Making Karate Work for You:
Seminars with Shihan Steve Fogarasi, 5th Dan
I started training in forest dojos in Communist Romania, where karate was illegal and getting caught meant real consequences. I've competed across Europe and North America, run dojos in three countries, and spent close to two decades teaching in Canada. What I bring to a seminar isn't a performance. It's what I've actually learned about making this art work for real bodies, real schedules, and real lives.
How I Teach
Most seminars teach a room full of people to move exactly like the instructor. I do something different. I teach the logic underneath the technique — the actual mechanics of power, timing, and balance — so a 10-year-old and a 45-year-old with a bad knee can both walk away with something they can use. This comes straight out of my book, Your Karate. The goal was never to make everyone look the same. The goal is to help each student find their own version of the art.
What a Seminar Covers
I build every seminar around what a specific dojo actually needs. That usually pulls from four areas:
Adapting technique to the person, not the other way around. How to adjust Kyokushin fundamentals for different ages, bodies, and physical limitations, so training stays sustainable for the long run instead of breaking people down.
Kata as more than memorization. Precision, breathing, and internal control — treating kata as a tool for developing focus, not just a sequence to perform for grading.
Building real resilience. Not about teaching people to absorb punishment. It's about awareness, situational thinking, and the discipline to keep going when something is hard.
The jump from basic to live. Bridging the gap between kihon and sparring — hit and don't get hit, with the technical control to actually pull that off.
Why Bring Me In
I've trained and taught across three continents, starting from underground dojos where there was no instructor to learn from and I had to open my own school as a blue belt just to keep training. That gives me a different read on this art than someone who's only ever trained in one system, in one country, under ideal conditions.
I also don't pretend this path is easy. I dealt with pneumonia and asthma as a kid and came up through the ranks anyway. When I tell students that discipline gets you through the hard stretches, I'm not reciting something I read. I lived it.
Seminars I've Run
I've led seminars and specialized training camps at both Contact Kicks locations, Barrie and Mississauga, covering everything from tameshiwari to full-contact sparring events. Beyond the dojo, I've run summer camps and fighter preparation camps in Romania and the USA, working with students ranging from first-time competitors to those preparing for serious tournament fights.
I'm now looking to bring that same training directly to other dojos and organizations. If you'd like to be among the first to host a seminar, reach out below — I'll work with you to build something specific to your students.
Booking Details
I run seminars across Canada and internationally, in formats built around what the host dojo wants: a single-day intensive, a full weekend camp, or a focused workshop for instructors.
No pressure, no contracts. I'll work directly with you to figure out what actually fits your students, and we'll go from there.
Group size isn't a barrier. I've taught rooms of 15 to 20 students and seminars with a few hundred. As long as travel and accommodation are covered, I'm happy to make it work.
Fees are worked out directly with each organizer, based on the size of the seminar and what makes sense for your dojo. There's no fixed rate card, because there shouldn't be.
What matters most is landing on something you can actually afford. I'll work with you to find that.
To bring me to your dojo, fill out the form below and tell me a bit about your school.