GALLERY — NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 2009
After our trip to Latvia in January, Miss Melanie Petrak accompanied me back to New York to visit my Dōjō. And after a couple of weeks, Melanie retuned to Okinawa to continue her training under Onaga Kaichō at the Shinjinbukan Honbu Dōjō.
These are the highlights at my Dōjō activities during February:
Promotion Ceremony
On February 6th, 2009, some of my students were promoted to the following ranks:
— Vassily Lowenfells and Sofia Rusanoff, 9th Kyū. Japanese Pronunciation: Kyū Kyū / 九級 / きゅうきゅう
— Masaaki Satō and Joni Warren, 6th Kyū. Japanese Pronunciation: Ro Kkyū / 六級 / ろ っきゅう
More Photos
Afterwards we took some photos by the Dōjō Kun (calligraphy with the Dōjō Precepts).
Below Left: Joni Warren, Jimmy Mora and Melanie Petrak.
Below Right: Joni Warren and Melanie Petrak.
Making Our Own Chīshi
On February 21st, we worked on building some Chīshi at the home of my deshi Preston Flammang. The Chīshi is a traditional tool used in Okinawan to develop the specific muscle control needed in Ti (ティー), the ancient martal art which preceeded Karate.
The After Party
After we were finished casting all the Chīshi we had a nice homemade dinner.
We finished building several sets of Chīshi for my Dōjō and some for my students to use at home. We also made a Sāshi, which is a long and thick wooden bar with weights at each end.
