The principles of traditional Asian martial arts such as budo or “the way of the warrior” focuses on bettering the self for the community. Melanie Adam, Owner and Director of Tallack Martial Arts and karate and kobudo (weaponry) practitioner, emphasizes that traditional martial arts is an art of living with respect, compassion, and reciprocity. Adam notes that the artfulness of bodily movement is anchored to the philosophies and histories of the art form.
Tallack Martial Arts provides spaces for community-driven events such as fundraisers and seminars in partnership with the larger martial arts community nationally, with the biannual Winter/Summer Training Festival and internationally through the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (DNBK), a world martial arts association. Through their student-centred approach, Tallack Martial Arts and the Winter/Summer Training Festivals provide opportunities for students to lead their own learning with the facilitation of instructors. The tournaments provide the opportunity for the larger martial arts community to gather – facilitating learning, teaching, and community-building through the art practice.
Tallack Martial Arts provides spaces for community-driven events such as fundraisers and seminars in partnership with the larger martial arts community nationally, with the biannual Winter/Summer Training Festival and internationally through the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (DNBK), a world martial arts association. Through their student-centred approach, Tallack Martial Arts and the Winter/Summer Training Festivals provide opportunities for students to lead their own learning with the facilitation of instructors. The tournaments provide the opportunity for the larger martial arts community to gather – facilitating learning, teaching, and community-building through the art practice.
This video shows the opening ceremony of the 2016 Kingston City Championships which included a Lion Dance demonstration by the Tallack Martial Arts Lion Dance Team. This annual February event hosted by Tallack Martial Arts has evolved in response to community needs and participant feedback. In 1995, it began as a tournament and has transitioned into a festival, with emphasis on education and community. The Winter/Summer Training Festival continues to be a highly anticipated by the martial arts community in this new form. It brings together visual artists, musicians, performers, and craftspeople to use art as a means of engagement throughout the festival.
“The history, the philosophy, the tradition, that's part of the art, the way you move your body in the way we're always trying to better ourselves in our skills. That's the art. It's a way of thinking. It's a way of being…a way of living like budo.” - Melanie Adams, Owner and Director of Tallack Martial Arts, April 2022
