MAGAZINE
FALL 2022
Karate Karate
Diplomacy Diplomacy
Karate College Clubs
C O N T E N T S T A B L E O F
Throughout the magazine, we feature several of our Karateka and the activities/ passions they have beyond Karate on pages 9, 12, 17, 21, and 33.
Throughout the magazine, you will find featured articles on the Karate journey of various instructors that we have met and connected with on pages 31 to 32.
bridges building karate morethan TABATA SENSEI LEGACY IKIGAI AND KARATEDO-KA JUKF AND BOSTON KARATEKAS PARTNERSHIP RECAP OF FALL 2022 13 Karate Training Anywhere and Everywhere 26 Japan Trip November 2022 27 Official Partnership Boston & Japan 34 Altruism Examples PROMOTIONS 23 JKA Kyu Exam Results 25 HDKI Kyu Exam Results PAGE 03 EDITORIAL 07 Building MIT Karate community 11 Newest Karate Black Belts SEMINARS 10 Lorraine Sin Harvard Karate Seminar
Tabata Sensei Legacy Tekki Nidan Seminar
Breast Cancer Awareness Special Practice
Sensei Bob Jacobs Harvard Karate Seminar
Christina Foo Sensei Harvard Karate Seminar
14
15
16
22
04 Karate Infographic 35 CONTACT US 36 READ OUR LATEST ISSUES
Black Belts Received at Nihon Budokan TOURNAMENTS
Worcester State University JKA Tournament/USA
UConn Husky Cup Tournament/USA
JUKF National University Tournament at Budokan/Japan
28
06
18
29
FALL 2022 KARATE 2 (JKA & HDKI) # OF NEW BLACK BELTS (JKA & HDKI) + 5 # OF KYU PROMOTIONS (MIT, HARVARD, BU, WELLESLEY, ZOOM) 41 # OF KYU EXAM STUDENTS 5 SEMINARS HOSTED LORRAINE SIN SENSEI BOB JACOBS CHRISTINA FOO SENSEI VAZRIK SENSEI FOR TABATA SENSEI LEGACY VAZRIK SENSEI FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS PAGE 04 (JKA & HDKI) 4 KARATE SEMINARS ATTENDED IN JAPAN 3 # OF TOURNAMENTS ATTENDED JUKF IN NIHON BUDOKAN, JAPAN HUSKY CUP AT UCONN JKA TOURNAMENT AT WORCESTER STATE UNIVERSITY SHITO RYU KATA & KUMITE SEMINAR AT OSAKA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY HASHIMOTO SENSEI KATA & KOBUDO SEMINAR TOKYO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KATA SEMINAR NIHON UNIVERSITY KARATE SEMINAR INFOGRAPHIC
g p p , g p g conversation about how we shared a common goal of spreading Karate at the college level, as we have been spreading Karate to students in the Boston area and our alum students who graduate and go all over the world, and the JUKF offers Karate to over 200 universities in Japan.
Our goal in Boston is to offer Karate to students as a means of becoming physically stronger but also mentally stronger. Karate training is highly introspective, and trains one to be aware of their own skills, limitations, as well as their impact on those around them Not only that, we feel that Karate training is a means for making connections with people regardless of their age, upbringing, etc. Osada Sensei noted that he feels it is a means to create peace among people as Karate training enables people to establish a bond even when there is a language barrier.
We also discussed the difference between a Karateka and a Karatedo-ka. Many people who begin studying Karate do it with the purpose of simply getting stronger. They view Karate as a system of punching and kicking and don’t see it beyond that. A Karatedo-ka truly embraces the meaning of being a Karate practitioner, both inside the dojo as well as outside. They are able to understand that the lessons learned in Karate apply also in life, and they are able to use these lessons to develop a more confident yet humble character with which they create a positive impact in their local and international community. Our goal is to create not just Karateka at the college level, but more Karatedo-ka, and we feel this is one of our purpose in life and how we can contribute to a more positive world.
PAGE 05 Editorial -Vazrik&Cassiano
JKA SKDI Tournament at Worcester State University
On October 1, 2022, we took several students to compete at the JKA Tournament hosted at Worcester State University. There were youth competitors all the way through senior ranks joining to compete, and we brought a team of collegiate Karateka to compete in both kata and kumite. Vazrik Sensei volunteered his time and helped judge using his official judging license he earned in New Orleans this past summer.
Congrats to all of our students who competed and gained experience from this tournament, and congrats to the students who gained podium spots. A special congratulations to Lorraine Sin who reached the final round of kata after a challenging Sentei Kata elimination round and competed with a strong showing of Gojushiho Sho. Also, a special congratulations to Hanamei Shao who won 1st place in Women’s Black Belt Kumite. Hanamei fought several challenging matches but demonstrated an excellent understanding of distancing (maai) and timing and showed proper Shotokan Karate kumite techniques to score.
Well done everyone!
We thank Sensei Bob Jacobs and Sensei Toryu for extending the invitation to us for this tournament. It was well organized and a great learning opportunity for our students.
10/01/2022
1st Place Nikita Patil - Empi 2nd Place Sophia Pena - Bassai Dai 3rd Place Ayusha Ariana - Bassai Dai W O M E N B R O W N B E L T D I V I S I O N K A T A 1st Place Nikita Patil 2nd Place Sophia Pena W O M E N B R O W N B E L T D I V I S I O N K U M I T E F R E E S P A R R I N G 1st Place Hanamei Shao W O M E N B L A C K B E L T K U M I T E PAGE 06
Building a Broader MIT K t C it
Throughout the fall semester, as we did during the summer, we continued to offer indoor Karate practices in the MIT T-Club Lounge. The seminars gave students the opportunities to learn unique kata such as Tekki Nidan, train free sparring drills for tournament preparation, as well as get individualized feedback on their technique. They were also opportunities for students who have graduated from the various colleges to still continue high-level training and stay connected with our Karate community.
We also utilized indoor trainings at MIT to help students prepare for the Fall 2022 kyu promotions by reviewing the kihon, kata, and kumite requirements at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. As is our tradition, we not only train together, but we enjoy eating together. We have continued to go to our Karate community’s favorite restaurant: The Mad Monkfish. #MoreThanKarate
PAGE 07
more than
karate
Our students do “More Than Karate”! Shotokan Karate is a deep passion for many of our students, but as many new beginners ask us when they join our Karate group, you can have multiple passions! Many of our students do multiple activities in addition to Karate. Throughout the magazine, we will highlight some of our members and you will have a chance to get to know more about them.
PAGE 08
karate more than KARATE & LOW COST EDUCATIONAL TOYSCIRCUIT BOARD DESIGN CLAUDIO OLMEDO MIT / COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY JKA & HDKI 8B KYU YELLOW BELT BRAZIL PAGE 09
Lorraine Harvard Karate Empi + Kumite games seminar
10/02/2022
Lorraine Sin was invited to give a Karate seminar for the Harvard Karate Club this semester on October 2, 2022 in the Mezzanine inside of the Malkin Athletic Center. Lorraine started her Karate career training at the Boston University Karate Club, where she was part of the eboard and helped the club grow. After graduating, she began to teach at BU and became a proficient instructor. She then did her Masters at Lesley University in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. While at Lesley University, she helped start the Shotokan Karate club there and taught students helped Lesley University Karateka participate in belt exams and tournaments. Lorraine is a Nidan through the HDKI and a Nidan through the JUKF.
At Harvard, Lorraine taught a class focused on one of her favorite kata, Empi (Flying Swallow). This is a kata that Lorraine has used to promote to Nidan with as well as competed with in tournaments. The kata is very dynamic, and has both high speed combinations as well as slow, graceful movements. Lorraine taught the choreography to students in a structured manner so that even beginner students could learn and appreciate the beauty and strength of the kata. Lorraine also taught some unique kumite speed drills / games that she picked up training in Japan to help beginners learn how to use footwork and hand speed to get better at free sparring.
PAGE 10
Congrats to the Newest Black Belts
A big congratulations to the newest black belts: Garen Chiloyan through the JKA and Ann Xu through the HDKI. This past fall, these students tested for their Shodan rank and successfully passed. Ann graduated from Wellesley College and started her Shotokan Karate training there with the Wellesley Karate club. After training for several years in the club and continuing to train after graduating, she successfully tested for her Shodan with Empi as her kata with Scott Langley Sensei of the HDKI. Garen started his Karate training in the summer of 2017 with Vazrik Sensei, then joined the UConn Karate club and trained with Sensei Bob Jacobs and Sensei Mike Jacobs. Garen went to New York to take his JKA black belt test and passed successfully this past fall. We congratulate both students on their success, and hope they continue their Karate life journey and keep enjoying practicing Shotokan Karate.
PAGE 11
Ann Xu Garen Chiloyan
BRUCE HOU
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
3RD KYU JKA (BROWN BELT)
4TH KYU HDKI (PURPLE BELT)
KARATE & SAILING
karate more than
PAGE 12
TAIWAN
Karate Training Anywhere and Everywhere
10/10/2022
We truly love Shotokan Karate, and for us, #KarateNeverStops. Even on a holiday, or if the gym is not open, or if the weather is rainy, we love Karate so much that we will even practice it in a parking lot under the rain. Last semester, while typically one would consider the weather bad luck and would call it a day and go home, instead we enjoyed an epic Karate session with the Harvard Karate Club students. Outdoors in the rain, we went through kihon training, as well as reviewed beginner and advanced level kata to help students strengthen their technique and the particular kata they are training.
You do not need a perfect temperature controlled room, pristine hardwood floors, and similar ideal conditions to practice Karate. The most important is the passion to train, and the discipline to do the drills on a training day. This way, your Karate training is not tied to your day to day energy or feelings, but to your bigger goals and dreams of reaching a particular skill level. This is how Karate can train not just your body, but your mind.
#KarateNeverStops
PAGE 13
#KarateNeverStops
Tabata Sensei Legacy Seminar Tekki Nidan
10/16/2022
On Sunday 10/16/2022 we had another exciting inter-college training seminar in the MIT T-Club Lounge! Vazrik Sensei taught Tekki Nidan to over 20 students - first going through the choreography, then explaining hand-foot timing and hip vibration details. Many students do not see Tekki Nidan until after they reach black belt in a typical Karate curriculum, but Tabata Sensei used to teach Tekki Nidan and Tekki Sandan to students before reaching black belt, and in that spirit, we hosted this special kata seminar. Students ranging from beginner up through black belt enjoyed learning this kata together and strengthening their kiba dachi. In honor of Tabata Sensei’s openness to share knowledge and in that same light, we were proud to deliver the choreography and kata fundamentals of Tekki Nidan to beginners and advanced students from the various colleges in this special kata seminar event.
In addition to learning Tekki Nidan, we also went through kumite and kata drills in preparation for the UConn Husky Cup tournament coming up on Saturday, November 5th. Students practiced their Heian kata, Tekki Shodan, as well as various Sentei kata to be ready to compete in several weeks.
PAGE 14
On Sunday, 10/30/2022, we had a special intercollege seminar day indoors at MIT. Instead of wearing the usual Karate belts signifying each student’s rank, we wore pink belts to raise awareness as October is breast cancer awareness month.
Did you know that 1 in 8 women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and that 85% of breast cancer diagnoses happen with no prior family history? Our goal with this seminar was to educate ourselves and our students of the basic facts of this illness and how it can be prevented, as well as bring awareness of this to the broader Karate community with our training event.
Vazrik Sensei bought all of the pink belts for the students to utilize for this event and for future such events, and proceeds of these purchases go towards breast cancer awareness. During the class, his training focused on preparing students for the upcoming UConn Husky Cup tournament on Sunday 11/05/22. The students simulated the kumite and kata they were expected to perform at the tournament at their respect skill level while Vazrik Sensei provided feedback on what to work on to be even better prepared for the tournament.
We also had a special guest join us on this Karate training day: Sophia Peña’s mother Teresa Peña. She got to experience first hand the joy that Karate brings to her daughter and be able to train and see the beauty of Karate as well!
10/30/2022
PAGE 15
Harvard Karate Seminar Sensei Bob Jacobs
On Sunday, 10/23/2022, Sensei Bob Jacobs accepted an invitation to give an exciting seminar at Harvard in the MAC Mezzanine. His seminar was focused on two parts: the first was on Karate fundamentals, and the second was to apply those fundamentals for tournaments, in particular the UConn Husky Cup tournament the following weekend. Sensei Jacobs taught several drills focused on proper heel use to stay connected to the ground that were helpful for students ranging from white belt through black belt. He emphasized the importance of proper Karate basics to do well at tournaments. He corrected against unnecessary stomping and instead demonstrated how to properly use the weight distribution in the legs to move efficiently.
The students incorporated the fundamentals he taught into kihon ippon kumite (basic one step sparring) and kata training for the tournament. With kihon ippon kumite, the students got to see how efficient the proper Karate movement is compared to movement with the common errors of lifting heels or telegraphing the movement with the upper body.
We were grateful to learn from Sensei Jacobs and to have the students apply these fundamentals at the UConn Husky Cup Tournament the following weekend!
10/23/2022
Sensei Jacobs correcting students’ techniques
Vazrik Sensei introducing Sensei Jacobs to the Harvard Karate students
PAGE 16
Sensei Jacobs with Harvard Karate Club co-president Xialene Chang and treasurer Eshaan Vakil
AVA WILCOX
WELLESLEY COLLEGE
3RD KYU JKA (BROWN BELT)
4TH KYU HDKI (PURPLE BELT)
KARATE & KNITTING
karate more than
USA PAGE 17
UConn Husky Cup
On Saturday 11/05/2022, we had the pleasure to attend the UConn Husky Cup Karate tournament hosted by Sensei Bob Jacobs and the UConn Karate club. This is a tournament that we used to attend prior to COVID putting a stop to many in-person activities. This year, it was a great opportunity to help bring almost 30 Karate students from Boston to compete. The UConn Husky Cup’s tradition is to provide an educational tournament where students get a chance to learn about how a tournament is structured and what judges look for, as well as for judges to practice their judging skills.
Vazrik Sensei helped judge throughout the day in one of the tournament courts, while our students achieved a total of 31 podium awards from the beginner all the way through the advanced levels! We are grateful to Sensei Bob Jacobs and Sensei Mike Jacobs for their efforts to provide such opportunities to students of all skill levels to practice their Karate, develop more solid fundamentals, and to meet other Karateka in a fun environment.
We look forward to attending the UConn Husky Cup tournament again next year!
07/02/2022
PAGE 18 11/05/2022
It was absolutely incredible to see a great turnout of our collegiate teams at the tournament! Everyone did very well, but we are especially proud of our current undergraduate Karateka - many of whom competed for the first time at this tournament. Many of our alumni probably remember the Husky Cup as their own first experience competing.
Garen Chiloyan - UCONN Brown Belt Men Division
Sophia Peña - Wellesley College Brown Belt Women Division
Maya Pensa - Boston University 7/8 Kyu Division
1st Place - Sasiru Pathiranage BU
3rd Place - Hirotaka Fujii BU
3rd Place - Hirotaka Fujii BU
3rd Place - NIkita Patil U Texas 3rd Place - Sofija Obradovic BU
Place - Sofija Obradovic
1st Place - Ayusha Ariana Wellesley
3rd Place - Sophia Peña Wellesley
4th Place - Sophia Igarashi BU
1st Place - Sophia Peña Wellesley
2nd Place - Nikita Patil University of Texas
3rd Place - Athena Zheng BU
H U S K Y C U P W I N N E R S
B L A C K B E L T M E N D I V I S I O N K U M I T E B L A C K B E L T M E N D I V I S I O N K A T A
B L A C K B E L T W O M E N D I V I S I O N K U M I T E
B L A C K B E L T W O M E N D I V I S I O N K A T A 4th
BU B R O W N B E L T W O M E N D I V I S I O N K A T A
B R O W N B E L T W O M E N D I V I S I O N K U M I T E
PAGE 19
PAGE 20 3rd Place - Naomi Grusby BU 7 / 8 K Y U D I V I S I O N K U M I T E 1st Place - Maya Pensa BU 2nd Place - Naomi Grusby BU 3rd Place - Eshaan Vakil Harvard B R O W N B E L T M E N D I V I S I O N K A T A 1st Place - Garen Chiloyan UConn B R O W N B E L T M E N D I V I S I O N K U M I T E 1st Place - Garen Chiloyan UConn 4 / 6 T H K Y U K U M I T E 2nd Place - Ashley H. Yuan Wellesley 3rd Place - Naomi Grusby BU 3rd Place - Alma Conway Harvard 4 / 6 T H K Y U K A T A 2nd Place - Ava Wilcox Wellesley 3rd Place - Maya Pensa BU 7 / 8 T H K Y U D I V I S I O N K A T A 4th Place - Sara Brown Wellesley 2nd Place - Maya Pensa BU 9 T H K Y U K A T A 2nd Place - Emile Giovannie Harvard 3rd Place - Jane Josefowicz Harvard 9 T H K Y U K U M I T E 3rd Place - Kamya Chakravarthi Wellesley 29 B O S T O N S T U D E N T S C O M P E T I N G A T H U S K Y C U P 2 0 2 2 3 H U S K Y C U P W I N N E R S (WHEN YOU PERFORM VERY WELL IN BOTH DIVISIONS KATA AND KUMITE) 6 1 S T P L A C E W I N N E R S (STUDENTS FROM LESLEY COLLEGE,BU, WELLESLEY COLLEGE, U TEXAS AND HARVARD) P O D I U M S 28 31 T O T A L M E D A L S
INDONESIA
IYIT BENUSIA
LESLEY UNIVERSITY
2ND KYU JKA (BROWN BELT)
3RD KYU HDKI (BROWN BELT)
karate more
than KARATE & DANCE
PAGE 21
Harvard Karate Jitte Seminar Christina Foo Sensei 11/06/2022
Christina Sensei (6th Dan JKA NorCal) gave a wonderful seminar on Sunday, 11/06/2022 focused on Karate fundamentals and Jitte. She started the class discussing some fundamentals and principles with which she trains Karate, including the posture in the way one bows as well as generating power for punches in shomen and blocks in hanmi. From there, we applied these fundamentals in learning the advanced kata Jitte (10 Hands). This kata emphasized the strong power generated from kiba dachi (horse stance), and the power of connecting the hips to the movement of the upper body. Students from white belt through black belt learned the choreography as well as subtle technique details. It was a fun opportunity to learn this favorite kata of Christina Sensei!
There were Harvard students training together in the gym as well as attendees via zoom from various Ivy League Universities for this special seminar.
Christina Sensei is a 6th Dan JKA Karateka who has extensive competition and teaching success. She is a 13 time US National Champion in both kata and kumite. She has helped form the JKA dojo in Northern California, and trained many students to reach high level in Karatedo. We are grateful for Wauriman Sensei (5th Dan JKA) for creating this connection to Christina Sensei and allowing us to have this unique opportunity to train and learn from Christina Sensei.
PAGE 22
Claudio Olmedo 8b kyu M
Eriko Uchida 6th kyu
Ricardo Harripaul 1st kyu
Mathilde (Tilly) Robinson 8th kyu H
Allison Prisloe 8th kyu
Jane Josefowicz 8th kyu
Roberto Colarieti 7th kyu
Emile Giovannie Zounon 7th kyu
Roukaya El Houda 7th kyu
Kishan Shah 6th kyu
Eshaan Vakil 6th kyu
Alma Conway 5th kyu
Ewa Sitarska 4th kyu
Merle Kartscher 4th kyu
Maxim Jeffs 3rd kyu
Iyit Benusia 2nd kyu
Angel Chan 1st kyu
PAGE 23
I T
R V A R D
A
L E S L E Y
Ria Sowalker 8th kyu
Fausto (Mateo) Lasso 8th kyu
Ethan Stoehr 7th kyu
Anil (AJ) Joshi 7th kyu
Riley Leighton 5th kyu
Naomi Grusby 5th kyu
Maya Pensa 5th kyu
Nyah Madison 5th kyu
Bruce Hou 3rd kyu
Sophia Igarashi 2nd kyu
Athena Zheng 1st kyu
Sasiru Pathiranage 1st kyu
Hirotaka Fujii 1st kyu
Sofija Obradovic 1st kyu
Kenya Francis 8th kyu
Carina Zhang 8th kyu
Abby Brennan-Jones 8th kyu
Yohana Dessale
Kamya Chakravarthi
8th kyu
8th kyu
Ashley Yuan 3rd kyu
Ava Wilcox 3rd kyu
Brooke Phua 3rd kyu
Alina Zheng 2nd kyu
Olivia Postel 1st kyu
B O S T O N U N I V E R S I T Y
E L L E S L E Y
W
PAGE 24
Claudio Olmedo 8b kyu
Ria Sowalker 8th kyu
Fausto (Mateo) Lasso 8th kyu
Ethan Stoehr 8th kyu
Anil (AJ) Joshi 8th kyu
Kenya Francis 8th kyu
Carina Zhang 8th kyu
Abby Brennan-Jones 8th kyu
Yohana Dessale 8th kyu
Kamya Chakravarthi 8th kyu
Eriko Uchida 7th kyu
Riley Leighton 6th kyu
Naomi Grusby 6th kyu
Maya Pensa 6th kyu
Nyah Madison 6th kyu
Ashley Yuan 4th kyu
Ava Wilcox 4th kyu
Brooke Phua 4th kyu
Bruce Hou 4th kyu
Sophia Igarashi 3rd kyu
Alina Zheng 3rd kyu
Iyit Benusia 3rd kyu
Olivia Postel 2nd kyu
Angel Chan 2nd kyu
Ricardo Harripaul 2nd kyu
Olga Lattarulo
1b kyu
Sophia Peña 1st kyu
Sasiru Pathiranage 1st kyu
Hirotaka Fujii 1st kyu
Sofija Obradovic 1st kyu
PAGE 25
Japan Trip - Official Partnership
The way south. To the west rise sharp-crested mountains, cutting bright silhouettes against the sky. Mist clings to their lower reaches and veils houses in dreamy vapor. To the east, towns slope down to the ocean glimmering under the autumn sun to an endless horizon. All the while, the Shinkanzen whistles through the landscape like a silver arrow, a transient permanence like the last line of a poem.
Over Thanksgiving, our team had the incredible opportunity to travel to Japan. For students, this trip was their first visit to the home country of Karate. Even Vazrik Tabata Sensei’s passing a few years ago. From our arrival in Narita airport, delicious food, and landscapes of a stunning elegance welcomed us to a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
We visited upon the invitation of the Japan University Karate Federation (JUKF) to participate in the JUKF AllJapan Collegiate Tournament. Set in the historical Nihon Budokan, the Tournament was an incredible opportunity not only for our competition team but for the entire group. While competing students got a chance to demonstrate their skillset in kata and kumite, the others got front-row seats to a world-class Karate competition. Witnessing the technical precision, timing, and power of the competing teams was inspiring. Many times, we sat on the edge of our seats, watching kumite matches with bated breath and absorbing kata details with eager eyes. Our whole team left the event with renewed motivation to pursue Karate.
Our visit to Japan also allowed us to bond with various Japanese university Karate clubs. While training Karate almost every single day of the trip, we connected with students from Tokyo Tech, Osaka Institute of Technology (OIT), and Nihon University, among others. Exchanging ideas and jokes in mixed English and Japanese, we explored city streets and shared food and tea. In Osaka, our new friends from OIT took us to demonstrations of traditional Japanese arts and pointed out remarkable landmarks. We shared umbrellas in a thunderstorm, compared music preferences, and ran laughing from one end of Osaka to another. This experience forged unforgettable memories and created connections that will surely last a lifetime.
PAGE 26
Our day at Nippon Budokan was a unique opportunity, not only because of the tournament that our team competed in, but also because our group signed an official MOU with the JUKF. Sitting in Budokan’s beautiful historical boardroom, our team had the honor to hear board members of the JUKF and our Sensei, Vazrik, present their visions for this partnership. Their common dreams to spread Karate to students and create friendships across countries were inspiring.
Among other things, this partnership established recurring visits between Boston and Japan. Parties agreed that, every year, deserving students should get the chance to travel to Japan to train and learn more about the origins of Karate, while Japanese students at the high school and college level should reciprocally travel to Boston to explore opportunities and forge friendships with our group.
We are honored and proud to have solidified years of friendship into a formal partnership. With this MOU, even more opportunities for Karateka become possible!
PAGE 27
Receiving JUKF Black Belts at Nihon Budokan in Tokyo 11/20/2022
It was truly an honor to receive our BLACK BELTS from Matsukura Sensei (President of the JUKF) at NIPPON BUDOKAN in Tokyo, Japan. After taking Dan examinations with the Japan University Karatedo Federation (JUKF) in the MIT T-Club lounge last September 2022, we became the first official JUKF black belts from the US. These are steps we are taking to continue spreading Karate at the college level and to establish relations between university karateka in the US and in Japan. Thanks to our dear friends Komine Sensei (International Relations JUKF), Osada Sensei (Vice chairman JUKF) for helping us in this journey to create more Karatedo-ka in colleges around the world.
Vazrik Chiloyan - MIT - Sandan
Anselmo Cassiano - Harvard - Nidan
Lorraine Sin - Lesley University & Boston University - Nidan
Amandine Fromont - Georgetown Law & Wellesley College - Nidan
Hanamei Shao - Wellesley College - Shodan
Qiu Yu Hong Lu - Boston University - Shodan
Nikita Patil - U. Texas & Boston University - Shodan
Savannah Wu - Columbia University & Boston University - Shodan
C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S A G A I N T O T H E F O L L O W I N G B L A C K B E L T S S T U D E N T S F O R T H E I R R A N K S : PAGE 28
JUKF National University Tournament at Nihon Budokan
Every year, the Japan University Karatedo Federation (JUKF) hosts a national university Karate tournament at the world famous Nihon Budokan in Tokyo. Osada Sensei (Vice President JUKF) and Komine Sensei (International Relations JUKF) helped to organize the participation of our students from Boston for a team kata and team kumite match. Amandine Fromont (Georgetown Law & Wellesley College), Lorraine Sin (Lesley University & Boston University), and Hanamei Shao (Wellesley College) performed a team Empi to compete for kata. For kumite, these students in addition to Nikita Patil (U. Texas & Boston University) participated in a team kumite match. It was an unique honor for our students to experience competition at the highest level of university Karate at Nihon Budokan, and it will be a memory we will cherish forever.
PAGE 29
Our trip to Japan was a wonderful opportunity to train Karate with several university clubs across Japan. We trained almost every single day, from our first Saturday training at Tokyo Tech, and our training and competition at Nippon Budokan, to Karate demonstrations and an all-day Karate training at OIT. We even concluded with final trainings at Nihon University and Tokyo Tech before flying back to Boston.
We also got to visit beautiful areas of Japan. Visiting Tokyo and Osaka with Japanese students, we created close bonds while viewing bustling city centers and calmer areas like Osaka Castle and the Emperor’s palace in Tokyo. Further, our friends at OIT kindly hosted demonstrations of Kendo, calligraphy, and tea ceremonies for us to gain exposure to various traditional arts of Japan, and even took us to Kyoto to visit the temples for a day. Meanwhile, Vazrik Sensei and Cassiano worked closely with JUKF representatives to cement our partnership and plan out future collaboration.
We highlighted all these amazing events and more in our Japan photo album [link]. Please check it out for exciting photos of our trip!
PAGE 30
bui l d ing
bridges
Our Karate community builds bridges with Karate instructors and organizations around the world. This gives our students the opportunity to learn different approaches to Karate and create bonds with Karateka across the globe. We connect with high-level instructors who view Karate not just as a physical activity, but also as a way of developing humble character, confidence, leadership skills in Karate ‘diplomats’ who make the world a better place in their local, regional, and global communities. Throughout the magazine, we feature a few of the instructors who represent this approach to Karate and with whom we have developed a bond.
PAGE 31
1969 Matsukura Sensei graduated from Takushoku University
1973 He became a coach of the Karatedo club of Takushoku University
1974 He became first a judge of Kanto University
Karatedo Federation (KUKF), then chief judge of KUKF, then a judge of All Japan University Karatedo Federation (JUKF), and finally chief judge of JUKF as well as president of KUKF
2016 He visited Portugal as the leader of the Japanese team for the FISU World University
Karatedo Championship
2018 He became the president of JUKF
2022 He signed and helped create the official partnership between Boston Karateka and the JUKF
These are the five elements of Matsukura Sensei’s slogan for JUKF
1 2 3 4
Harmonization of spirit/technique/body though training of Karatedo
Basic technique to be fundamental element of Karatedo
High level of Sundome (controlling
Tsuki/Keri technique)
Balancing college academic studies and sustainable training of Karatedo 5
Pursuing the spirit of martial art, not to stick to win and loss of tournament
building
bridges
PAGE 32
MOROCCO
ROUKAYA EL HOUDA
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
7TH KYU JKA (ORANGE BELT)
8TH KYU HDKI (YELLOW BELT)
KARATE & THEATER
karate more
than
PAGE 33
Altruism Examples
Claudio Olmedo
We are excited to highlight a wonderful demonstration of altruism by one of our Karate students, Claudio Olmedo. Claudio is very proud of Brazilian cuisine, in particular he works at Fogo de Chão in Boston. He feels the food there, especially the Brazilian barbecue, is very delicious. In his spare time, he volunteers at a homeless shelter in Cambridge, Harvard Square. Over Thanksgiving break, he wanted to volunteer his time at the shelter and cook a very special Brazilian barbecue dinner for the people there. He wanted to give them a Brazilian barbecue experience just like anyone who goes to Fogo de Chão can experience, so he bought his own oven and prepared a barbecue for the people of the shelter.
We commend Claudio for his kind efforts. It is important in life to give to others freely without expecting anything in return. Claudio’s actions and approach is one way that we can make a difference in peoples’ lives and show kindness to one another as well as share our passions with each other.
PAGE 34
Harvard Square Homeless Shelter
Claudio serving Picanha Brazilian BBQ
Vazrik Chiloyan vazrik@mit.edu Amandine Fromont afromont@wellesley.edu Lorraine Sin lsin@bu.edu C O N N E C T W I T H U S Anselmo Cassiano Alves anselmoc@mit.edu PAGE 35
R E A D O U R P U B L I C A T I O N S