Hi all.  We’re going over  to the Fours after class on Thursday.  There’s a couple of birthdays to be celebrated.  So come to class and then lift a pint with us afterward.

CONGRATULATIONS is in order to 15 students from our group of affiliate dojo’s in Massachusetts who received promotion this past Sunday.  On May 17 2009, ranks ranging from  Shodan to Renshi / Rokudan were awarded to well deserving candidates.  Scoring was notably on the high side for several, showing an exceptional responsibility for self training taken …a key factor in staying focused and making progress  in a lifetime endeavor.   Karate is not simply a goal of achievement .

All must be commended for A TON of hard work and self discipline.   Improvement from the March pretest was significant across the board.  Work is never done of course.  There will be much to comment on when back on the dojo floors this week.   However, it was a standard setting test, successful in many ways;   Spirit was very, very high in all present   … hard work was evident in all …concern for technique even had some long time students on edge who were truly desiring to show improvement (4 candidates for 6th Dan over 50 years old!).  The testing Board was also again overwhelmed by contributing teachers, giving rise to my thought this group has come a long way in solidifying a family approach to passing along the oral tradition of  Shohei Ryu, our many esteemed instructors at Okikukai in Okinawa and the legacy of Master Uechi.

All should be congratulated.  Thank you to all the students from every dojo involved with this particular promotion for truly making teaching easy and the group of schools look  great.   Thank you to Gary as well for capturing one of the better post-promotion photo’s in a while, and for his hard work in putting together a video about Jack Summer’s lifetime of teaching (40 years since his Shodan Test!)  that we all can’t wait to get a peak at!

-Billy G. / Quincy

Sensei Jack just passed a milestone having held his Black Belt in Uechi Karate for 40 years.  Certificate number 368,  May 4 1969.  Signed by Kanei Uechi.

Thanks to Sensei Steve for the info.

Congratulations for IOK’s newest Black Belt, Brandon Wencek!  Brandon passed his Shodan Test this past Sunday.  The concensus is he really stepped it up for the big day with great execution.   Brandon has been with IOK for many years, through the kids classes and into the adult classes as a young teenager.  At almost 16 years old, he joins the ranks of a limited number of others before him. (including his sister Elyse) as one of the youngest to achieve the Shodan promotion.   Now we can shift our focus to their Dad, Steve!

Congratulations go out as well to Annie Cavanaugh in attaining the rank of Rokudan!   Annie has endured countless classes with Jackie Dowd over the years to get this far, showing her mettle and perseverance.   Her tirelss efforts to teach the children discipline truly demonstrates a karate spirit. 

Congratulations to all the Students from our various afiliates who solidly achieved their next rank last Sunday.    Your hard work and dedication is recognized and appreciated!  Special thanks goes out to those who took the time volunteering as a partners.

For those newer students or interested observers who may not know… we are very lucky to have authentic (and current) information direct from the very origins of our style. Okikukai is our organization of allegiance on the island in Okinawa. These are the Master Instructors your teachers look to about the art you are learning. These are the folks your teachers visit when they travel to Okinawa. We thank them for their perseverance in propegating our karate around the world.

2008’s newly elected officers for Okikukai are as follows;

Okikukai HQ held the first general meeting at HQ Dojo on Apr.13.
They elected the new directors as below;

<President>
Nobuhide Asato / 9thDan

<Vice president>
Keicho Tobaru /8th Dan/Awase Dojo
Katsuji Tamayose/8th Dan/Ginowan Dojo
Soukei Machida/7th Dan/Ageda Dojo

< Chairman of directors>
Yoshiharu Matsushima/7th Dan/Chatan Dojo

<Vice chairman of directors>
Masanori Yonamine/7th Dan/Koza Dojo

<Chief official>
Mitsuo Namihira/4th Dan/Urasoe Dojo

<Auditor>
Shinmatsu Okuhama/8th Dan/Gushikawa Dojo
Hirokuni Yamashiro/7th Dan/Yamashiro Dojo

Officials;

<Vice-Chief Official>
Isamu Ohoshiro
Seiken Nashiro
Yutaka Higa
Yoshinori Kishimoto

<Accountant>
Yutaka Higa
Tsutomu Shikiya

<Official Public Information>
Kazuya Takara

<Official of Public Relations>
Sakae Uechi
Takashi Arakaki
Tsutomu Shikiya
<Manager of Headquarters>
Yoshiharu Mastushima

<Secretary of Dan certification>
Katsuji Tamayose
Hatsuko Machida

<Website Manager>
Mitsuo Namihira
Keisuke Fujimoto

***Spring Dan Testing at QUINCY

Sunday April 27^th. 2008,   Spring Pre-Test

Sunday May 18^th. 2008,   Dan Test

***Fall Dan Testing at TBA 

Sunday October 5^th. 2008,   Fall Pre-Test

Sunday November 16^th. 2008,   Dan Test

FUN, FUN, FUN

The growing Friday night group will continue  to meet in 2008 every other week between 5:30 and 6:00 for an “open floor” style class.*

*All ADULT students invited, …must have protective gear if you intend to spar.

*Upper rank teenage students by invite only …please direct inquiries directly to Billy G.

Starting in 2008, Russ will lead a Sparring Class the last Saturday AM of every month.  Please don’t miss this chance to hone your skills and learn how the traditional Okinawan karate training you do applies in real time.

Students are expected to bring/wear proper protection, including mouthguard, cup, pads, etc…   Contact Billy G. for advice and some good options are to where/how to purchase this equipment.

Here’s some photos of our recent black belt promotion. Congratulations for a job well done!

Here’s a quote from okikukai.jp:

Jack Summers, Quincy Massachusetts USA Okikukai Promoted to 9th Dan.  Summers Sensei met the stringent time qualification standards in November 2006. On January 28, 2007 the Okikukai Board of Promotions decided upon promoting Summers Sensei to 9th Dan as the first order of business at the board meeting in the New Year.  It was unanimously approved.   Congratulations Summers Sensei.