Abo KDS is a karate club situated in Turku, Finland. It belongs to Finland KDS, the umbrella organization of all the KDS clubs in Finland (see Links). Abo KDS is also part of the Åbo Akademi University sports arrangements for students and staff.

The club was officially founded in February 2003, when the first government was established. The members in Abo KDS are mainly students or teachers at Åbo Akademi University. The main instructors of the club are Mikael Kurula (contact person) and Christopher Schmidt.

Abo KDS is quite a new club constituted by curious students and teachers, and therefore we tend to work by the principle of a good relaxed atmosphere, honest interest and dedicated work. We also try to participate in as many courses (both national and international) as possible in order to increase our collected level of knowledge in KDS Karate. We are happy to welcome everyone with an interest in KDS Karate to our club.

The KDS in General

Our karate is a bit different from many other styles. The following simple ideas, among others, characterise it:

1. We try to keep things simple, efficient and practical.
2. Learning to stay relaxed and agile in all situations is important.
3. We practice through (more or less) simple methods, the aim being to learn karate through understanding one's own body.
4. We do not encourage competition, but instead we emphasize partnership.

EVERYONE can practice within the respective limits that his/her own body sets, regardless of e.g. size, gender and age. Regular karate practice will certainly improve anyone's everyday life in many ways.

The KDS is an international organization directly overseen by the principal Instructor Master Mitsusuke Harada. Sensei Harada established the KDS organization in the U.K. in 1965.

More information about KDS