West Van Karate Academy

Congratulations to our newest Black Belts!

Becoming a black belt is not something that happens overnight. It represents years of dedication, perseverance, discipline, and growth - not only as martial artists, but as people.

We are incredibly proud to recognize our newest black belt recipients:

• Patrick Border
• Kate Border
• Jack McCann
• Quinn Lester-Coe
• Vasily Mukhin
• Sparkes Liffen
• Quinn Bradshaw

Each of these individuals has demonstrated the commitment it takes to reach this significant milestone. Along the way they have grown into strong, capable, confident, and kind people who embody the true spirit of martial arts.

Earning a black belt is not the end of the journey - it’s the beginning of a new chapter of learning and leadership.

Please join us in congratulating them on this outstanding achievement! 👏🥋

With all of the important competitions going on, we haven’t had a chance to post some exciting news regarding Sensei Keira!

Sensei Keira has been accepted into a ‘study abroad program’ at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea to continue studying business. We are so proud of her and will miss her dearly while she is away!

Keira has been one of the pillars of our academy since we first opened the dojo, and throughout her time with us has been able to balance competing at an elite level, representing Canada at numerous international competitions, while also achieving top marks academically attending UBC.

While she will only be gone for a few months, her absence will be felt. Keira is encouraging, supportive, positive, and has played a major role in shaping our junior female athletes’ success. She is a role-model, and we could not be more proud of her.

👏💪👍❤️🔥

More competitions!

Big congrats to Jasper and Scarlette for their recent performances at the BC Winter Games.

Jasper pulled off a bronze medal in the elite kumite category and also team kumite category. 🥉🥉

Scarlette also brought home a bronze medal in both her elite kumite category and team category. 🥉🥉

As always, the dojo is proud of you. Keep up the great work 👏💪👍

So incredibly proud of our athletes for their performances at Senior Nationals 🇨🇦🔥

No matter the result, stepping onto that stage takes courage — and you represented our team with class and determination.

Special shout out to Johnson for pulling off a silver medal in the u21 -84kg category while balancing his demanding school load at Carnegie Mellon.

Congratulations on your achievements! The journey continues 💪🥋

Wishing the best of luck to our incredible athletes as they step onto the mats at the Senior Canadian National Championships over the next few days 🇨🇦🥋

You’ve put in the work, and now it’s time to trust your training, compete with heart, and represent with pride.

No matter the outcome, we’re proud of the courage, respect, and fighting spirit you bring every time you bow in. Go show Canada who you are 💪🔥

So proud of our team! 🥋🔥

We had an amazing time at the recent Karate BC Team Selection Event. Lessons learned, strong performances, great spirit, and lots of smiles all around. After the selection tournament, our athletes jumped right into the first BC Team training of the year, and it was an awesome experience to train together, push each other, and have fun on the mats.

Hard work, teamwork, and love for karate were on full display. Excited for what’s ahead this season! 💪👏

PJ Day shenanigans in full force! A perfect way to wrap up an amazing year! Lots of laughs, great energy, and awesome teamwork before we close for the holidays.
Thank you to our students and families for a fantastic year - see you after the break!

What an incredible way to close out our competition season! Our competition team came together to celebrate the hard work, discipline, and heart our athletes showed all year long. From powerful performances to lasting friendships, this season was about so much more than medals — it was about respect, perseverance, and growth.

We are so proud of every student for pushing themselves, supporting their teammates, and representing our academy with integrity both on and off the mat. The smiles, laughs, and memories from this celebration reminded us why this dojo feels like home.

Big shout out to some key members of our team who unfortunately weren’t able to make it to our event: Aiden, Johnson, Malia, Quinn, Sparkes, London, Annika, Jake, Jack, and Sameera. You’re all a big part of the team and we missed having you!

Thank you to our athletes, families, and instructors for making this season unforgettable. We can’t wait to keep growing, training, and celebrating together! 🥋🔥

Team Highlights:

Keira Szeto – 5th place U21 Jr. Pan-American Championships

Emily Chan – 5th place U18 Jr. Pan-American Championships, Canadian National Champion U18 -48kg

Johnson Jiang – Canadian National Champion, U18 -76kg

Maia Macrae – Canadian National Champion, U14 -42kg

Term 1 Awards:

Most improved – Damian Christiaens-Tung, Coco Sun

Top Performance (Canada Open) – Kate Border

Attendance – Coco Sun, Mondona Filsoof

Parent & Tot Karate Fun!

What a fun training session. We had an amazing time building confidence, coordination, and memories together. Thanks to all the Lion Cubs and awesome parents who joined us today! I’ll never forget the look of joy on the parents faces when it was their turn to test their children’s defense 😂

This past weekend, we had our first leadership program workshop - and what a day it was! From hands-on practical activities to meaningful discussions, the session was both fun and educational, giving us fresh tools to grow as mentors and role models. We left feeling energized, connected, and ready to bring these lessons back to the mat, and out into our community. We first ran this program several years ago, and today many of those initial students are now leaders of our academy and creating positive change in the community, so it is very exciting to see the next generation of leaders starting to form! Here’s to continuous growth and building stronger leaders for today and tomorrow :)