Hi all:

I am happy to say that despite the late arrival of our guests and other potential misfortunes, the North American Wado Kai Invitational event was well received overall.

Participants from Ireland and USA provided very positive feedback about our first attempt at such an event and promise to return next year accompanied by more members.

I appreciate the support of the board to move forward with this event and that of our CZWKA instructors, as all CZ clubs were represented at this event. I am happy to see that our club instructors not only inform, but also encourage their students to participate and volunteer in such events.

I would like to commend Richard Mosdell and Nick Smith, who presented the idea, and worked hard for about a year before the event, and continued to do so during and after the event. I am glad to report that their hard work and our collective support led to a successful outcome.

I would like to acknowledge Genevieve Hassan and her family for stepping up to a sudden plate and not only housing, but organizing entertainment for all visiting Japanese juniors for several days, since they participated only in the tournament.

I also acknowledge the support of what I call the “Calgary Crew” led by George Papadopoulos and Koralia Spanidi, who were always ready to volunteer for any task, including moving mats and setting them up.

I believe that Takuya Furuhashi deserves a big thank you for volunteering to teach all the seminars in the absence of the planned instructors. He really is to be commended for his enthusiasm, and willingness go step in. He did an outstanding job.

We are also grateful to Hollyburn Country Club CEO, Ed McLaughlin, who generously provided the location for the event.

Congratulations are in order for achieving:

Shodan – Ryan Oishi, Julian Hassan, Karine Raymond, Nicholas Morrison

Nidan – Ethan Tomusange, Irina Gevergyan, Logan Pinaroc, Dominic Julien, Helene Caron Yondan – Shahpur Ahmed

Godan – Neill Hudson

We would like to run the event again next year and after a debrief of the repast event, along with your feedback, we would like to start planning an even better event next August.

Having analyzed the Dan and Kyu outcomes, I would like to share with you some interesting points with you:

Personally, I am pleased about the Dan outcomes overall, as these numbers are in line with international outcomes of tests in Japan. The Canadian pass rate for Shodan 4 (19%) of 21. The Canadian pass rate for Nidan was 5 (50%). Guseikai Calgary had 3/4 which was a great result.

The technical quality of our students is our responsibility, and it is important that our students meet the examination criteria. That means we, the instructors need to constantly seek to improve our own technical understanding through realistic training and teaching with the right attitude and goals in mind, consider that most of our members are children and youth. I would like to think that the legacy of Takagi sensei and Arakawa sensei will thrive well in to the future. We need to study, train, teach and strive with sincerity and humility, while working towards clear goals for ourselves, our students and the growth and development of Wado Karate in Canada.

Yours, Norma —

President, Canada JKF Wado Kai