- The grading
panel
- A total of
three Senseis and fourteen Sempais made up the grading
panel. Seen here are but a few of them, they are from
right to left Sensei Dan Holland, Sempai Barry Norman,
Sempai Bill Camden, Sempai Christine Dixon, Sempai Donna
Gray, Sempai Sue Stephen, Sempai Cathy Quinn and Sempai
Vicki Aune. With these and so many other eyes spread
throughout the dojo very few mistakes went unnoticed.
- Ready to
start
- After years
of dedication their moment has finally arrived. Seen here
about to begin their Sho Dan exam are our four 1st kyu
students, they are from left to right, Pierre St. Onge,
Gordon Green, Sarah Bailey, and Alaine Reimer. These
students have been training faithfully three to four days
a week for on average the past five years, their hard
work and dedication, as well as their individual
contributions to the growth of the dojo have earned all
of them the right to be here today.
-
- Caught in
flight
- Much later
in the day during the kicking portion of the grading
Sarah Bailey seen here on the right is caught by the
camera just as she is driven back by a well placed migi
mae geri (right front kick) from Alaine Reimer.
-
- Giving his
all
- Gordon
Green delivers a strong hidari mawashi geri chudan (left
middle round house kick) as Pierre St. Onge braces for
another impact. The kicking drill involved all of the
basic kicks under a wide variety of situations and all
concerned were very glad when it was over.
-
- His turn
- Pierre St. Onge takes his
turn and gives as good as he got. Here he delivers a
strong mae geri chudan (middle level front kick) to bag
holder Gordon Green during the course of a long kicking
exercise while at the right Sarah Bailey is about to do
the same to Alaine Reimer. As always their performance is
watched over by Sensei Kieran Baldwin seen here in the in
the centre of the picture. Sensei Baldwin made sure that
this particular drill went on, and on, and on, until all
of the students had full filled all of his expectations.
-
- To look at
the sky
- Seen here performing the
kata Kanku Dai which is required for 1st kyu (brown belt)
in the FSKA each student shows good focus on the opening
movement and they continued this trend throughout the
kata earning all of them good marks as a result.
-
- All ears
- During a break in the
grading, and while waiting for his turn to speak, Sensei
Holland, as well as Sempai Tim Trytten, Sempai Barry
Norman, and Sempai Bill Camden all pay very close
attention to what is being said by Sensei Kieran Baldwin
who spoke at length on the subject of what it takes to
become a black belt.
-
- Kanku Sho
- Once we resumed the grading
it was now the turn of those students going for Ni Dan to
show their kata and their self defence routines. Seen her
during her individual performance of the kata Kanku Sho,
Sempai Katharine showed the poise and good form that was
to be seen throughout her portion of the grading.
-
- Tekki
Sandan
- Sempai's Katharine Kaye and
Sempai Marilyn Norman set up facing in different
directions for their synchronized performance of the kata
Tekki Sandan which they would follow with a demonstration
of the bunkai for various parts of this kata. Keeping a
close eye on their every move is Sempai Curtis Lindsay (Ni
Dan) and Sensei Baldwin.
-
- 1. Showing
the bunkai
- Here Sempai Katharine Kaye
demonstrates for the panel the portion of Tekki Sandan in
which she will play the role of the attacker while Sempai
Marilyn Norman waits patiently. After showing the
movements to the judges she and Sempai Marilyn then used
these movements as the basis for one of their six self
defence performances.
-
- 2. The look
says it all
- Here Sempai Katharine, her
initial attack now fully contained my Sempai Marilyn's
strong defence, awaits the inevitable result.
-
- 3. The
control
- With good control Sempai
Marilyn makes her first counter attack.
-
- 4. The take
down
- The counter
attack is quickly followed by a leg sweep take down.
-
- 5. The
finish
- With things
well in hand Sempai Marilyn puts an end to it as she
closes out a strong self defence routine that was
appreciated by all in attendance.
-
- Making his
point
- During his speech about the
power of observation Sensei Holland makes a point with
the help of a several props placed strategically around
the dojo floor. His method of testing the students powers
of observation was unique and everyone realized after his
lecture that what they thought they saw was not always
accurate.
-
- Reversing
the roles
- After Sensei Holland's
lecture the Ni Dan hopefulls once again took to the floor.
Here Sempai Marilyn is about to play the role of the
attacker giving Sempai Katharine her chance to show the
quality of her defence.
-
- Good form
- Sempai Katharine Kaye
delivers a strong punch to Sempai Marilyn Norman during
her self defence portion of their grading, Sempai Marilyn
can be seen about to "tap out" in response to
the pressure Sempai Katharine is exerting on her right
elbow just out of camera range across her left leg.
-
- Four very
wet new Sho Dan's
- Four very tired new Sho
Dan's, in very wet gi's, give a thumbs up at the end of a
very long day. Despite their highs and lows throughout
the course of the day each student did what they promised
they would do - they put it all on the line and they held
nothing back. They are all to be commended for their
excellent performance, their strong spirit, and the way
in which they shared their energy with each other in
times of need. They went into this grading as four
individuals and they came out of it as a team who
together made a memory that will last for a lifetime.
-
- Promoted to
Ni Dan
- Two good friends, tired but
very pleased with the result of their examination,
accepted the congratulations of all those in attendance.
-
- Three
friends
- Seen here with Sensei
Lindsay at the end of it all are two very happy sempai's
- on the left Sempai Katharine Kaye, Ni Dan (2nd Dan) and
on the right Sempai Marilyn Norman, Ni Dan (2nd Dan).
Both of these students are strong leaders within the dojo
and during their grading they set a high standard of
excellence which will become the benchmark for any of
those students who may one day choose to follow in their
footsteps.
-
- The smiles
say it all
- Sensei Dan Holland, Sempai
Katharine Kaye, Sensei Peter Lindsay, Sempai Marilyn
Norman, and Sensei Kieran Baldwin.
-
- The moment
they have waited for
- At the
awards banquet close to 70 guests watched as Sempai
Curtis Lindsay (Ni Dan) led all six of the graduating
students through a demonstration of basics and kata, then
four terrific students, Sempai Gordon Green, (Sho Dan) - Sempai
Sarah Bailey, (Sho Dan) - Sempai Alaine Reimer, (Sho Dan)
- Sempai Pierre St. Onge, (Sho Dan) proudly accepted
their new belts. Seen here Sensei Dan Holland ties on
Sempai Gordon Green's new black belt as Sensei Lindsay
and Sensei Baldwin look on from the head table.
-
- Ni Dan
Awards
- Sempai
Katharine Kaye accepts her new belt and a promotion to
the rank of Nidan, while to the left Sempai Marilyn
Norman waits her turn.
-
- Time to
relax
- After the awards ceremony,
and before siting down to dinner, the instructors, fellow
students, family members, and invited guests got a chance
to mingle with all of the newly promoted students and to
congratulate them on their fine achievement and their new
rank.
-
- The winners
- Sempai Katharine Kaye, (Ni
Dan) - Sempai Gordon Green, (Sho Dan) - Sempai Sarah
Bailey, (Sho Dan)
- - Sempai Alaine Reimer, (Sho
Dan) - Sempai Pierre St. Onge, (Sho Dan) - and Sempai
Marilyn Norman, (Ni Dan).
-
-
- To the
graduating class of 2002 our congratulations to one and
all.
-
-
- 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
