes throughout the week. Our private lessons in martial arts or fitness can also help you to get to the next level. Contact us to talk about your training and how we can help to elevate and inspire you.

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History

Sokon "Bushi" Matsumura developed Shorin Ryu after beginning his training at age 9. Shorin Ryu, simply put, is the most effective and elite martial art forged “IN battle, FOR battle”, as Matsumura was bodyguard to 3 Okinawan kings and trained the palace guards.  

Legacy Shorin Ryu has an unbroken lineage to these roots and most specifically to Matsumura, the founder of Shorin Ryu Karate. With kata and lessons dating back to the 1700s in Okinawa and earlier, Legacy Shorin Ryu was developed by warriors - men and women whose lives depended on what they did actually working in the real world. It was not a sport and not an exercise. It was a life and death practice. 

All of the best strikers in the mixed martial arts (MMA) understand this; Karate, born out of actual combat, is the only real way to learn how to hit effectively. They also understand that the classical roots train their minds, as well as their bodies, and that many striking techniques are actually hidden grappling techniques as well.