Date: December 1st & 2nd, 2023
Place: Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada
Organizer: Canada Branch (Branch Chief Alain Bordeleau & Normand Bordeleau)
On Friday December 1st, four karatekas from the Greenfield Park Dojo were present for their grading; Stéphane Barriault and Simon Lovell Bart for their 2nd Dan, Vanessa MacNeil and Abigail Lafontaine for their 1st Dan. Also, four karatekas from the Longueuil Dojo were also present for their grading; Melissa Lemieux, Marc Hannan, Amna Hazzar and Lou-Any Beaudoin Sasseville, for their 1st Dan. Furthermore, one karateka from the Stanstead Dojo with Sensei Christian Ouellet, was present for his grading: Frédérick Roy for his 3rd Dan. All of the karatekas began their Dan grading by performing their katas. The grading exam started at 8:00 pm and ended at 10:00 pm. The nine karatekas were well prepared and executed their katas with precision, low positions, strength and energy.
The belt examination continued Saturday December 2nd with a rigorous and demanding training; cardiovascular training, push-ups, sit-ups, blocks, various sequences of kicks, the Gohon Geri and upper body attacks, which was then followed with the Idogeiko Shugi, Idogeiko combinations, Idogeiko Sokugi and the San-bon-kumite and ended with the breaking with the hands and feet. Finally, the most demanding part of the grading started, the combat portion. The combats are always a huge challenge; however, the students did their best to succeeded. More than 90 karatekas, parents and friends attended the event to encourage the candidates. Frédérick Roy completed 30 combats for his 3rd Dan, Stéphane
Barriault and Simon Lovell-Bart completed 20 combats and Vanessa MacNeil, Abigail Lafontaine, Mélissa Lemieux, Marc Hannan, Amna Hazzar and Lou-Any Beaudoin Sasseville completed 15 combats.
At the end of the day, everybody was exhausted, but happy and proud. What more is there to say, only that the nine karatekas surpassed themselves and were able to demonstrate their perseverance and courage. Moreover, we are very proud of their accomplishment.
Please note: We would also like to mention that Sensei Christine Jagucki, from the Greenfield Park Dojo, Sensei Marie-Josée Tremblay from the Longueuil Dojo, Sensei Christian Ouellet, from the Stanstead Dojo, were also present at the Black belt grading exam.
Best regards,
Sensei Christine Jagucki and Shihan Alain Bordeleau
