We had a great test at the end of October.  Rielly Sensei gave us great feedback about our practice and we look forward to another visit from him in the future.  As usual, whenever there’s a test the real answer after your grading is … Keep Training!

The holidays are nearly here.  Right after Nationals (12-13 November in Valley Forge, PA!) we’ll be bracing ourselves for Thanksgiving.  Right after that it’s holiday shopping madness.

One of the ways to stay sane during the holiday season is to come to the dojo and focus on your practice.  This is true any time, but especially when the pressures of the holiday season are at hand.  Please come regularly!

We will have a holiday party (TBD) as usual, at the dojo. ALL are welcome.  Bring a dish! Bring your kids!  Bring a lot of paper towels… no we’ll handle that.  We look forward to seeing everyone for that – keep an ear out at the dojo for the planning!

Testing!

Testing will be at the dojo.

11 AM start time for youth, registration opens at 10:30 AM.  If you can register in advance, please do.

Adults will test at 1:30 PM.

Please bring your ISKF membership cards to the exam as you must be a member in good standing!

As usual there will be a clinic before the exam which is open to everyone, even those not taking a test!

The annual winter tournament went very well, stiff competition and good spirit from all the participants.  Four kata teams demonstrated kata from Heian Nidan through Enpi.  The SKHR mens team did a demostration, also!

Then that evening was the annual holiday pot luck.  Some members brought home-made specialties like chili, lemon-poppy seed scones or curry chicken while others brought cakes, cookies, drinks or other snacks.  One amazing cake featured different colored segments and gingerbread karate-ka!  For entertainment, the main draw was the the extreme sled-dog:

For details, click here.

We are honored to host clinics and testing with Okazaki Shihan!  Please review the flyer linked above.

If you are attending the clinic at William & Mary, be sure to park only in student parking spaces and avoid any spot that is marked Faculty/Staff.  Parking is not enforced after 5:30 pm on Fridays but there’s no sense pushing your luck.  Also be advised that campus police strictly enforce speed limits and will ticket.  If you are traveling from Newport News be aware that Friday traffic on I64 is often terrible.  Check it before you leave home!

On Saturday evening we will have dinner as a group at Thaijindesu – please tell the table staff if you want to attend that when registering for your test or clinic.  We need to give a good headcount to the restaurant so they will have enough seating assigned to our group!

As always, the Sunday clinic is open to 5 kyu and higher ranks to train, and for all to watch.

In case you did not hear, Kids’ Summer Karate Day Camp started today (Tuesday, 7/22). Not to worry, Sensei tells me that you will get a $20 discount if you start camp tomorrow (Wednesday, 7/23). Please see the flyer for details, but…

Dates: Tuesday, July 22 through Thursday, July 24
Time: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Location: Shotokan Karate of Hampton Roads Dojo

Osu!

Our next exams are coming up on August 2, 2014!

Pick up a schedule at your next training, and be sure you know your kata!

ISKF Master Camp was a big success this year, with good training and new friends all around.  Dojo sempai (senior student) tested successfully for go-dan (5th degree)!

The dojo sent six members to the camp, most of whom were able to stay for the whole week!  Other club sempai covered classes during that week, allowing those members who could not go to camp to still train.  Thank you very much to all who instructed and kept the dojo spirit alive during Master Camp 2014!

Here’s last year’s group photo, since we didn’t get one this summer!