Learn how to move
Early lessons develop stance, balance, alignment, stepping and striking mechanics. You learn what each movement asks of your body, not merely where to put your hands.
Adult karate instruction · Vaughan, Ontario
Learn a complete karate system, one movement at a time.
Ryujin-te gives adults a direct path into serious traditional karate: careful fundamentals, a deep kata curriculum and individual instruction that meets you where you are.
See the practice
Karate should be seen, not merely described.
This space is ready for a short demonstration. Until then, the rest of this page explains exactly what a beginner can expect.
Demonstration video coming soon
Original Ryujin-te footage
What you will practise
A technical, form-centred karate with a long road ahead.
Ryujin-te is built around individual technique and kata. Beginners repeat the fundamentals until movement becomes coordinated, controlled and useful. There is real combative content here, but nobody is thrown into contact before they can control themselves.
Build a practice
Technique leads into kata: structured forms that preserve the system and give you something substantial to practise between lessons. Progress comes from attention, repetition and correction.
Earn greater depth
Partner work, sparring, weapons and sword work come later, for students who develop the necessary control. A ten-kyu and five-dan curriculum provides years of material to explore.
First lessonAssessment, fundamental movement and a short practice plan
Eight weeksA working foundation in technique, movement and introductory kata
One yearDeeper forms, stronger mechanics and new material as readiness allows
Training photographOriginal Ryujin-te documentation
Technique in practiceOriginal Ryujin-te documentation
Kata in practiceOriginal Ryujin-te documentation
Philip PilurisInstructor and lineage holder
Your instructor
I'm Philip Piluris.
I've spent twenty years in karate and hold fifth dan in Ryujin-te. I received the complete system from my teacher, along with the responsibility to keep it alive. I've taught individuals informally for years, from young children to people in their nineties. The public school begins with adults because that lets me establish the curriculum carefully and teach at the depth it deserves.
I am comfortable teaching complete beginners. You do not need to arrive fit, flexible or already fluent in martial arts. You do need curiosity, patience and a willingness to practise.
The history is unusual, but I won't ask you to take it on faith. I would rather show you the karate, explain what I know, and be equally clear about what remains uncertain.
Read the lineage and research accountWays to begin
Start with a conversation or a lesson.
No grand commitment is required. Ask your questions first, then decide whether this is the practice you want.
Lowest commitment
Free introduction
A twenty-minute phone or video conversation about your goals, physical considerations and what Ryujin-te training involves.
- Free
- No physical activity
- No obligation to enrol
Begin directly
Private instruction
A 60-minute lesson shaped around your experience, capabilities and pace, within approximately 30 minutes of Vaughan City Hall.
- Adults 18+
- Student-home visits considered
- Comfortable athletic clothing
60-minute lesson$100
Ask about a private lessonSmall-group program
Eight-week beginner cohort
Eight Saturday mornings introducing fundamentals, individual technique, kata and the body method behind the system.
- Saturdays, 10:00–11:30 a.m.
- Six-person minimum, twelve-person cap
- No contact, sparring or weapons
Eight-week tuition$239
Register your interestI am accepting introductory conversations and expressions of interest now. Physical instruction will be scheduled only with insurance and an appropriate teaching location in place. Full scheduling, cancellation and refund terms are provided before any payment.
Train intelligently
Control comes before contact.
Beginners work individually on movement, technique and kata. Partner contact, sparring and weapons are excluded from the founding program and introduced later only when a student is ready.
I hold current First Aid/CPR certification. Appropriate insurance, participant information and emergency procedures will be in place before physical teaching begins.
Common questions
The things a new student actually needs to know.
Am I too old, unfit or inexperienced?
No previous martial-arts experience is required, and instruction begins from your actual capabilities. I have taught people across an unusually wide age range. Training can be adapted, although anyone with health concerns should consult an appropriate health professional first.
Will I get hurt?
All physical training carries some risk, but beginners do not spar or make contact with one another. The early curriculum emphasizes controlled individual movement. You are expected to communicate limitations and stop when something feels unsafe.
Will this actually work?
Ryujin-te contains real combative material, but I do not promise instant self-defence or sell confidence by slogan. Useful skill comes from sound mechanics, repeated practice, judgment and eventually testing material with appropriate partners.
What happens in the first private lesson?
We discuss your goals and relevant limitations, look at how you stand and move, introduce a small number of fundamentals, and finish with a manageable practice plan. Wear comfortable athletic clothing and bring water.
Do I need a gi?
No. The received tradition did not use one, and beginners train in comfortable athletic clothing. If I adopt uniforms or belt conventions later, I will say plainly that they are modern teaching choices, not something handed down.
Why don't beginners spar?
Contact requires control. Beginners first build movement, technique, kata and judgment. Partner training comes later according to demonstrated readiness, not merely time served.
What is the lineage?
Ryujin-te is the modern name I gave a privately transmitted system learned by my teacher in occupied Okinawa in the mid-1940s. My fifth dan and responsibility for the system were conferred privately and verbally. The earlier origin account remains oral and unproven. The full account and research method are published on the research page.
Start here
Let's talk about what you want to learn.
Email me to request a free twenty-minute introduction, ask about private instruction, or register interest in the Saturday cohort. Tell me your name, general location and the option that interests you; I will reply personally.
Email Philip