Karate for all

Times Reporter 

 

Linda Tucker and her husband are the lead senseis for the Strathmore Karate Club, after starting the sport over 10 years ago on a whim.

“Twelve years ago, my children and I were looking for something to do together. We heard about this karate program,” Linda Tucker said. “So my kids and I, we tried it one night and loved it, literally stuck with it. Over the years my husband joined us, and then I took over the club about nine years ago.”

The pair run three classes under the All Canadian Karate Union, with Strathmore being one of 20 branches in the Calgary area. Every Tuesday the club meets at the Trinity Christian Academy.

The Chops class, for ages 4-6, is really about listening, cooperation, and fitness. The Advanced Training class is for children, teens and adults, skilled enough in higher level karate.

“In that (advanced) class, we do a little more health instruments – the nunchucks, and the sparring stuff,” Tucker said. “You come, you make new friends, you get fit, and you come and do some karate together.”

Participants are as old as 40, looking to keep in shape, and mambers can even bring their kids to Family Karate classes.

“It can be anybody,” Tucker said. “What’s really neat is you train together as a family, our motto has always been, you make a commitment together as a family.” 

The classes run from September to June, similar to the school year, with anywhere from 80-100 students, who can register at anytime through the season.

“The thing that I observe the most in teaching over the years is the confidence that it builds, particularly for our children and our youth; self-confidence is really huge in their development. As adults, it’s such a fabulous full body workout. It just offers different things for different ages,” Tucker said. 

Tucker and her husband have competed in Calgary, Las Vegas, and hope to travel to Japan next summer for tournaments. No matter how many medals they earn, the pair truly enjoy giving back to the town.

“It’s about the people in the community, and the families that keep us doing it — such good people here,” she said.