Taekwondo in Montreal? Kyokushin karate, on Nuns’ Island

01The short answer

02What you will find here, if taekwondo brought you

Taekwondo, tae kwon do or TKD: the word names a Korean kicking art and at least two sports — World Taekwondo’s (WT), the Olympic one, scored on an electronic trunk protector, and the ITF’s, at controlled contact. What people look for in it varies less: fast, high kicks, a uniform and belts, forms to learn by heart, a class near home to sign a 4- or 5-year-old up for. Kyokushin is a karate that answers every one of those.

Kicks are at the centre. Under WKO Shinkyokushinkai knockdown rules, a kick is legal to the thigh, the ribs and the head — and it is the same, surprising rule as in WT: neither allows a hand to the head, and both allow a foot to it. The roundhouse kick is trained at all three heights, gedan to the thigh, chudan to the ribs, jodan to the head, alongside the front, side, back and knee kicks. Kyokushin techniques describes them.

Belts and kata. Like taekwondo, Kyokushin progresses by grade — ten kyu, from white to brown, then the dan grades — and every grade asks for kata, the counterpart of poomsae and tul: sequences of techniques performed alone and graded. Kyokushin karate belts gives the order and the content, and What is Kyokushin kata? what a kata trains.

Kids from age 4. The Petit Samouraï programme takes 4- to 6-year-olds, the kids programme runs to age 13, adults train from 14; a 2- or 3-year-old waits until 4, the starting age. What KarateIDS tells parents: kumite, when it happens, is done with a helmet, gloves and shin guards, on padded mats, under a black-belt instructor. Kyokushin for kids answers parents’ questions — what age to start, what a class is like, what the rulebooks say about safety.

03What karate adds

• Low kicks. Under World Taekwondo’s kyorugi rules, kicking below the waist is a gam-jeom; in Kyokushin the kick to the thigh is central, the technique that made the style’s reputation. Why Kyokushin low kicks are so powerful explains it.
• The punch to the body. WT scores the punch only to the trunk, for one point; under WKO rules the body punch is a primary weapon, no gloves are specified, and it is one of the most drilled strikes in training.
• Fighting without armour, judged by effect. No electronic scoring: ippon goes to the technique that puts the opponent down for more than three seconds, waza-ari to a shorter fall, and WKO championship rules specify no hand or head protection. You learn what a strike does, on both ends. What is Kyokushin kumite? describes how fighting is introduced and graded in training.
• Conditioning. A grading, in the WKO first-year textbook, includes conditioning — knuckle push-ups, jumping squats — and flexibility, alongside technique and fighting. An ordinary class works on them every week.
• The whole family, in one place. Kids, adults, and the women’s classes Joanie Roussy leads.

04What taekwondo has, and Kyokushin does not

An Olympic pathway, first: World Taekwondo’s taekwondo is at the Games, Kyokushin karate is not. The fastest, highest kicking game in any combat sport, because the WT scoring rewards it — three points for a kick to the head, six for a turning kick — and an electronic trunk protector and head protector that make full-contact scoring possible from a young age. In ITF, a format that includes punches to the head at controlled contact, with patterns and breaking events. If that is precisely what you want, the Games, the turning kick to the head, the armour, a taekwondo dojang will suit you better, and Kyokushin vs taekwondo puts the two rulebooks side by side to help you choose. If it is the whole leg, the fists and a fight judged by what it does, you are in the right place.

05On Nuns’ Island, in practice

The dojo is at 550 chemin du Golf, suite 010, on Nuns’ Island (Verdun), and also serves LaSalle, Pointe-Saint-Charles and the Sud-Ouest. Our classes run in both languages, which is why this site exists in four. The schedule gives the groups and times — kids, adults, women —, the pricing page the monthly rates, and Full-contact karate in Montreal what to check before choosing any dojo, ours included.

The first class is free, and there is nothing to buy beforehand: comfortable clothes and a bottle of water are enough — what to bring to your first class has the full list. For a child, the only measure that counts after the trial is whether they want to go back.