Welcome!  "Proudly teaching karate in Kamloops for 25 years"

The Western Karate Academy is in the business of teaching karate. We do not do "quick" promotions, and you won't see anyone under 16 with a black belt.

We believe that black belts should be worn by those who are mature, show strength of character and are capable of protecting themselves and others.

We encourage discipline, good heath, and are concerned with character development.

Black Belt Members

1. Tim Frazer 2001

2. Allan Fedorak 2004

3. Lauren Hayden 2005

4. Laura Doan 2006

5. Emile Scheffel 2007

6. Richard Marken 2007

7. Nick Gagliano 2007

8. Allyson Hirtle 2007

9. Brad Wood 2008

10. Shawn Grooms 2010

11. Rob Neutelings 2010

12. Terrie Collins-shodan 2011/nidan 2014

13. Pierre Desjardins 2011

14. Dean Wichmann 2014

15. Richard Wilbur 2015

16. DeNara Levin 2015

17. Talon Bomac 2015

18. Brian Vlodder 2015

19. River Williams-More 2015

20. Marcus Marasco 2016

21. Dorian Sibbelee 2016

22. Natalee Rempel-shodan 2017/nidan 2020

23. Ethan Wenger 2017

24. Damon Marken 2017

25. Christo Vutev 2018 

26. Dwight Burgher 2020

27. Caitlyn Neufeld 2020



More about Black belts 

Shokaido has ten degrees of black belt. The following are some of the requirements for each level of black belt at our academy, based on the requirements of the (click) Japan Karate Association (JKA).

Black belt 1st Dan (shodan)

• Has completed four hundred classes and a minimum of four years of martial arts training.

• Has held a Brown belt rank for at least one year

• Is at least sixteen years of age

Black belt 2nd Dan (nidan)

• Has held a 1st Dan for a minimum of two years.
• Is at least twenty years old

Black belt 3rd Dan - (sandan)

• Is at least twenty five years of age

• Has held a 2nd Dan for a minimum of three years

Black belt 4th Dan (yondan)

• Is at least thirty years of age

• Has held a 3rd Dan for a minimum of four years.

Black belt, 5th Dan (godan)

• Is at least thirty years of age

• Has held a 4th Dan for a minimum of five years

  Black belt, 6th Dan (rokudan)

• Is at least forty years of age

• Has held a 5th Dan for a minimum of six years

 Black belt, 7th Dan (shichidan)

• Is at least forty years of age

• Has held a 6th Dan for a minimum of seven years

 Black belt, 8th Dan (hachidan)

• Is at least fifty years of age

• Has held a 7th Dan for a minimum of eight years

 Black belt, 9th Dan (kudan)

• Is at least sixty years of age

• Has held a 8th Dan for a minimum of nine years

 Black belt, 10th Dan (judan)

• Is at least seventy years of age

• Has held a 9th Dan for a minimum of ten years

     Yellow belt (8^th kyu)     30-37 classes

     Orange belt (7^th kyu)   60-75 classes

     Red belt (6^th kyu)         95-118 classes

     Blue belt (5^th kyu)       135-168 classes

     Purple belt (4^th kyu)   190-237 classes

     Green belt (3^rd kyu)    246-307 classes

     Brown belt (2^nd kyu)   314 classes (Min. 14 years old)

     Black belt candidate (1^st kyu)   

     Black belt (shodan)    400 classes  (Min. 16 years old)