Celebrating 30 years of karate practice last week, three decades spent as a follower, a competitor and a coach, there is no denying the passion that Charles Fink holds for his sport.
His belief in the core values that traditional karate embraces — respect and integrity, honesty and perseverance — is unwavering. In many ways, Fink sees his day-to-day life as a natural extension of the mindset he carries into the dojo (a room in which martial arts are practiced) several times a week.
Now, the sessional teacher within the Faculty of Education and Health at Laurentian University is merging his fascination with the interplay between sport and life with his academic interest.
Fink is currently pursuing a PhD in Human Kinetics. His thesis, fittingly, aims to develop a better understanding of the transmission of the core values of karate and how those values are being shared within karate schools outside of Japan and within the context of the Canadian environment of the sport.
Breaking down the interaction between coach and athlete (or “sensei” and “deshi” as teacher and student are known in karate), Fink is exploring how the teachings from karate are influenced by the values of Japan itself and how, through martial arts instruction, those values then filtre back out into society — whether that society is in Japan, where the art developed, or in Canada where those values are taught and duplicated in martial arts schools.
“When you set foot in any karate school (in Canada), a traditional Japanese dojo, it’s almost like taking an imaginary trip to Japan,” Fink said. “We engage in Japanese courtesy and etiquette, we use Japanese language and terminology in Canada – but we do it in a Canadian context.
“When you go to Japan, this etiquette, this protocol, it’s not limited to the dojo,” the 51-year-old, who subscribes to the Seiwakai stream of karate studies, said. “The whole country is like that. Where here, it’s perhaps somewhat artificial, in Japan, it’s organic.
“It’s really a lot of fun to see how the culture has influenced the art.”
While it was not part of his formal research, a two-week sojourn to the Land of the Rising Sun this past summer,with a dozen or so other Sudbury karate practitioners gave Fink the opportunity to enhance his karate knowledge at the home of a grandmaster, while also observing how sport and culture prosper in support of one another in Japan.
“It’s amazing to go to Japan, just as a tourist, but from a karate standpoint, there are certainly some technical elements that you learn,” he said. “When you are training with a master of that stature, there are always some little physical things that you see can be refined.
“From a non-technical side, the takeaway is a cultural one – and my research ties back to this.”
Still, the bulk of his research has and will continue to take place in Canada, albeit with the involvement of other karate practitioners who have travelled to and trained in the home of one of the most famous Asian martial arts styles. For those who instruct at the highest levels of karate in Canada, the trip is a virtual necessity, not to mention an experience that only serves to broaden the overall scope of their knowledge.
Reaching out to the “committee of elders” that is the Karate Canada Hall of Fame committee as part of his thesis research, Fink was looking to connect with people who had a deep involvement in karate, moving on to establish small discussion groups and fostering unscripted conversational interviews.
“We asked the questions and allowed the answers to pour out of those masters,” the 51-year-old.
Looking to defend his thesis in the spring of 2025, Fink is now pulling together all of the data he’s collected and is running a “thematic analysis”.
“We are now dissecting this information and certain things are coming to the surface,” he stated.
“The idea of respect is overarching (as was expected), but another theme that came out of the research is that karate is a school for life. We are developing tools within the karate practice that can apply in the outside world. If you were to catch any of my classes, whether that’s in a karate school or the classroom or the gym, I am the same person.”
Which is to say a person who genuinely is enjoying his on-going journey of discovery.
“We want the research to be sound, to withstand the rigours of academic scrutiny, but it also has to be a joyful experience,” Fink said. “I am doing this for the pleasure of doing it. I want to go through the experience to enjoy the opportunity for personal growth – and learn a lot about karate, while I am at it.”
Randy Pascal is a sportswriter in Greater Sudbury. Pursuit is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.