All your favorite teams and sources in one place

Build your feed

Your Teams.
All Sources.

Build your feed

© 2024 BVM Sports. Best Version Media, LLC.

No results found.
Kate Cowan’s karate journey
Third-degree black belt Kate Cowan, known by her students as “Sensei Kate,” owns and operates  Ogawa Family Karate in Fort Erie, Ont. (Photo: Roman Boldyrev)

Kate Cowan’s karate journey

FORT ERIE, Ontario (BVM) – Kate Cowan never dreamed she would one day own and operate her own karate dojo.

A professional graphic designer and film producer, she began learning karate at age 4 and loved it from day one. But as a young girl she didn’t imagine the lifestyle as ever being part of her professional future.

“When I was 10 years old, my grandma asked me, ‘Do you think someday you’ll be a karate sensei?’ I said, ‘Heck no, that’s a terrible idea!’” Cowan said laughing.

As a self-proclaimed shy teenager, this accomplished karate student rarely missed a class.

“It was the only place in life that I had friends,” Cowan said. “I wasn’t a sociable kid, but at karate I was the popular girl, so I loved it.” 

Now 28, Cowan is a third-grade black belt, or sandan, living in Ridgeway, Ont., a hamlet of Fort Erie, where she offers traditional karate instruction to children and adults of all ages and abilities. 

Cowan grew up in Burlington, Ont., about 95 kilometers north of Fort Erie. With more than 22 years of karate experience, she is proud to be a student under Sensei Tetsuji Nakamura, world chief instructor of the International Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate Federation (IOGFK) under Higaonna Sensei. For five years, she taught karate part-time at Shudokan Family Karate in Burlington.

She moved to Ridgeway two years ago. She had never known small-town life before but easily settled in. 

It was Cowan’s mom, Angela, who encouraged her to do karate full-time. Mother and daughter searched together for a suitable place in the neighbourhood to train and practice karate. Angela had the practical idea of her daughter inviting the public to join her at the dojo, the formal gathering place for martial arts students. 

“I agreed that I might as well include other people if I’m going to find an empty space to do karate on my own,” Cowan said. 

Cowan began thinking seriously about her future and the idea of opening her own school. Before long, she planned an open house in a small church hall, inviting families in the area to learn more about the benefits of karate.

But even people with a black belt get nervous. As Cowan planned the open house, her anticipation (and nerves) grew. 

“I was terrified,” Cowan said, recalling the exhilaration and excitement of enrolling her first students. 

Nine people signed up the night of the open house, several of whom still train under her today. New faces joined at a steady rate, and Cowan soon needed more space. Her students followed her to a more spacious studio, where she has held classes since last September. 

Known to her students as “Sensei Kate,” Cowan has come into her own as a business owner and a local karate expert. She is excited to expand and grow her business and remains grateful for the small church gym where she started. 

Cowan’s dojo, Ogawa Family Karate, is a member of IOGKF, which ensures that she, as an instructor, is properly trained and continues to improve her own martial arts training on a regular basis. 

Cowan credits karate for her strength and courage, both mental and physical. She leads her students with the same teachings she grew up with. She is quick to note that karate is about being your best, not the best. At the start of a class, she tells everyone that, if she asks them to do 20 push-ups but they can only do five, it’s okay—as long as they’re doing their best.

“You just do what you can,” she said, adding that karate students aren’t competing with each other, but with themselves. “As long as I can see (a student) is giving his or her all, that’s fine.”

Along with the physical benefits, karate students develop character and confidence, and they learn respect, discipline and teamwork.

“Success in karate is based on how long you’ve been training and how much you’ve learned,” Cowan said.

Cowan is preparing to advance to fourth-degree black belt (and then fifth and sixth), but this takes time and serious effort. Grading involves performing katas, where students must execute a specified series of moves, stepping and turning while maintaining perfect form. 

One of Cowan’s personal goals is to attend a grading in Japan. In the meantime, she is happy to have found her niche in a new town and help others be the best they can be.