Gateway Martial Arts

Meet Sensei Adam Arbiter, the Owner Behind Gateway Martial Arts in North Bay

When you walk into Gateway Martial Arts, the first person to say hello is usually Adam Arbiter, the owner and head sensei. He will show you around, introduce you to people, and tell you that you can call him Sensei Adam, or just Adam, whatever feels right for now. That welcome is the whole point of the place. As one parent wrote on Google, "This is a great Dojo with a great sense of community."

Adam grew up in the Pembroke area. He and his husband lived overseas for about seven years, where they adopted their son, and the family moved back to Canada in 2018. A job brought Adam to North Bay, where he spent nearly five years as the mess manager on the base, while teaching at a karate club in town on the side. In March 2024 he opened Gateway Martial Arts, and students he had taught were ready to follow him through the door. Within a week the club had a name and a logo. Within a month it had a home.

Karate in North Bay, From the Gateway to the North

The name works two ways. North Bay is the gateway to the north. And in Japan, the gate is a spiritual symbol as much as a physical one: walking through it means stepping into something new. Adam likes the old story that you always pass through the sides of the gate, never the middle, because the middle is kept for the spirits. For him, Gateway is the link between his own life in martial arts and the community he wanted to build around it.

Team Canada at the World Karate Championships

This fall Adam is wearing the Team Canada uniform. To get there he competed at the Northern Ontario qualifier, the Nickel City Championships in Sudbury hosted by Master Christian Fortain, then at the WKC Canadian Championships in Ottawa over the May long weekend, where a top four finish earns a spot on the national team. He came third, a bronze medal in the Men's 35+ Kata division, in his third year at nationals and his first time making the team. At the end of October he competes at the WKC World Championships in Spain.

He trains seven days a week, at least two hours a day, and makes the drive to Kirkland Lake to train with his coach, Conrad Massier of Bushi Martial Arts, who was world champion two years ago. Conrad taught him to bring the mind and the spirit into karate, not just the body, so that every movement is believable.

What Kata Is, for Parents Who Have Never Seen It

Kata is the half of karate most people never picture: traditional forms, passed down for generations, performed against an opponent who is not there. Think of a dance routine that is really a fight. With no one to hit, the power shows in how fast a technique accelerates and how completely it stops. Judges look for power, confidence, and consistency, and for an invisible opponent the audience can almost see.

Black Belt Instruction in Shotokan Karate, Kickboxing, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Adam started karate at 11 under Mark Stevens, who still runs the Pembroke Karate Club, and earned his first black belt at 18. Today he holds a third degree black belt in Shotokan karate. His husband, Sensei Arran, the club’s other sensei, is also a Shotokan black belt. Arran trained under Kenzo Dozono, a student of Hirokazu Kanazawa, who trained under Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of the style. Andrew Ward coaches Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and kickboxing, with a background in Muay Thai and wrestling as well.

Every coach at Gateway also has a background in education. Adam was a school teacher, and Sensei Arran teaches now. That is the part Adam would most like a review to mention: coaching that adapts to each student, because adapting to each student was their job long before the dojo.

Martial Arts and Self Defence for Kids, Families, and Adults in North Bay

Gateway welcomes students from age four. Parents watch from seating along the side, and plenty end up on the mat themselves, usually after their kids already outrank them.

Leadership is part of every class, not a separate program. To earn certain belts, students need teaching time and the confidence to stand in front of the room. New students are paired with higher belts who remember their own nervous first night. One girl hid behind her aunt for her first two weeks; now she leads the warm ups. Neurodivergent children often thrive on the clear structure of a dojo, and Adam's promise to worried parents is simple: give me three weeks.

Every class opens with three bows: to the founder, to the sensei, and to each other, with the words "please teach me." Adam says them too.

The self defence classes keep things practical, and they are open to everyone. You train in your street clothes, because that is what you will be wearing if you ever need it. You learn to use your voice, to break a grab on your wrist, shirt, or hair, and to fall without getting hurt, which also comes in handy on a North Bay sidewalk in February. Gateway is working with Nipissing University this year to bring self defence classes to students, many of them living away from home for the first time.

What Students Say About Gateway Martial Arts

Every review on Gateway's Google profile is five stars, and the words that keep coming back are welcoming, safe, and community.

What to Know Before You Choose a Dojo in North Bay

North Bay has five dojos, and Adam's advice is to do your homework. Some want parents in the room, some run closed sessions. Some build competitors, some skip tournaments. Some coaches are old school and strict, some start with "how was school today?" You know your child, so pick the room that fits them. Gateway does both sides: there is a competitive team if you want it, and if you are there for fitness, confidence, or just something to do outside the house, there is room for that too.

A Place for Everyone

"A place for everyone" is Gateway's motto, and Adam means it every day. The club is part of KidSport North Bay, so families who need help with fees can apply for funding. It hosts its own tournament every year, the Gateway Martial Arts Championship, next held on February 20, 2027. It visits local schools, and this fall started a homeschool program that teaches balance, teamwork, and athletic skills through martial arts. Karate classes now run a full 60 minutes, because families asked for more time. Gateway also runs a satellite school in Powassan, and the club is expanding into a bigger space in the near future.

Adam puts it simply: he is one of the lucky people who gets to do what he loves every single day.