After Philip Allain was attacked and badly beaten in high school, he made a promise to himself.
“I said that would never happen again,” Allain said.
So, he began his journey with martial arts.
His karate training served him well when he became a police officer, but not well enough.
“I had to deal with physical violence as a police officer. As the frequency of violence increased, it showed me there was more I needed to learn. Street violence is so different from karate school,” he said. “Everything I learned up to that point was sport karate. It wasn’t effective at all (as a police officer).”
So, Allain travelled far and wide to expand his knowledge of martial arts. His most valuable training was in Okinawa, Japan, under the tutelage of Fumio Demura — often referred to as “the real Mr. Miyagi,” a character in the original Karate Kid movies.
“I teach according to his traditions,” said Allain, sensei and owner of Blue Dragon Martial Arts in Oro-Medonte. “He is the guiding force behind everything I do at the school.”
This year, Blue Dragon is celebrating 20 years. Allain started the business in his home with four students before moving his lessons to a local church. He now holds his classes at Jarratt Hall and Shanty Bay Public School. His main focuses are physical fitness, self-defence and karate — “exactly like they teach it on the island of Okinawa,” he said.
Students come to Blue Dragon for various reasons. For adults, it could be the fitness component that is most appealing. For kids, “it’s a myriad of reasons,” Allain explained.
“Parents continuously bring children to me because they want them to be more focused,” he said, noting some doctors suggest karate for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and those who are on the autism spectrum.
Whatever the reason for joining, Allain wants his students to get the same experience.
“I hope they leave with a love of karate,” he said.
And, while he doesn’t want to see his students have to use their combat training in real-life experiences, he is happy to hear from those who used it in a time of need.
“One boy was being bullied. He did was he was taught (and successfully defended himself),” Allain said of one of his students.
He offers four levels of training — kindergarten (four-and-a-half to six years old), grade school (seven to nine), middle school (10 to 14) and adult (15 and older).
For more information, call Blue Dragon Martial Arts at 705-321-0543, email [email protected] or check out the website.
Just the facts
-
Philip Allain started training in 1977
-
He earned his first black belt 35 years ago and will be receiving his seventh-degree black belt this fall
-
Classes taught as of 2017: 40 weeks of teaching per year; 17 classes per week; 680 classes a year; 12,920 classes over 19 years
-
76 graduations
-
Average 100 students per year for 19 years
-
Average of 25 summer camp students per year for 10 years
-
300 high-school self-defence course students over two years
-
Junior black belts as of 2017: 121
-
Senior black belts as of 2017: 42
