Sensei Michael Den Tandt
Sensei Michael Den Tandt began his training in Budo in 1982, 
while attending high school in Chatham, Ont. For two years he pursued a sport version of Korean Tae Kwon Do. While in university he explored Japanese Jiu Jutsu. It was in 1992, in Kingston, Ont., that Sensei Den Tandt discovered Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate-do. Initially Sensei Den Tandt studied with Sensei Chris Hurst, who was then a student of Sensei Chris Doyle, as part of the Don Warrener Japanese Goju-Ryu organization.
In 1995 Sensei Den Tandt moved to Toronto and began studying with Kyoshi Bill Hind, head of the Canada Goju Karate Association. Hind Sensei is one of the most senior Goju-Ryu practitioners in Canada, having trained longer than any other living Canadian. For ten years Sensei Den Tandt trained in the Honbu Dojo on Danforth Avenue in Toronto. In December of 2000 he received his Shodan degree. In late 2004 Sensei Den Tandt moved to the Ottawa area, where he soon established a dojo in Wakefield, Que. In 2006 Sensei Den Tandt moved to his family home of Owen Sound, leaving the Wakefield dojo under the guidance of his friend Sensei Mathieu Ravignat, of the Zen Bei Okinawa Goju Ryu Meibukan. In July of 2007 Sensei Den Tandt was awarded the rank of Nidan by Hind Sensei.
With the help of his friend Sensei John Snook, Sensei Den Tandt formed a traditional Karate dojo at the YMCA in Owen Sound. Initially, in January of 2007, they had five students.
Throughout the period of his early training Sensei Den Tandt was curious about and explored other aspects of Budo, including Aikido, Judo, Muay Thai, Jiu Jutsu and Tai Chi. In 2008 he began an exploration of the history and roots of Karate-Jutsu or Te, the precursor art to Karate-Do. Increasingly Sensei Den Tandt was led to question the bunkai or applications that he was practising.
That process of searching led Sensei Den Tandt to the Kearny, New Jersey dojo of Kyoshi Luis Morales, 8th Dan, the senior North American instructor for the International Kenshi-Kai organization, under the tutelage of Hokama Tetsuhiro, Hanshi 10th Dan. Morales Sensei is also ranked 7th Dan Grandmaster of Torite-Jutsu by The Dragon Society, under Grandmaster Tom Muncy Hanshi 10th Dan, and Grandmaster Rick Moneymaker Hanshi 10th Dan.
At this time Sensei Den Tandt began to explore the older expression of Karate-Jutsu, which had been diluted or lost in translation in the post WWII years. In late 2008 Sensei Den Tandt and Sensei Snook became affiliated with Morales Kyoshi's organization. This would enable them to pursue this study with full intensity and commitment. Shortly thereafter the dojo was re-christened Fudoshin Classical Karate Dojo.
Sensei Den Tandt feels privileged to continue to explore oldstyle karate-jutsu under the tutelage of Kyoshi Morales, one of the most knowledgeable practitioners of Naha-Te in North America. Fudoshin Classical Karate Dojo is currently a full branch dojo of the IKO. In spring 2010 Sensei Den Tandt was recognized as a Nidan by the International Kenshi-kai Organization, and received his Instructor's Certificate from the IKO. In December of 2011 Sensei Den Tandt received the rank of Sandan from Morales Kyoshi.
Sensei John Snook
Sensei Snook was born in North London and learned to defend 
himself at an early age by necessity. At age 14 he became curious after seeing a bar fight in which one relatively small man defeated several larger men. "It impressed me very much the way he got out of the way and defended himself," Sensei Snook recalls. He later learned that the man, who was Asian, was practicing one of the Asian fighting arts.
Soon after Sensei Snook read about Judo in a book and decided that he would try it. Friends of his joined a Judo club and asked him to join too, which he did. Thus began a seven-year period during which he immersed himself in the sport of Judo.
In 1977 Sensei Snook, by then married and starting a family, emigrated to Canada. The family settled in Elora, Ont. One of Sensei's young daughters decided that she wanted to study karate and dragged him to the local dojo. Having previously had a bad experience with another karate instructor, Sensei Snook was prepared to be disappointed. Instead he was pleasantly surprised by what he saw and heard. He watched a children's class, and then an adult class. Soon afterwards he asked the club's Sensei, Jay Purdy, if he could join. Thus began a 20-year relationship during which Sensei Snook studied traditional Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate in Elora. He fondly recalls this period as "the red-neck days." The back door in the Elora dojo often required replacing, Sensei John says, because of the frequency with which students in the midst of jiu kumite were tossed through it. During his time in Elora Sensei John received the rank of Sandan in the Canada Goju Karate Association.
In 2005 Sensei Snook retired and moved to the Owen Sound area. He trained for a time with in the dojo of Renshi John Bak, who introduced him to Sensei Michael Den Tandt, who was by then looking to start a dojo in Owen Sound. The two met and formed a partnership which endures to this day. In 2010 Sensei Snook was recognized as a Nidan and certified instructor in the International Kenshi-kai Organization.
