About Us

Martial Arts and Tutoring Studies Program
Hosted by Wadoka Academy

The MATS Program is hosted by Wadoka Academy, an organization started over 30 years ago in the Jane and Finch community with a rich history in providing martial arts programs to students throughout the GTA. At its height of operation, Wadoka Academy was running programs at around 20 elementary schools scattered throughout the TDSB, TCDSB, and YRDSB. It also operated a special program hosted in York University’s Tait McKenzie Centre, where students received martial arts training, tutoring, and swimming lessons provided by York University staff.

Founded by Sensei Colin Ninvalle, the name Wadoka derives from two components: Wado – a Japanese term meaning “Way through Peace” and Ka – an intrinsic philosophical aspiration in Zulu tradition meaning “Knowledge of Everything”. Combining the two concepts, the meaning of Wadoka becomes “Way through Peace and Knowledge”, an appropriate motto that demonstrates our unique concept of interconnecting martial arts training and academic studies to enable our students in becoming better human beings. Click here for more information on the history of Wadoka Academy.

About the Founder: Sensei Colin Ninvalle

WADOKA Academy, Founder and Chief Instructor
Director (Board of Directors) KARATE ONTARIO, 1992-1994
2nd Degree Black Belt (Nidan), Wado Ryu Karate (1993)
5th Degree Black Belt (Godan), Shotokan Karate (2015)
Canadian Team, World Championship, Tokyo, Japan (1984)
B.A. Hons. (Sociology/Social Work 1987)
M.A., (Sociology/Psychology 1993)
Author, Stereotypes (Toronto, Canada 2004), The Manuscript (PA, USA 2012)

Sensei Colin Ninvalle, the founder of the Wadoka method, has practiced martial arts for over 40 years, half of which was spent participating in competitive Karate tournaments. Among his many achievements are:

Competing in numerous provincial, national, and international Karate events
Winning the “Kubota Cup” twice
Representing Canada in the 1984 World Wado Ryu Tournament in Tokyo

Sensei Colin Ninvalle discovered he excelled greatly in the fields of focus, timing, and strategy. These proved to be the basis of his later work in martial arts training for children in Toronto.

He also stands out as a scholar in the areas of sociology and psychology. His first book, “Stereotypes” is an original examination of the concept and the manner in which stereotypes infiltrate every aspect of our lives. His latest book, “The Manuscript”, one writer remarked, “is an astounding reflection on the concept of “Time”. For more information on Sensei Colin Ninvalle’s own personal journey in the martial arts, visit the page https://wadokaacademy.com/wadoka-karate-mental-health/