Page 31 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 141

www.sportsenergynews.com Issue 141 October 2024 31

By Brian Johnston If you don’t understand penalties, This lack of transparency can create By Max Ming
Continued from page 30 the best time to learn about your IRD significant financial burdens for Continued from page 30
and your penalties was yesterday. borrowers unaware of how close they
or the interest rate differential, The second-best time is today. are to paying large penalties. When was recommended. What can be
whichever amount is higher. The IRD The purpose of the IRD is to allow posted rates drop, many homeowners done? You guessed it, rebalancing.
is the difference between the interest fixate on the lower rate without fully In a nutshell, this is a disciplined
lenders to recover some of the
you would have paid based on the interest they would have earned if understanding the hidden costs of the process of selling a bit of what has
posted rate at the time you signed prepayment penalty. In recent years,
you had kept your mortgage until the done “too well” to buy what has
your mortgage and the interest you end of its term. However, according numerous cases have appeared in underperformed and get you back
would pay at the current posted rate. the media where borrowers have
to experts, lenders’ communication to that initial mix of assets that
This means that if posted rates of these penalties can be unclear, been hit with shocking prepayment was recommended. Rebalancing
decrease after you’ve signed your making it difficult for borrowers penalties, sometimes reaching as is one of the key reasons we
mortgage, your IRD penalty can to fully understand how much they high as $30,000. have used, and continue to use,
increase. For example, if you signed owe. The big issue we see here is One such case involved a real estate managed portfolio solutions,
your mortgage at a 5% interest rate that lenders will not tell you what agent in Ontario, illustrating that and this “rebalancing” works its
and the posted rate drops to 4%, your IRD is when it’s less than three even industry professionals, who are wonders during all market cycles
your IRD could be based on the 1% months’ interest. You could be $2 typically well-versed in real estate to both keep you on track, and take
difference. If the posted rate drops away from having to pay the full transactions, can be caught off guard advantage of the market’s ups and
further to 3%, the IRD would be penalty, and they’re not going to tell by the steep penalties associated with downs.
calculated based on a 2% difference. you. early mortgage termination.

KARATE KOMMENTS

Shorin-ryu karate became a formal style in 1933, founded by Choshin
Chibana, but is much older than that. Chosin’s instructor was Anko Itosu,
the top student of Matsumura, who is credited with being the founder
By Jim Riddell, of Shuri-te. Shorin-ryu tends to have higher, narrower, and more natural
stances than those of Shotokan.
Seaway Karate Club Chito-ryu is the style that we teach at Seaway Karate. Chito-ryu was

developed by Tsyuoshi Chitose in 1946 while living in Japan. Chitose, a
native of Okinaw,a was a medical doctor and also the grandson of Shuri-te,
n some earlier Karate Komments columns, we have looked at how karate founder Matsumura. Dr.Chitose blended Shorin and Shorei-ryu, creating
Ideveloped from China to Okinawa to Japan and from there spread to the a style with higher, more natural stances, with many dojos of this lineage
rest of the world becoming a mainstream sport in the process. In the early placing an emphasis on self-defense.
days of karate in Okinawa it was referred to as either Shuri –te, Naha-te, The biggest difference between styles is usually in the different katas
or Tomara-te, the three cities from which it came. Each area had their own
that are taught which are somewhat specific to each style. Several katas
kata and techniques that set their versions apart from the other two.
are common to many different styles and have only minor variations.
To complicate things, the cities were close enough that sharing of The Pinan/Heian series of five katas was introduced into the Okinawan
knowledge and learning from each other was not uncommon. There were no
school system in 1895 by Anko Itosu, and they were later adopted by
real formal styles, but rather masters who had their own way of doing things. many different styles. The Naihanchi/Tekki series of kata is another that is
Formal karate styles didn’t start until after the sport gained popularity in commonly shared by many styles of karate.
Japan, and today there are many different styles, most of which have roots There are many more similarities between styles than there are
to one or more of those three cities back in Okinawa. Some of the more differences. Regardless of style, most dojos share the same components at
popular styles in Canada are Chito-ryu, Chito-kan, Gojo-ryu, Kyokushkin
class – doing a warm-up and work- out, basic technique drills, pad drills,
Shotokan, Shito-ryu, Shorin -ryu, and Wado-ryu. In Eastern Ontario, three self-defense drills, along with specific specialty training such as pressure
of those styles are quite popular; Chito- ryu, Shorin – ryu, and Shotokan, points, weapons or tournament/grading preparation. If you ask any karate
with several others sprinkled throughout the area.
practitioner which style is best, it is human nature to be biased to the style
Gichin Funakoshi, known as the father of modern karate, popularized that they themselves practice.
the sport in Japan by doing demonstrations for diplomats and educators, All styles of karate are very good - it comes down to the knowledge and
eventually establishing clubs in all major universities and getting karate experience of the dojo’s instructors, the seminars and clinics that they have
into the school system. Funakoshi never named his style, calling it karate. attended, and the methods that they use in passing on their knowledge to
He wrote many motivational messages to his students using the pen name
the next generation of karate students.
“Shoto”, to which his students added the word kan (meaning house in
Japanese), giving the style a name. Shotokan karate tends to have deeper Karate Quote: Get it right in the beginning. If you continue doing it wrong,
and longer stances than those of other styles. it will always be wrong. Practice makes it permanent, not perfect.