- 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
