ShotoCanada Says Goodbye to Nairn Semple Sensei

Many members of Nanaimo Shotokan, past students, friends and family gathered at Rathtrevor Beach on June 22 to say goodbye and scatter the ashes of beloved sensei, friend and mentor, Nairn Semple.

It wasn't all sadness and tears as we gathered after the ash scattering to eat together and tell stories.

On Sunday, June 23, there was a formal memorial held hosted by Nairn's two sisters. Many friends and admirers attended and there was a huge karate contingent. Messages were send from all over the world to honour Nairn and several people presented their memories. Here Rob Ingram Sensei tells of Nairn's significance to the development of ShotoCanada and the important role he played in developing our karate the way we practice it today.

On Friday June 21, many karateka gathered in Nanaimo for a tribute class to Nairn Sensei. Even people who had not trained in years came to share in this class to honour sensei.