Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage

Earlier this year I returned to Japan to train karate and to hike a pilgrimage trail in Wakayama known as the Kumano Kodo. This trail is a six day, five night hike through the inaka, or countryside, south of Osaka. The path winds through small towns, rice paddies and tall forests filled with pine trees and bamboo. Walking along the trail day after day was a truly spiritual experience and an inspiration to my journey to deciding to take the next steps to opening a karate school at home in Canada.

One dark morning with the rain pouring down, I sat in Tsuboyu, a 2000 year old onsen. As I lay in the near boiling waters I listened to the water of the river nearby roar past. For thousands of years pilgrims and travelers seeking help from the gods used this water to cleanse themselves. Sitting there in the teal blue, waters I had a moment of revelation. My life was out of alignment. I needed to do something with my limited time here that was more than just paying the bills. I realized that I felt a deep urge to share the karate that had brought me all this way across the world and had taught me so much about who I am and how to live as a strong and courageous person.

Upon returning to Canada, I approached my sensei and asked permission to start Graves Karate & Strength.