THE ALLIANCE - Yoshukai Karate Alliance

THE ALLIANCE
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1 March 2010
Five Yoshukai karate alliance dojos
1. HOMBU
Sensei Dan Dugan 6th Degree Black Belt. Started teaching 1976
Classes are held on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7 – 8:30
1400 Primm Rd. Lincoln Park District, Lincoln, Il.
$40 per person
2. WILLIAMSVILLE
Sensei Clay Roberts, 3rd Degree Black Belt. Started teaching 2006
Classes are held on Monday thru Thursday nights from 7:15 – 8:45
101 ½ W. Main St – Williamsville, Il
$45 per adult / $35 per child
3. KENNEY
Sensei Nykol Schreiber, 2nd Degree Black Belt. Started teaching 2008
Classes are held on Monday and Wednesday night from 7 – 8:30
Kenney Community Building 101 Johnston Kenney, Il
$40 per person
4. PUERTO RICO
Sensei Sergio Blasco 1st Degree Black Belt. Started teaching 2008
Classes are held on Monday and Wednesday night
$20 per person
5. ELKHART
Sensei Scott Bottrell 2nd Degree Black Belt. Starting teaching 2006
Classes are held on Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 - 8
103 Govener Ogelsby – Elkhart, Il
$45 per person
The five YOSHUKAI KARATE ALLIANCE Sensei‟s
(left to right):
Sensei Schreiber – Kenney Dojo
Sensei Blasco – Puerto Rico Dojo
Sensei – Hombu
Sensei Roberts – Williamsville Dojo
Sensei Bottrell – Elkhart Dojo
4th Yoshukai alliance school
Opens in Puerto rico
That‟s right! Our 4th Dojo is in Puerto Rico, under the instruction of Sensei Sergio
Blasco, Shodan - Yoshukai International Karate. Sensei Blasco had resigned from his
Yoshukai organization 2 years earlier for his own personal reasons.
Reading about the Alliance on the internet, Sensei Blasco talked with Sensei about the
possibility of joining the ALLIANCE. After many emails and
phone calls, we are happy to have Sensei Blasco and the good
people from the Trujillo Alto Dojo wear the Alliance patch.
Sensei Blasco is married to Tamara Blasco and they are the
parents of one daughter, Eva Michelle, 19. Sensei Blasco is a
Department Manager at the Puerto Rican Water Treatment
Plant.
As with many traditional martial artist, Sensei Blasco doesn‟t
want to be a “Martial Art Millionaire”, nor does he want to be
recognized as “Super-Sergio, the World‟s Deadliest Martial
Artist”, but simply as a traditional Sensei that can share his
knowledge and training with other people that want to better
themselves through self- knowledge.
(Sensei Sergio Blasco)
Welcome to the ALLIANCE! We are very happy to have you with us!
(As a foot-note, the Alliance is not concerned about growing in order to be a large
organization. If there is anyone interested in keeping tradition alive and promoting the art
of YOSHUKAI, not self-promotion, they will be accepted into the Alliance. We have a
very good group of people and intend to stay that way).
5th Yoshukai alliance school
opens in Elkhart
Our 5th Dojo and the second one this year! Sensei Scott Bottrell, Nidan, along with Mr.
Reese, Shodan, opened their dojo in August in the small town of Elkhart.
Sensei Bottrell decided after assisting Sensei Roberts in Williamsville for 3 years, he
would like to have his own school. Deciding on the town of Elkhart, he was going to
combine a dojo, an antique
- 2-
store, music lessons, fencing lessons and furniture stripping all in the same building, in
downtown Elkhart.
To attract the students to the dojo, Sensei Bottrell gave a small demonstration at his dojo
in July that was tied-in with a town wide event.
As with all instructors in the ALLIANCE, Sensei Bottrell isn‟t
trying to make his living teaching karate, nor is he trying to
have his name and face recognized in every house in Central
Illinois as “Scott Bottrell, the Baddest Man Around,” but as a
gentle, but firm traditional Sensei. When he shaves his head,
gains about 100 lbs. tattoos his body entirely, growls like an
animal and brawls instead of using technique, then he will
become “The Baddest Man Around.” Wow! Just picture that!
On the music side, his band, The Ramblin‟ Elk Sanctuary,
plays quite often at a local pub, The Talk of the Town in
Elkhart. Go check him out sometime!
Thank you Sensei Bottrell for choosing to remain traditional
and carrying on the traditions of YOSHUKAI KARATE!
(Sensei Scott Bottrell)
- 3-
Yoshukai karate alliance students
Hombu – Sensei Dugan
Black Belts: Mr. Kennett – 3rd Degree; Mr. Lowe – 2nd Degree; Mr. M Schreiber – 2nd Degree; Mr.
Lanning – 2nd Degree; Sensei Schreiber – 2nd Degree; Ms. Lowe – 1st Degree; Welcome back Mr.
Goetsch – 1st Degree Black Belt! Mr. Gorman – 1st degree Black Belt!
Kyu Belts: Alex McIntosh – 3rd kyu; Noah Kenney – 5th kyu; Vicki Mileham – 5th kyu
Erica Tomkinson -5th kyu; Karen Birdwell – 6th kyu; Linda Henne – 6th kyu;
White Belts: Payton Lanning; Reggie Kirby; Aston Dragoo; Belle Smith; Brittany Smith
Mason Landers; Matt Knowles; Brittany Chapman; Chris Davis
Williamsville – Sensei Roberts
Black Belts: Mr. D Schreiber – 1st Degree; Mr. Hayward – 1st Degree; Mr. McCullar – 1st Degree
Kyu Belts: Remy Ramirez – 1st kyu; Mark Hayward – 2nd kyu; Cristian Ramirez – 3rd kyu
Dalton Trader – 3rd kyu; Jack Waugh – 4th kyu; Taryn Ramirez – 4th kyu;
Mitch McCullar – 5th kyu; Eric Churchhill – 5th kyu; Ben Bradley – 5th kyu;
Patrick Powers – 5th kyu; Nick Freshi – 6th kyu; Kyle Baumgarten – 6th kyu
Ken Baumgarten – 6th kyu; Caden Holdener– 8th kyu; Mason Rickard – 8th kyu
Kenney – Sensei Schreiber
Kyu Belts: Dawn Johnson – 1st kyu; Dale Barnett – 1st kyu; Austin Johnson – 1st kyu
Braxton Lambert – 3rd kyu; Aaron Barnes – 6th kyu; Josh Johnson – 7th kyu; Danny Johnson
Puerto Rico – Sensei Blasco
Kyu Belts: Angel Machado; Jissac Carmuega; Noel Rodriguez; Orlando Guzman – 8th kyu
Juan Ofarril – 7th kyu
Elkhart – Sensei Bottrell
Black Belts: Mr. Reese – 1st Degree
Kyu Belts: Alexia Davis – 8th kyu; Grant Davis – 7th kyu; Brayden Trimmer – 6th kyu
Tosha Boyer – 6th kyu; Jake Boyer – 6th kyu; Josh Judd – 6th kyu; Mitch Hudson – 6th kyu
White belts: Delaney Howard; Dawson Hagan; Justine Casswell; Tom Crumpler
Angelina Hobbs.
-4-
From the past to the present
It‟s always good to see old faces return to Yoshukai. Welcome back …
Dale Barnett – Kenney Dojo - (Middle row, 2nd
from the left) took karate under Sensei
Borowiak!
(Back row: 1st one from the right) back in 1974 when the
dojo was located at 123 South Sangamon St. in Lincoln.
Also pictured is Sensei Dugan (Back row; 2nd from the
right).
Mr. Bill Goetsch – Shodan took Yoshukai Karate under Sensei Dugan back in 1995 at the
age of 13.
Alex McIntosh – 3rd kyu brown belt took Yoshukai Karate under Sensei Dugan at the age
of 8.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A YOUNG BOY TRAVELED ACROSS JAPAN TO THE SCHOOL OF A FAMOUS
MARTIAL ARTIST. WHEN HE ARRIVED AT THE DOJO HE WAS GIVEN AN
AUDIENCE BY THE SENSEI.
“WHAT DO YOU WISH FROM ME?” THE MASTER ASKED.
“I WISH TO BE YOUR STUDENT AND BECOME THE FINEST KARATE KA IN THE LAND”,
THE BOY REPLIED.” HOW LONG MUST I STUDY?”
“TEN YEARS AT LEAST,” THE MASTER ANSWERED.
“TEN YEARS IS A LONG TIME”, SAID THE BOY. “WHAT IF I STUDIED TWICE AS HARD AS
ALL YOUR OTHER STUDENTS?”
“TWENTY YEARS” REPLIED THE MASTER.
“TWENTY YEARS! WHAT IF I PRACTICED DAY AND NIGHT WITH ALL MY EFFORT?”
“THIRTY YEARS” WAS THE MASTERS REPLY.
“HOW IS IT THAT EACH TIME I SAY I WILL WORK HARDER, YOU TELL ME
THAT IT WILL TAKE LONGER?” THE BOY ASKED.
“THE ANSWER IS CLEAR. WHEN ONE EYE IS FIXED UPON YOUR
DESTINATION, THERE IS ONLY ONE EYE LEFT IN WHICH TO FIIND THE
WAY.”
-5-
Logan county healtH fair booth
FRIDAY, APRIL 3rd 2009
Once again YOSHUKAI KARATE ALLIANCE participated in the Logan County Health
Fair. Sensei Schreiber and Mr. M Schreiber were there to operate the booth with
assistance from Mr. Reese and Aaron Dugan. Thank you gentlemen for your help!
There were approximately 300 -5th grade students that walked past the booth as we
explained the health benefits of traditional karate training. One thing they all really
enjoyed was punching us in the stomach, explaining how they should punch (we won‟t
mention that someone‟s eyes welled up when they were hit by a little girl … and then
pretended it didn‟t happen when asked about it later). What they did not seem to enjoy so
much was when asked to do push-ups the same way we punched … on their first two
knuckles. It did seem that they all did enjoy the information on the health benefits, along
with the pencils of our web-site address on them.
It is always good to see Mr. Lanning and his students every year go through the booth.
No hesitation from Mr. Lanning to bow whenever he sees YOSHUKAI students. We
appreciate his respect for the traditions and of his example to follow them! See you there
next year, Mr. Lanning!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“KARATE IS A VERY USEFUL EXERCISE FOR 2 REASONS;
ONE IS THAT KARATE IS AN EXERCISE OF THE WHOLE
BODY, IT IS EFFECTIVE IN KEEPING HEALTH OR FOR
CURATIVE PURPOSES, THE OTHER IS THAT IT DOESN‟T
RESTRICT PRACTITIONERS, EVERYONE, OLD OR YOUNG,
MAN OR WOMAN, CAN PRACTICE”
-6–
Logan county healtH fair demonstration
Saturday, april 4th
Once again, YOSHUKAI KARATE ALLIANCE was given the honor of demonstrating
our skills to the people of Logan County. This year we were given 1 ½ hours to
demonstrate, which is so easy to do.
Mr. Stone again drove down from Aurora to assist us and demonstrate his katana skills,
which is always impressive to watch.
Breaking went well, which is always a favorite of everyone‟s to watch. It seems there
was enough concrete broken to fill every pot-hole in Logan County!
We do miss watching Mr. Hanger getting his face splattered with apple as they are being
smashed by nunchucks! THAT was ALWAYS entertaining!
We appreciate the dojos & Sensei‟s for bringing their students to Lincoln for a week to
practice together. This is one of the reasons the demonstration goes so well is that so
many people are doing the same techniques together (discipline). Also, we appreciate the
many parents who have shown their support by bringing their children to practice and
giving up their Saturday morning to bring them to the demonstration. It is sincerely
appreciated, thank you very much!
I don‟t know why, but it seems Mr. Kennett has always wanted to demonstrate selfdefense techniques and spar with Ronald McDonald while we are there … interesting
image!
- 7-
(above)Children demonstrating Zenshinkotai
(below) Black Belts demonstrating Tenshin
(below) Sensei – Rohaidai sai‟s
(above) Brown belts demonstrating bo kata
(below) Sensei & Mr. Stone demonstrating bo tai tonfa
(below) Jack Waugh breaking board with a kick
“The essence of the bow is the same as the spirit of the martial arts.”
- 8-
2009 Black belt test
Friday, june 19th
This year there were only 2 people who tested for the rank of Black Belt, both were
Sensei Robert‟s students from the Williamsville Dojo. Mr. John Hayward tested and was
promoted to Shodan. Mr. Hayward joined the Williamsville Dojo after it first opened 3
years ago, wanting to finish his martial art goal he had started several years back in the
Shudokan Dojo in Springfield. CONGRATULATIONS MR. HAYWARD AND
WELCOME to the elite rank of YOSHUKAI ALLIANCE Black Belt! Glad to have you
with us!
(No pictures were available)
Natsu keiko vii
Saturday, june 20th
Our seventh Summer Camp and the FIRST that most people were on time! (probably
because it was scheduled to start 15 minutes later). We had a very wet spring, which
meant, some very wet places at Kickapoo Park, especially around the trees! The
makiwara training this year was slightly sloppy due to the mud between the toes when
kicking the makiwara, upon contact, you did not want to be close!
Guests this year included YOSHUKAI KARATE ALLIANCE‟S newest member, Sensei
Sergio Blasco from Puerto Rico. Sensei Blasco joined the Alliance in April of this year,
which makes the 4th dojo in the Alliance! Welcome to the Alliance Sensei Blasco!
-9-
Our other guest this year was Sensei Dan Rivero, 5th Dan, Gojoryu Karate, who has been a long time friend of Yoshukai Karate.
Sensei Rivero has been teaching Gojo-ryu for many years in the
Springfield area. Sensei Rivero demonstrated Gojo kata & let us
practice the bunkai of the kata. It was very interesting to see so
many similarities between the two systems. Thank you very
much Sensei Rivero for taking time to demonstrate & participate
our training. Look forward to seeing
you again!
in
New this year was ground-fighting techniques, taught to
Brown & Black Belts by Mr. Kennett. The sai throwing was
high-lighted by someone who missed, not the target, but the
entire bale of straw the target was on … no names mentioned,
but this was his first Summer Camp!
(Mr. Kennett teaching grappling)
It seems that the water balloon training is starting to be the big event of the day! The
purpose of this is to develop timing & distance AND a chance to cool off. If you hit the
balloon right, you do get wet! After a few minutes of serious (?) training, Sensei Blasco
let everyone practice free-style defense with the water balloons … WOW! True feelings
start to show up as some people are bombarded with balloons! Even Sensei Blasco took
advantage of this opportunity to drown Sensei with an entire cooler of ice-cold water!
(who had to be revived by CPR).
There was a discussion on protocol by Sensei & Mr. Stone. The discussion was about the
ways of protocol & why it is necessary.
Congratulations to Sensei Bottrell for being the winner of the YOSHUKAI clock that was
raffled off by the Alliance! It looks very good
in the Elkhart Dojo!
This year was also the first year we had the
day‟s training professionally video-taped by
the Alliance‟s good friend, Mr. Bob Bartel.
Thank you Mr. Bartel for staying the entire
time of the day to finish the taping, it was
sincerely appreciated.
(Bob Bartels with video camera)
- 10 -
As the training was coming to an end, everyone lined up for pictures. Mr. John Hayward from the
Williamsville Dojo was recognized & promoted to Black Belt. CONGRATULATIONS MR.
HAYWARD! Sensei Blasco was presented a plaque welcoming him and his students to the Alliance …
looking forward to many years of training with our Puerto Rico friends!
Before Sensei Rivero left with his son, he was also presented a plaque by the Alliance in recognition of
his many years of teaching traditional Gojo-ryu Karate in Central Illinois.
After the training, we had our annual cook-out at the Boy Scout Area. This year‟s cooks were Mr. Virgil
Lowe, father of Mr. Troy Lowe & Ms. Emilie Lowe, & our usual YOSHUKAI chef, Mr. Kennett. Thank
you for sacrificing your leisure time to cook for everyone, it is appreciated.
Everyone pitched in to help clean up & left around dusk before the mosquitoes became too much of a
problem. It was another good day of hard YOSHUKAI training & fun! Looking forward to next years!
As usual we all broke up into groups by rank, the schedule went as follows:
White/Yellow belts:
1. Fundamentals of gyaku tsuki with Sensei
2. Fundamentals of kicking with Sensei
3. Proper breathing techniques with Mr. Michael Schreiber
4. Tai ho jitsu #1 & #2 with Mr. Dave Schreiber & Mr. Reese
5. Review of our guest instructor self-defense with Mr. Gorman
Green belts:
1. Jump kicks with Ms. Lowe
2. Nunchuck training with Sensei Roberts
3. Shuto training with Sensei Schreiber
4. Kata with blindfold with Mr. Lowe
5. Makiwara training with Mr. Kennett
Brown belts:
& Ms. Lowe)
1. Grappling with Mr. Kennett
2. Makiwara training with Sensei
3. Apple-smashing with Nunchuck with Sensei Bottrell
Black Belts:
1. Grappling with Mr. Kennett
2. Sai throwing with Mr. Stone
3. Bo tai tonfa #1 & #2 with Mr. Stone & Mr. Kennett
4. Apple smashing with nunchucks with Sensei
5. Kobudo ippon kumite with Sensei
Everyone gathered together for the following events:
1. Guest Instructor Sensei Dan Rivero
2. Water break
3. Discussion on protocol
- 11 4. Traditional folding of the gi
5. Raffle, promotions and pictures
(Noah
“OINK, OINK”
A COUPLE of
Sensei‟s just
could not wait
to eat …. trying
be sneaky?!
(Vicki & Erica)
…
to
L to R: Mr. Hayward, Mr. Reese, Sensei Blasco, Mr. D Schreiber
Sensei Schreiber, Ms. Lowe, Mr. M Schreiber, Mr. Lowe
Sensei Bottrell, Sensei Roberts, Mr. Kennett, Mr. Stone, Sensei
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“We look forward to a couple of new students to participate in next year‟s Natsu Keiko
…
Sensei‟s new Granddaughter
Mr. Kennett‟s new Granddaughter
(daughter of Adam & Carrie)
AND
Marissa Ann Dugan
Holland Makelle Devalle
- 12-
KENNEY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Kenney Dojo celebrated its one year anniversary with two cakes, one from Kim Miller
and one from Dawn Johnson. Thank you ladies for your kindness!
With the Kenney Dojo after 1 year is: Dale Barnett, Braxton Lambert, Luke Newhouse,
Jayden Miller and Nathan Miller. The newest members to our dojo is the Johnson family:
Dawn, Austin and Joshua, welcome!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------From the archives
Picture of Grandmaster Yamamoto with Sensei Dugan‟s children. Bottom left is Dianne
(8), Todd bottom right (10) & Grandmaster Yamamoto holding Adam (10 months)
1985
2010
This picture was taken at the Annual Yoshukai Tournament held in Alabama, October
1985
July kyu belt tests
Thursday july 9th – Williamsville
Nick Freschi – 7th kyu; Patrick Powers – 6th kyu; Erik Churchill – 6th kyu
Bennett Skaggs – 6th; Mark Hayward – 2nd kyu
Monday july 13th – kenney
Joshua Johnson – 8th kyu; Luke Newhouse – 4th kyu; Braxton Lambert – 4th kyu
Austin Johnson – 1st kyu
Tuesday july 28th – Hombu
Noah Kenney – 5th kyu
Kyu belt test reviews
REMEMBER
All techniques are derived from good, strong basics. Good strong basics are derived from two
major aspects of traditional Japanese karate:
(1) SPIRIT and (2) EFFORT
which have to go together. [You cannot practice one without the other]
BETTER SPIRIT AND EFFORT [NUMBER 1 & MOST IMPORTANT]
“KARATE IS NOT A FIGHT IN WHICH THE ONLY PURPOSE IS TO WIN. IT IS
MOST IMPORTANT TO AIM AT THE FORMATION OF CHARACTER THROUGH
HARD EXERCISES, REMEMBERING THE PROVERB: THE REAL ENEMY IS IN
YOUR MIND”
- 14 -
Kenney kyu belt clinic
August 2009
Sensei Schreiber picked a hot day to hold Kenney Dojo‟s first Kyu Belt Clinic! Thank
you very much Dale for allowing us to use your home to train in.
We started off outside then worked our way inside after practicing weapons. Once inside
we worked on kicks, punches and shuto blocks on the wave master. All of the Kenney
students attended this event in which was enjoyed by all students and their families.
After the clinic was over, we had a pot luck and boy was there lots of food! Thank you to
all the families of the students for preparing the food and for participating in this event!
Swimming pool
Thursday, august 27th
Every year the ALLIANCE has its annual training in the pool at the Lincoln Park
District. It is interesting to see how your karate techniques work (or don‟t) in the water.
This is also a fun way to train and for one night out of the year, the students do get to
have fun while training … although it appears that every year we do more training with
our heads under the water!
After the karate training in the water, which is an excellent work-out, the students are cut
loose and allowed to enjoy the pool to swim and play in. Thank you to the Lincoln Park
District for allowing us to do this.
Next year will be here before you know it! Keep kicking!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BE SURE TO KEEP CHECKING OUR WEBSITE: www.yoshukaialliance.com AND
our FACEBOOK PROFILE: YOSHUKAI KARATE ALLIANCE. This is where we
can have our own martial art discussions.
- 15-
Kenney fall festival
II annual demonstration
Thank you to all of those who helped the Kenney Dojo demonstrate Yoshukai to the
Dewitt County area. The Kenney Dojo has a good name around town and part of it is due
to your participation in the demonstration. I also want to thank Sensei for taking over and
running things, without him it wouldn‟t be what it is, and that goes for all the Yoshukai
events … just PLEASE, if he asks you to be quiet, do it … and quickly! There was a man
in the audience talking loudly during breaking. Then he was trying to over-talk Sensei as
he was speaking and asking the man to please be quiet & to show some respect. If you
were there, you know Sensei doesn‟t allow rudeness!
The Kenney Dojo has a good reputation with the local residences due to the fact that the
Kenney Heritage Association always has something positive to say to people when
inquiring about classes.
We, as usual, hope to continue to get invited back over the coming years with a bigger
group of people each year.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“TRADITIONAL KARATEKA WEAR PLAIN WHITE GIS, NOT COLORFUL
UNIFORMS ADORNED WITH STRIPES, STARS & RHINESTONES. THERE ARE
FEW SPINNING OR AERIAL TECHNIQUES & NO FANCY EQUIPMENT”.
DOUG STEIN – JAPAN KARATE FEDERATION RENGO-KAI
- 16 -
Signing of the constitution
September 15th, 2009
FINALLY! The Alliance has a legally binding Constitution! After several years, many
drafts and catching Mr. Stone and Mr. Kennett together, we accomplished it! (nin tai)
There are three (3) original copies signed, each one in the safe keeping of Sensei, Mr.
Stone and Mr. Kennett. We thought it a good idea to have three copies made in the event
any were destroyed in a fire or lost. Honestly, the most secure one is in the possession of
Mr, Kennett who has his locked in his steel gun cabinet … that would be a tough one to
lose!
We (all Black Belts) had input on the Constitution so as it not be one-sided in any
manner. The whole purpose is to make sure nobody in the future tries to exploit the
Alliance and change any of the kata.
Normally, only Black Belts have a copy, but if anyone would care to have one, just ask
Sensei, he will be happy to give one to you. Thank you to all the Black Belts for your
patience and input!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“A SEED SOWN IN KITAKYUSHU, YOSHUKAI WAS GIVEN THE CHANCE TO
LAUNCH INTO THE WORLD BY THE STRONG BOND OF MASTERS &
DISCIPLES.”
GRANDMASTER YAMAMOTO
2009 Weiner roast
October 10th
Even though we moved the Weiner Roast up a week, it was still a very cold October
night. This year we held the weiner roast at Mr. Haywards home in Mechanicsburg. It
was a pleasure to meet Mr. Hayward‟s family, who graciously opened their home to us.
It was a good night for the students of the ALLIANCE to get together and socialize. War
stories from the dojos were plentiful and enjoyable, although some were questionable,
weren‟t they Mr. Lowe?
We cannot talk about the weiner roast without mentioning Mr. Gorman‟s famous SPICY
Chili. It is enjoyable to watch people eat the chili, then notice how much liquid they
consume!
Looking forward to next year‟s! Thank you to the Haywards!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ii annual dewitt county cancer walk
October 10th
Thank you again Mel and Stacy Lambert, the
grandmother and mother of Braxton Lambert for
inviting us back to participate in the Cancer Walk.
They had several booths displayed for people to be
educated on different types of health benefits, along
with several different items that Sensei had NO
problem helping himself to.
Several people throughout the area donated various items to be raffled. The Yoshukai
Karate Alliance Kenney Dojo donated two certificates worth two free months of karate
lessons at the Kenney Dojo. Braxton Lambert, Kenney Dojos very own student won
BOTH!!
The following students came along to not only support Yoshukai
Karate Alliance but, also to share in the joy of helping raise
money for DeWitt County Cancer patients: Erica (Hombu);
Dawn, Austin, Joshua, Luke and Braxton! Erica stayed behind
with Sensei and Sensei Schreiber to answer any questions anyone
had to ask. Before the walk began we went over a few selfdefense techniques with some of the women.The other students
walked the path with several other people to help raise money!
Black belt training
October 24th, 2009
(Left to Right: Mr. Lanning, Sensei Bottrell
Sensei Roberts, Mr. Lowe, Mr. Stone
Sensei, Mr. Goestch, Mr. M Schreiber
Sensei Schreiber, Mr. Reese)
Although he was not feeling
well, Mr. Stone drove down
from Aurora to attend Black
Belt training at the Hombu. This
was also the 1st clinic as a Black
Belt for Mr. Goetsch. It was a
very fast-paced work-out,
starting with brown belt combinations. The training then shifted to tai ho jitsu followed
by 25 minutes of kumite. Following a short break, Mugen empty-hand and Mugen sai
was the agenda. Nidan Nunchuck ending the training.
A short meeting immediately afterwards covered a few topics:
1) New kyu belt certificates
2. Constitution officially signed, now a legally binding document
3) All manual will have copyright on 1st page
4) Why isn‟t the patch and nintai on everyone‟s gi?
5) If you are late for class, quietly bow yourself in, regardless of rank
6) Attendance in class and clinics are still required to be promoted in the dan ranks
7) Web-site updates
Everyone was gone by 11:30! (there were not any Gordon-ryu techniques practiced that
day)
Ms. Lowe returns from Colorado
Ms. Emilie Lowe, Shodan, is a student at the Hombu. While attending Lincoln Christian
University in Lincoln, IL, Ms. Lowe was assigned to do her internship in Colorado for
three months.
Three months have gone by quickly and everyone is glad to see her back, especially her
brother Mr. Troy Lowe and her nephew Noah Kenney, both from the Hombu.
Just as soon as she came back, Sensei threw at her the way to use tonfa … if you have
used the tonfa, you know how easy it is to blister your hand. We hope they heal quickly!
- 19 -
Self-defense class for
Clinton Girl scouts
The Kenney Dojo held a self-defense class for the Clinton Girl Scouts! The girls earned
several patches that day – safety, health, and one for learning about a woman running a
„business‟ and one for exercises! Sensei Schreiber presented each girl with a one-months
free lessons!
There were approximately 20 girls present. Sensei Schreiber lead the girls in several
different activities, one in which were the regular warm-ups that begin every class, along
with YOSHUKAI‟s regular kyu belt self-defense. Then she had time to sit them down
and ask each girl what they learned from the days lessons.
Sensei Schreiber was assisted by three other ladies: Erica and Vicki from the Hombu and
Dawn Johnson from the Kenney Dojo, thank you ladies for you assistance! OS!
KODA SENSEI STONE MARKER
As a symbol of respect to Koda Sensei, we have, at last, our stone marker in place next to
the tree we dedicated and planted in his memory. His good and long-time friends from
Chito-ryu, Hanshi
Dometrich & Okusan,
graciously donated
$100 towards the marker as a
gesture of their respect
and friendship.
Sensei, Sensei Blasco
the marker in concrete
away from the tree to
and Sensei Schreiber buried
facing the East and slightly
allow room as the tree grows.
Completed, they knelt
down to show respect with a
simple bow and kiai. It
was a very solemn time.
Whenever you go past Postville Park, stop sometime to look and show your respect with
a simple bow.
“KARATE IS MORE
THAN
A FIGHTING SKILL
IT IS
A MENTAL
DISCIPLINE FROM
WHICH STUDENTS
LEARN THE
VALUE OF KINDNESS AND SINCERITY TO OTHERS”
- 20 -
…
November kyu belt testing
Tuesday, November 3rd – Hombu
Vicki Mileham – 5th kyu Green belt; Erica Tomkinson 5th kyu Green belt
Noah Kenney – 4th kyu Green belt
Wednesday, November 4th – kenney
Josh Johnson – 7th kyu Yellow belt; Aaron Barnes – 6th kyu Green belt
Braxton Lambert – 3rd kyu Brown belt; Austin Johnson – 1st kyu Brown belt
Dale Barnett – 1st kyu Brown belt
Thursday, November 5th – Williamsville
Mason Rickard – 8th kyu Yellow belt; Caden Holdener – 8th kyu Yellow belt
Ken Baumgarten – 6th kyu Green belt; Kyle Baumgarten – 6th kyu Green belt
Nick Freschi – 6th kyu Green belt; Patrick Powers – 5th kyu Green belt
Ben Bradley – 5th kyu Green belt; Eric Churchill – 5th kyu Green belt
Mitch McCullar – 5th kyu Green belt; Cristian Ramirez – 3rd kyu Brown belt
We had testing in Elkhart at a later date because they had been open 4 months December.
Welcome and Congratulations to the Elkhart students!
Tuesday, December 1st – Elkhart
Grant Davis – 7th kyu Yellow belt; Alexia Davis – 8th kyu Yellow belt;
Mitch Hudson – 6th kyu Green belt; Josh Judd – 6th kyu Green belt
Jake McCray – 6th kyu Green belt; Tosha Boyer – 6th kyu Green belt
Brayden Trimmer – 6th kyu Green belt
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“THE NEAREST WAY TO IMPROVEMENT IN KARATE IS TO
CONTINUE PRACTICING STEP BY STEP”
- 21-
Saturday, December 12th
Early in the morning, Mr. Scott McCullar tested and was
promoted to Shodan. As with Mr. Hayward, Mr. McCullar
wanted to fininsh something he had started as a teenager in
the Shudokan Dojo in Springfield. Sitting on the board of his
test was his good friend, Sensei Jackson of the Shito-ryu
Dojo. CONGRATULATIONS MR. McCULLAR and we
also welcome you to the elite rank! Glad to have you on
board the ship! Both Mr. Hayward and Mr. McCullar finished
one of their many personal
goals they have set in their martial art journey.
2009 Christmas dinner
Saturday, December 12th
This year was our 8th Annual Christmas Party held again in the Ballroom at the Rec
Center in Lincoln.
Starting late, as usual, the first on the agenda was the
promotion of Scott McCullar to Black Belt.
CONGRATULATIONS Mr. McCullar, you are now in
the elite rank!
Sensei then
presented a plaque
Sensei Bottrell and
Sensei (?) Lanning in recognition of their loyalty &
dedication to YOSHUKAI KARATE. Mr.
Lanning‟s plaque was mistakenly written as Sensei
Lanning, which did bring a huge smile to his face!
to
to
Arriving late was Mr. Bob Bartel, our video friend of the
Alliance, who was also presented a plaque in recognition of
his loyalty & friendship to the Alliance. Next year, we know
two men who are going to receive watches for their
Christmas presents …
don‟t
we Sensei Roberts?
Sensei was then
presented with a gift
all dojos. The money will be used toward a ticket for
to Puerto Rico to visit the Trujillo Alto Dojo &
Sensei Blasco. Sensei was very grateful.
from
a trip
Mr. McCullar then surprised Sensei, Sensei Roberts, & Sensei Bottrell with a portrait of
each drawn by Mr. McCullar … very good portraits with an acute likeness to detail.
(Even being so kind as to have Sensei Roberts appear handsome).
Then began the dinner, which this year, was entirely consumed
by everyone. NO leftovers this year!
We would like to say thank you to Sensei Schreiber for
organizing the dinner AND to all the students from all dojos that
helped with the decorating & spending their time in the kitchen
to see that everyone had plenty to eat.
Already looking forward to next year‟s & to Sensei Bottrell &
Co. play a few Christmas Carols for us!
3rd annual winter training
This year was not like the other years before. Sadly, the temperature was all the way into
the upper 30‟s … might have well called it Summer Camp!
Even so, there was excellent attendance by all ranks from all dojos. Mr. Stone and Mr.
Kennett covered for Sensei since he wasn‟t feeling well. Mr. Stone took the Black Belts
and Mr. Kennett took over the kyu belts.
New this year was the children going outside for 2 minutes of training … just long
enough to test their mental discipline.
Maybe next year will be colder! We can only hope!
- 24 -
my personal Yoshukai and Martial Arts experience and deceptions - By Sensei Blasco
Across my journey in Martial Arts I learn and see many things sometimes good things
and sometimes not.
If you're reading these article means that somehow you are link with Karate, if so, have
you stopped to think if it really is "Karate" what you practice? Before proceeding with the
reading of these words ask yourself what you understand is Karate? The most probably is
that its going to be all the opposite to what Karate really is.. There is a fairly general
concept of Karate where violence, selfishness, individualism and vanity are ideas traded,
built and magnified by the media, because in our society it is what "sells". We are used to
compete in all areas and situations of life, then why not compete in karate? Is this what
our teachers, founders of this art wanted for us, for human society? Do you really believe
that the attributes mentioned above were the goals of the evolution of karate? I think
not!
The most important thing to know about martial arts is that they are healthy and peaceful
activities. As you learn its long history, understand that true martial artists do not want to
hurt anyone nor have any violence in their lives. They work very hard to not live or
undergo unnecessary conflict, practicing their art so they do not have to fight just
because. Instead, they can demonstrate the power and artistic beauty of their techniques.
For this reason, this practice is called martial art and not fight or quarrel.
"The ultimate aim of art of karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in perfecting the
character of its participants"
Through Yoshukai Karate, you can learn how to develop your attitude and a lifestyle for
your road to self-realization. Karate provides that the individual can demonstrate their
skills and overcoming challenges as a means of enhancing their self-concept and test their
limits. Through Yoshukai Karate the individual acquires knowledge and confidence in
the use of their abilities and its way to develop self-control. With the practice of
Yoshukai Karate, qualities are improved as safety, serenity, patience, perseverance,
kindness, among others.
"The man fights with his mind. Their hands and arms are merely an extension of his
will, and the biggest mistake of our age is to believe that the equipment can replace the
spirit "
If you practice competition (and I will not call it Karate) I strongly invite you to reflect
on these words as the true "DO" is not the path of violence, quite the contrary, the way
of love. Yes, Karate-Do is the way of love, art transformed into love, the path of
personal growth based on love, love yourself, love your training partner, love for his
Dojo, love for their environment, love for the nature, love of teaching, love of spirituality.
Love, respect, loyalty, companionship, are some of the concepts that our teachers have
tried to give us through this "art" called YOSHUKAI KARATE. If we accept that
Karate is love, spirituality is the connection to the universe with vital energy, the Ki-what
then is the competition? In expressing the unknown, but before I ask again, what meaning
have to beat someone else? What is the pleasure of harming a training partner? What do I
want to show ? Why to fracture a partner rib? It is so important to feel like a "winner"?
but what you won? Is it worth the damage or harm another human being just to take a
plastic medal? You want to be the best? the best of what? Why? Everyone must think
deeply and find their own answers, their own responses based on personal deepening
.Yoshukai Karate, never, nor will it be a means to harm others, much less a means to
elevate and feed egos, feelings wrong, vanities.
The World is full of so called Karate Masters that the only thing they want is fill their
pockets with your money. Oh yeah! The evolution begins, Internet Black Belts
certifications, DVD certifications ,Black Belts crash courses ( How to be a Black Belt
within a year ) and much more.
Yoshukai is no exeption to the human ambition too. Yoshukai evolved as a more
offensive vision of the more familiar traditional styles. A strong character style and
strong discipline. But at some point in time, things changed as often happens with human
nature. People saw a way to win more cash and changed DO for $Dough$. Stay away of
those people and follow the real path. How do you know who is real? If you heard the
word Money too much it is time to move. Dont get consumed by the dark side!
If you really love Karate you have the responsibility to keep them alive, How? Just
following the real guidelines of the founders when Martial Arts have no $ value.
So do not waste time, wake up and introduce yourself in the adventure of personal
growth, how far would that lead? It all depends on how much we are willing to get deep!.
"The greatest achievement in the character of a warrior is his own temple"
We are now bombarded of the so called MMA aka Ultimate Fighting Championship. I
prefer to call it Ultimate Fighting CRAP!. A bunch of so called martial arts experts with a
little of nothing experience and knowledge of real martial arts. They stand in an Octagon
beating themselves until no more blood still in the body and their faces are
unrecognizable. Wow! 5 rounds of 5 minutes of hard stupid beating! And they call
themselves Fighters! A real fighter must finish the fight in less than 2 minutes.
“A teacher is never a giver of truth - he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each
student must find for himself. A good teacher is merely a catalyst. “
What is respect? Respect is a two ways action you have to be respectful to obtain the
respect from others. Dont confuse respect by fear. Yelling to others people is not the
answer to obtain respect. The respect doesn‟t come by your yelling or rank but by your
actions. Teachers are helpers to show you the way, not owners of your life and decisions.
You can find Karatekas who think that they are more Japanese than the Japanese
themselves. Ask yourself the following! Do you want to know karate? Or do you want to
be Japanese? If you want to live like the Japanese, its easy, move to Japan. You want to
be good in Karate? Stick to the doctrine & discipline and you will succeed.
Its up to everyone of the Yoshukai practitioners to uphold the integrity of Yoshukai
Karate as it was conceived. How ? Simple, keep up the rules that for centuries maintains
the heart of Karate alive!
“Children of the alliance”
The art work you see to the left was presented to Sensei
by Eric Churchill from Williamsville dojo. Nice job
Eric! Sensei Roberts has commented many times of
how proud he was of Eric & of not only his skills, but
most important, his ATTITUDE, which IS the most
important aspect of karate training! Keep up the hard
work Eric!
Mr. Lanning‟s (Nidan) children participated in local races. Payton (white belt)
participated in a tricycle race while his sister, Brianna raced to the top of an inflatable!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“NO MATTER HOW YOU MAY EXCEL IN THE ART OF TE, AND IN YOUR
SCHOLASTIC ENDEAVORS NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN YOUR
BEHAVIOR AND YOUR HUMANITY AS OBSERVED IN DAILY LIFE”
Street clothes night
Williamsville dojo
On December 21st Sensei Roberts held a street clothes night at the Williamsville Dojo!
Following is a collage of photos from the
night‟s
event:
It was a pleasant surprise to see Mr. Hanger show up and train with everyone, he found
out about the event on Yoshukai Karate Alliance’s Facebook page!
-28-