About Us
Sakura Karate-do Club is a club of dedicated practitioners of traditional Japanese Karate-do and Kobu-do. Established in 1998, the club continues to strive for excellence under constant guidance of Chief Master of Hayashi-ha Shitoryu Karate-do and Kenshin-ryu Kobu-do in Finland, Shihan Marco Pilato, 5th dan and direct supervision of his master, Hanshi Seinosuke Mitsuya, 8th dan. We are proud to be in touch with the Japanese roots and direct lineage of the arts we study.
True to the spirit of Karate-do, in our practices we concentrate on precision and control in our technique, paying as much attention to mental development as to physical development.
Our Karate-do practices emphasize kata (forms) training as a basis of all other training, but is not limited only to kata. Our trainings also include kumite (sparring), which starts simple and contactless at a safe distance and as students learn the control over their technique allows for more contact and more sophisticated techniques. Our practices also include a wide variety of other kind of training like locks and throws.
Practices of Kobu-do (weapons techniques) compliments empty-hand practices of Karate-do and allows our students to learn such traditional weapons as bo (long staff), tonfa, nunchaku, sai and kama.
Only through constant training and dedication can one become proficient in the art of Karate-do. We offer a possibility to train almost every day in a number of locations in downtown and East Helsinki.