Sensei Jarvis Thompson will get to meet the man he considers the karate equivalent to U.S. President Barack Obama in two weeks.
The head instructor and third-degree black belt of the Prince George Kyokushin Karate dojo is heading to Vancouver to participate in the 30th annual Canadian Kyokushin Karate Championship, May 4, at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. It'll be Thompson's first time competing at the event. Also attending the event for the first time is the head of the world International Kyokushin Karate Organization, Kancho (director) Shokei Matsui of Japan.
"I've read about him and seen pictures of him and he's always just been this figurehead in kyokusin that I've never met and I wasn't sure I was ever going to," said Thompson. "Now I have this opportunity. In some ways he's like a celebrity within kyokushin. He's a very skilled master at karate. I can't wait to train with him.
"He's had amazing accomplishments over the years," he added. "I'm not really sure what he plans on teaching but I'm just open and ready to learn whatever he has to offer."
Kancho Matsui will host a two-hour training seminar May 5 after the competition ends. He became head of the karate organization on April 26, 1994 after the death of the discipline's founder Sosai Mas Oyama.
Thompson never had the chance to participate in the Canadian championship before this year because a club needs a membership in the International Karate Organization of Kyokushinkaikan-Canada which his Prince George club only joined in 2012.
The kyokushin championship, held in the Lower Mainland since its inception in 1983 with a couple of forays into the interior with stops in Vernon and Enderby, attracts competitors from across Canada, Japan, the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe.
"The style of kyokushin has always been known as a hard style," said Thompson. "A mixed martial art combined with traditional karate. It's a full martial art where we not only do strikes but we do takedowns, locks, arm bars and holds, as well as the kata, the traditional techniques and forms, breathing and meditation."
Thompson said he prefers the traditional form of kyokushin, even though there have been some successful people who have made the switche to mixed martial arts, notably UFC fighter George St. Pierre.
Thompson plans to compete in kata, which are prearranged traditional moves that simulate a fight.
"I'm looking forward to going to this tournament and, hopefully placing first, second or third, but my goal is first, of course," said the 33-year-old.
The product of Dawson Creek began karate as a child when his parents decided he needed to do something on his own without his two older brothers. Thompson quit after a couple of years, but returned to karate when he was 16. He has no plans to quit again.
"It's a passion I have," said Thompson. "You always feel better after training. It's hard work but there's something about it and the camaraderie between you and the other people in the dojo training centre. It's doing things that not everyone does. It's not easy. It's challenging and you feel good. It's a healthy lifestyle."
The Prince George Kyokushin Karate dojo is located at 7201 Domano Blvd. in the Columbus Community Centre. Thompson currently instructs about 35 children and adults between the ages of seven and 50. Classes are Tuesday and Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m. for children and 8 to 9:30 p.m. for adults and teens. Thompson also teaches a special class Sunday from 7 to 7:45 p.m. for higher belts before conducting a regular adult class from 7:45 to 9 p.m.
Registration for the Canadian kyokushin championship will close April 22 and must be done online at www.kyokushin.ca.
