Hironori Otsuka, who was already a black belt and instructor of jujutsu, immediately became a student of Funakoshi. In 1928 Funakoshi made Otsuka his assistant instructor.

 

Otsuka broke away from Funakoshi and founded Wado Ryu Karate in 1934.

GINCHIN FUNAKOSHI

                                            Masaru Shintani was a Japanese Canadian who started training in the                                       martial arts in 1941. He further dedicated his time to training with

                                            Akira Kitagawa while they were both in an internment camp during

                                            World War II. By the 1950's Shintani was a 6th degree black belt

                                            competing in tournaments in Japan where he was noticed by Hironori Otsuka. Shintani became a student under Otsuka and the two became close friends. Otsuka appointed Shintani as the head of the Wado system for North America.

HIRONORI OTSUKA

MASARU SHINTANI

Upon Shintani’s return to Canada he started teaching Wado out of Hamilton Ontario. Barry Lane became a student of Shintani in 1966 and continued to train under him until Shintani’s death in 2000.

 

Barry Lane started a full time martial arts school called Highland Karate in 1990. The school is flourishing to this day under the name of the name Highland Mixed Martial Arts.

 

                                            Troy Ashbaugh started training with Lane

                                            in 1991.  Sensei Ashbaugh had the

                                            privilege to train with Lane and Shintani.

 

                                            In 2012, Hanshi Lane 8th Dan awarded the

                                            rank of 6th Dan to both Anthony Turner

                                            and Troy Ashbaugh.

 

                                            We take pride in having been trained by people who were so

                                            close to the source of Wado and the art of Karate in general.

BARRY LANE

Anthony Turner and Troy Ashbaugh take great pride in the lineage of their

rank. Although the roots of karate go back in time, the founder of karate

as it is known today is widely accepted as Gichin Funakoshi who brought

 the art from Okinawa to Japan 1922.