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WELCOME
TO :
THE
8th ANNUAL
FSKA
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Las
Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.
October
20th - 22nd, 2006
Shihan
Kenneth Funakoshi, 9th Dan, (FSKA)
Chief
Instructor, Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association
Stephen,
Carolyn, and Sempai Uwe
pose
with me on the steps of the Pavilion
Another
gathering of FSKA karate-ka from around the world
Once
again the Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association held its
Annual FSKA World Championship Tournament in Las Vegas,
Nevada and for the last time the 40,000 square foot
Pavilion at the Stardust Hotel, located on the famous Las
Vegas strip, played host to the event. Instructors,
students, family members, and friends, as usual came from
a great many countries around the world including, the U.S.A.,
Canada, France, England, Germany, South Africa, Ukraine,
Czech Republic, Macedonia, and Puerto Rico, just to name
a few. As always this event is a great opportunity for
all of us to renew old friendships, to make new ones, and
to promote the art of Shotokan Karate.
This
the tournament had the distinction of being the last
event ever to take place in Pavilion as the Stardust
Hotel is being demolished to make room for a new facility
which will probably take several years to complete. As a
result, the 9th Annual FSKA World Championship Tournament
will be taking place in town where the very first FSKA
World Championship Tournament was held, Crawley, England.
The tournament is scheduled for the Fall of 2007 so
please watch the official FSKA web site for future
details.
Friday
On the afternoon of
October 21st prior to the official start of the
tournament many students took the opportunity to join
Shihan Funakoshi, Sensei Kevin Funakoshi, and Sensei Kyle
Funakoshi, for a series of seminars covering kihon and
kata.
Black
belts training the kata Unsu with Sensei Kyle
Black
belts training kihon with Shihan Funakoshi
These courses are
always heavily attended by senior students and senseis
alike as it is an excellent opportunity to get first hand
knowledge from the very best instructors that the FSKA
has to offer.
Thank
you Shihan Funakoshi and Sensei Kyle
There
is no better place to learn the art of karate than on the
dojo floor, or at a quality seminar. Videos, books,
magazines, and other source material simply cannot take
the place of firsthand experience under the watchful eye
of a master, as Sempai Amy, Carolyn, and her father,
Stephen, found out this year. I would like to take this
opportunity to once again thank Shihan Funakoshi for his
time, and his knowledge, which he so willingly passes on
to all of his students.
A
light moment between events
One of the things I
always look forward to at any FSKA event is renewing
friendships. Sensei Omar Vera of Puerto Rico is an
excellent karate-ka and I have greatly enjoyed the time I
have spent in his company over the past five years.
Saturday
- Kata
- The
Parade of Nations
- Saturday
morning saw a great many countries once again represented
at this annual event. With the lineup extending the
length of the competition floor you just knew that the
day promised to be an eventful one. As usual Saturday was
devoted entirely to kata.
-
- Jessie
takes our first medal
- For
the second year in a row Jessie came home with a medal,
this time it was a silver in kata while the gold medal
and the bronze medal were awarded to two young students
from South Africa.
-
-
- Judges
and the juniors
- Each
ring had a Chief Judge as well as four supporting judges.
In ring three this year I was joined by Sensei Roger St.
Pierre, (Yondan) Sensei Gary Cross, (Shichidan) and
Sensei Canace Monteil, (Rokudan). Throughout the course
of the day we were kept very busy with a steady stream of
competitors, in a wide variety of age categories and
divisions, all of whom I must say were a credit to their
respective dojos.
-
- Women's
Black Belt Division
- As
always the level of competition in the women's black belt
division is excellent and this year's event was no
exception. In the Chair as Chief Judge I found that
timing, kime, and attention to detail were displayed by
all of the students and I am sure that their performance
was enjoyed by all who watched them compete.
-
-
- Reviewing
the kata
- Shihan
Funakoshi and his son's Sensei Kyle and Sensei Kevin
review the results. Both of his son's joined Shihan
Funakoshi on his recent trip to Japan for Sensei Tesukio
Asai's funeral which was held in September.
-
-
- Team
Kata
- Team South Africa
always performs well in kata and this year we saw another
strong performance from their squad which allowed them to
medal in this category. I expect that in the not too
distant future South Africa will play host to the Annual
FSKA World Championship Tournament.
-
-
- Carolyn
won Bronze
- In her first
international tournament Carolyn Simonis took the bronze
medal in her kata division. As a regular participant in
the adult classes at our dojo Carolyn has developed a
good work ethic over the years and I am sure she will
continue to do well in future events.
-
-
- A
true gentleman
- In past years
Sensei Kyle Funakoshi has generously taken the time to
visit our dojo to conduct seminars, and officiate at our
annual Dan grading that is the highlight of each year's
summer camp. He is a gentleman in the truest sense of the
word and it is always a pleasure to see him at the
tournaments or at the FSKA Honbu dojo in California.
-
-
- Another
win for Canada
- In addition to his
duties as time keeper and score keeper Sempai Uwe once
again took the opportunity to compete in kata. In this
his fourth FSKA World Championship Sempai Uwe once again
came away with a medal, bronze in men's kata.
-
-
-
- Silver
for Canada
- Sempai Cathy Quinn
(San Dan) from Victoria took silver in kata at this
year's event while the gold went to the U.S.A. Sempai
Cathy performed one of her favourite katas, Nijushiho,
here she is seen here with the judges who are from left
to right, Sensei Chet Kawashige, (Rokudan) Sensei Ernest
Lopez, (Godan) Chief Judge Sensei Andre Dulce, (Rokudan)
Sensei Anatoliy Naumenko, (Godan) and Sensei
Canace Monteil, (Rokudan).
-
-
-
- Senior
Men's Black Belt Kata
- No strangers to the
podium once again are, Sempai David Else, (Sandan) who
won the bronze medal this year, while Sensei John
Boloson, (Godan) won the gold medal, and I won the silver.
Both men are excellent competitors and it is always a
pleasure to be in their company.
-
-
- Sunday
- Kumite
-
- Two
of FSKA's senior instructors
- Prior to the start
of the kumite competition on Sunday morning Sensei Gary
Cross (7th Dan) and Sensei Andre Dulce (6th Dan) enjoyed
a quiet moment. Both instructors have been with Shihan
Funakoshi's organization for more than thirty-five years.
-
- Senior
Men's Black Belt Kumite
- Every ring on
Sunday was kept busy once again with competitors from
more than twenty countries looking for a place on the
podium. In the men's over forty division medalists
included Sensei Steve Roberts (Godan) England, Sensei
Kenny Takada, (Yondan) U.S.A and Sensei Antonio Melo (Yondan)
of Portugal, with fourth place going to Sensei Rigo
Carrillo (Sandan) U.S.A.
-
-
- Women's
Black Belt Kumite
- A hard fought
division with Sempai Amy Barnes earning a bronze medal
for her efforts.
-
-
- A
spirited competitor
- Sempai Thomas Balka
loves to compete and this year as a member of the five
man U.S.A. team he played a role the team securing the
victory over the International Team in the Men's Team
Kumite gold medal final.
-
-
- Team
kumite final
- Sensei Kyle
Funakoshi (6th Dan) awards a point to the International
Team. The trophy at the left is awarded each year to the
wining team in this event and without a doubt this has to
be the highlight of the tournament. This year Team U.S.A.
won the event in a very memorable match up.
-
- The
end of the tournament for another year
- Sempai Thomas
Balka, on the right, holds the U.S. flag while posing
with members from Poland and the Ukraine. Shihan
Funakoshi make annual visits to both countries and his
seminars are always well attended. In past years as many
as 700 students have turned out to one of his three day
seminars.
-
- To
one and all
- Our
dojo is proud to be affiliated with the Funakoshi
Shotokan Karate Association, and to support the 8th
Annual Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association's World
Championship Tournament. On behalf of all of the students
from Westshore Karate Inc. who took part in this year's
FSKA World Championship, I would like to take this
opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to Shihan
Kenneth Funakoshi, his son's, Sensei Kevin Funakoshi, and
Sensei Kyle Funakoshi, as well as all of the other FSKA
instructors, judges, time keepers, score keepers,
volunteers, and supporters, who helped to make this
year's tournament another truly excellent event.
-
- We look forward to
seeing all of you next year in Crawley, England in the
Fall of 2007, until then, good training.
- Part the clouds -
see the way.
-
- "The
objective of karate-do is to contribute to the evolution
- of
the human spirit through physical and mental training."
- Sensei
Peter Lindsay
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