SumoKids' People Profiles
Charles Bray
A former professional football player, Charles Bray is the founder of the SumoKids Foundation and co-developer of the SumoKids Program for schools and community centers.
After a football career with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts and the WFL's Memphis Southmen, Charles developed an interest in the ancient sport of Sumo while spending time with the famous Lloyd Percival at the Fitness Institute in Toronto. He was deeply impressed by the sport's focus on leverage, positioning and, most importantly, self discipline.
While Charles remained active in football as a coach at the high school and minor league level (working with the Toronto Grizzlies and Buffalo Warriors), he continued his deep studies into the tenets of Sumo. Always interested in engaging the youth that he was working with, he soon became aware that these tenets could be adapted for young people.
Over the next 12 years, Charles and a group of selected coaches began presenting Sumo through half time shows and school exhibitions in Canada and the United States. These demonstrations caused an overwhelming response of interest and praise. Participants in these shows engaged early and eagerly. Even gang members responded to Sumo and its positive message.
Inspired by these results, Charles began to consider building a more intensive program that he would call "SumoKids". During this process, he met Dan Kurchak. Involved in education as both an instructor and parent of a special needs student, Dan had founded a company built on the concept of personalized education that focused on each individual's needs and goals. Charles and Dan immediately saw the potential to create a program that could engage students at the group level and yet reach each participant individually as the program unfolded. Combining their areas of expertise and their passions for education, Charles and Dan developed a program that combined the ancient disciplines of Sumo with a highly modern form of learning.
To support this program, the SumoKids Foundation was created. Its goal is to deliver the program and raise funds to support that delivery. After years of dedicated work and development, the SumoKids Program pre-pilot was conducted at Highgate Heights Elementary School in Buffalo, New York for the 2004-2005 school year.
