O-Sensei Masami Tsuruoka

O-Sensei Masami Tsuruoka is known as the Father of Canadian Karate. Born in Canada in 1929, O-Sensei started studying karate in Japan under Dr. Tsuyoshi Chitose, earning his Shodan in 1949. He returned to Canada in 1956 and opened Canada’s very first Karate dojo. He founded the National Karate Association in 1964. He passed away on October 10, 2014 at the age of 85.

O-Sensei left us a rich training legacy, with his many devoted students going on to found many dojos across Canada and the United States. We at Tsuruoka Karate-Do are proud to promote, with guidance, openness and cooperation, the development of the art of Tsuruoka Karate-Do, which embodies the spirit and methodology of its founder, Masami Tsuruoka.