Head Instructor
Born in Toronto, Ontario as a first generation Canadian, Sensei Bassels brings to the study of the martial arts a comprehensive skill set derived from both instruction and practical life experience. As a director of a Classical Martial Arts Canada school, his instruction complements a western lifestyle with the classical eastern philosophies of martial arts that come to Canada from China, Japan, India, and the Philippines; it is as a proud Canadian that he passes on this knowledge.
He has trained extensively in GoJuRyu Karate-Do, Aikijutsu, Taichi-Chuan, BaGua, QiGong, GoJu Kobudo, as well as exposure to various other styles and systems, yet much of the moral foundations he teaches children and youth derive from outside the classroom. Fortunately, as a child growing up in a low-income area of Toronto, work, family, confidence, ethical foundation, and creativity became very apparent assets when not disguised by a more affluent and convenient style of living. As a young boy he quickly learned to avoid attacks of various sorts, many of which children and youth potentially face today, regardless of their economic, cultural or social disposition. It is the life lessons he experienced as a boy that have determined how he manages as an adult, and it is from these experiences that he mentors the children and youth he teaches today. He recalls: "I grew up in a single parent home with two younger sisters. We lived on the ground floor of an apartment building in an Ontario project neighborhood. My mother was not blind to the low self-image and living habits people accept when having to make do with less; she did not want her children to be lazy, unconscionable, or motivated solely by money and image, and so she became the example she wanted us to see. She used to say, 'there are those that will try to buy your integrity and others that will manipulate it away from you; often for nothing other than a piece of dyed cotton, a name affiliation, or a badge of some sort. There is only so many times you can give it until there is nothing left, and no amount of money or popularity will ever replace it; it is something a person can only give to them self'. I learned that things and money can be replaced; if you believe in nothing of value you have nothing of value worth defending. I learned that all great people are regular people who did great things; all great things are made up of many foolish things that become great. I discovered that there is a big difference between fight tough and life tough; poverty is not a money issue, it is a human one. My first dojo was the neighborhood I grew up in, and my first martial arts teacher was my parent".
He was formally introduced to the martial arts at the age of ten, receiving instruction in judo at a local Y.M.C.A. through the assistance of a charity organization that reaches out to young boys. Though he enjoyed this martial art very much, it was short lived due to lack of available volunteers and funding. Throughout his childhood he would receive various types of instruction in karate, boxing, and wrestling, mostly through various youth and mentor programs.
(It is in large part due to the kindness and investment of caring people in his youth, and the future example of his teacher today, Hanshi W.M.Platt, and the head organizational coordinator of Classical Martial Arts Canada, Senpai S. Duft, that he not only teaches martial arts but is also an advocate for many charity and social groups that reach out domestically and internationally for causes that include environmental, ecological, animal and human rights, social assistance, and youth reach groups.)
Though Sensei Bassels has competed at various tournaments in Canada and the U.S, he puts very little emphasis on his wins and losses as a teacher and mentor.
"Fighting is not a game; you don't play life in the same way you play a sport. Martial arts is an education in how to complement and manage life, not take it. The most important lessons are the ones we realize without applause".
Instead of using competition to motivate and test a student, Sensei Bassels has chosen to shift his students attention towards a more comprehensive education in the martial arts, that includes creativity, imagination and awareness. He not only teaches children and youth to defend themselves mentally and physically, but he also teaches them how to use their skills to recognize and confidently manage issues before they become big problems, to eventually become an adult who comprehensively seeks for solutions not excuses. He believes that winning a trophy is easy when compared to fighting for a belief, a dream, your fellow man, and your home. He says, "What we see and hear as children becomes the mirror we look into as adults".
Sensei Bassels presently holds a 3rd degree black belt in Karate and GoJu Kobudo, and a 3rd level in the internal energy arts (Niei Chi). He has also received instruction from many teachers of varying styles that embody martial arts - from BaGua at the Purple Cloud temple in Wudang, the Southern Shaolin in Xiamen, the Northern Shaolin of Songshan in Henan China, and the White Crane system in Fuzhou, among others. Complementing the instruction he has received is a growing list of research trips to various energy spots and historically relevant locations spanning millions of miles of travel, both in Asia and outside of the traditional Orient. It is from his travels and subsequent experiences that his understanding of the martial arts has been enriched.
He has been teaching the martial arts professionally since 2003, beginning in St Catharines, Ontario, and later in Mississauga in 2005. He believes that martial arts is more than an extra-curricular activity. That it is an education few children are fortunate to receive."The image of the world tomorrow is determined from the investment in the children of today; good grades are not enough". As such, he can be found instructing all age groups, from the 4-8 yr olds, the 9-12 year olds, and the youth groups. "How the generation before handles their vulnerability is paramount to the one that comes next, either finding their strength or becoming a stranger to it".
"The way is in training"
Sensei's Message
The path of karate has been a difficult but rewarding one. Training has and continues to test my limits, and for that I am grateful: for when I look back from where I started, it stands out that when I have overcome the hardest of times, the injuries, and the difficult choices, was when I improved the most. Karate can be best summed as the impeccable ability of falling down one hundred times and getting back up one hundred and one. It is finding a way through rather than a way out. I learned that my parents and mentors could not chew and swallow my food for me in the same way they could not give me my success. Success of any goal comes no different from one person to another: it begins as the example you are shown, and in the end is limited only by the dimensions you choose to recognize it, and then give to yourself.
--Sensei Jason RP Bassels
