SKIF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
HOSEKI KAN
AFFILATED MEMBER OF SHOTOKAN KARATE DO INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION
HEADQUARTERS TOKYO JAPAN
"Where Life Champions are born."
From Mexico to Turkey: Plans for an exciting 2026!
Last year may not have hit the fever pitch that the Pan American Championships in 2024 did, but so much progress was made that we’re eager to continue in the same vein in 2026.
Kata and kumite camps, a junior tournament that set the tone for areas we need to focus on with the kids, to of course, our flagship event the XIII annual International Seminar with Hanshi Hiroshi Ishikawa and Kyoshi Alejandro Castro, there was a lot to celebrate as a group from 2025.
But now we move on to 2026.
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What’s in store this year?
“In terms of last year, we didn’t get to hit all over our targets in terms of some of the events we had planned,” explained Sensei Ian Sammy, our chief instructor and president.
“We still managed to host our seminar... the seminar is growing and getting better than years past. The feedback we got back from the instructors was that they’re seeing much improvement in the higher ranks.”
So starting from the junior black belts, things are moving along better than we could hope for.
On deck, we have a group of young, talented, and intelligent junior black belts, who are eager to learn, and are hungry for more.
Combined with their hard graft, the SKIF Executive Committee has reached further than it ever had before, and currently has plans for more this year. “We have a couple international events we are trying to attend,” continued Sammy.
“There is a lot of work going on to prepare who we are looking for technically (to compete) as well as finances. In addition to that we are still having the international seminar this year... hopefully it will be a little bigger this year as we are looking to have more countries coming in, and the whole structure will be change up bit, so we will be looking forward to expanding and improving on what we have been doing for the seminar.”
Among the coloured ranks and children, we have opted to double down on their basic karate in true budo fashion, and less than a month and a half into the new year, we’ve already seen marked improvements - particularly among the intermediate ranks - in their attitude and technique.
Look out for more of the same, and then some new ideas
We’re definitely having another Kata and Kumite clinic this year. The idea, an inspired choice by Ian Sensei, turned out to be an unexpected success last Easter. Along with that is our National Championships as well, which will feature all students this time around, not just the 12 and under division.
Plans for a fundraising 5K are also in the works, as well as a competition cookout where parents are encouraged to showcase their culinary skills. Look out for our upcoming calendar of events in our official Whatsapp channel for more details.
The XIV International Seminar will also roll off near year end, and the SKIF World Championships in Turkey is our next mission in the competition scene, where our black belts are already preparing to make a statement.
Watch this space!
And as the year unfolds, we will be here to feed you with the stories where you can get a play-by-play in case you missed out, or relive the experience again in short-form content.
Stick around for more.
Oss!
January 31st 2026