Association de Karaté japonais du Québec
The Association de Karaté japonais du Québec or Association of Japanese Karate of Quebec (AJKQ) is a non-profit organization having the objective of teaching the traditional type of Shotokan karate in Quebec.
Foundation of the AJKQ
AJKQ was founded in 1977 by varied practitioners of Shotokan karate such as Reynald Leboeuf, François Gélinas, Émil Pavaliu, Jacques Dussault, Alain Faucher, Alain Dagenais, Gilles Paris, Denis Benoit, Gilles Delisle, Laurent Baril, Roger Massicotte, Jean Moreau and others. Among these founding members, several are still active today in the practice of karate. Among them, Émil Pavaliu today 6th degree is the highest graded member of AJKQ, while Mr Reynald Leboeuf, is the senior participant.
Composition of the AJKQ
At present, the president of the AJKQ is Gilles Périard; he has been a godan (5th degree) since 1989. The deputy of the county of Borduas, a member of the Québécois Party, Jean-Pierre Charbonneau chaired the AJKQ of 1986 to 1989.
The Board of directors is composed of:
- Gilles Périard, President (godan; 5th degree)
- Guy Bourgon, technical Vice-president (godan; 5th degree)
- Denis Cableway, treasurer (sandan; 3rd degree)
- Chantale Plouffe, secretary-registraire
- Thomas Side, administrative vice-president (sandan; 3rd degree)
The technical and teaching Committee is composed of:
- Guy Bourgon (godan; 5th degree) Directing coordinator/of the areas of Montreal, Montérégie and Estrie
- Denis Houde (rokkudan; 6th degree) Director of the areas of Quebec, Mauricie-Wood-Frank
- Brian Matthias (godan; 5th degree) Director of the areas of Laval, Laurentides and Abitibi-Témiscamingue
- Claude Deschênes (godan; 5th degree) Director of the areas of the Coast-North and the East of Quebec
- Mr. Don McCallister (nidegree; 2nd degree) Director of the area of the Saguenay-Lake-St-Jean
The AJKQ is made up from approximately 30 dojos of the Shotokan style through all the province of Quebec. Today, the AJKQ has more than 150 black belts, including 2 rokkudan (6th degree), 5 godan (5th degree), 9 yondan (4th degree), 20 sandan (3rd degree) and a significant number of nidan (2nd degree) and shodan (1st degree). It organizes an autumn camp, a winter camp (Kangeiko) and a summer camp where senior masters come to share their experience, their knowledge and their wisdom with the pupils. It also organizes a Canandian national competition annually being held shortly after Kangeiko.
Affiliation of the AJKQ
The AJKQ is affiliated with several international high-level organizations, proving its integrity in terms of teaching. Let us name the ISKF (International Shotokan Karate Federation under the supervision of Teruyuki Okazaki (9th degree and disciple of Gichin Funakoshi) and the JKA (Japan Karate Association.