Congratulations on the following Black Belt promotions:
Daniel Sangemino: 3rd Degree Black Belt (Sandan) Izumi Onishi; 3rd Degree Black Belt (Sandan) Tara Santoro; 3rd Degree Black Belt (Sandan) Hitomi Kihara; 4th Degree Black Belt (Yodan) Robert Conrad; 4th Degree Black Belt (Yodan) Robert Tipp; 5th Degree Black Belt (Godan)
Congratulations on the following Brown Belt promotion:
Alexander Tureaud…3rd kyu Brown Belt
Here are some highlights from the promotion tests:
Hitomi Kihara performing the kata Sochin for 4th Degree Black BeltHitomi performing weapon kata Soeishi no Kon for 4th Degree Black BeltDaniel Sangemino performing the kata Kanku Dai for 3rd Degree Black BeltDaniel Sangemino performing the kata Gankaku for 3rd Degree Black BeltIzumi Onishi performing the kata Kanku Dai for 3rd Degree Black BeltIzumi Onishi performing the kata Gankaku for 3rd Degree Black BeltRob Conrad performing the kata Sochin for 4th Degree Black BeltRob Conrad performing favorite kata Tekki Sandan for 4th Degree Black BeltTara Santoro performing the kata Gankaku for 3rd Degree Black BeltTara Santoro performing favorite kata Tekki Sandan for 3rd Degree Black BeltRobert Tipp performing kata Gojushiho for 5th Degree Black BeltRobert executing weapon kata Sokan no Nunchaku for 5th Degree Black BeltAlex Tureaud performing kata BassaiDai for 3rd Kyu Brown BeltAlex Tureaud performing favorite kata Heian Nidan for 3rd Kyu Brown Belt
All of you did a great job ! Congratulations ! OSS !!
From April 2, 2020 (3 weeks after closing the Mt. Kisco Dojo due to Covid-19 Pandemic) until February 12, 2022 (when the Mt. Kisco Dojo was fully re-opened), we had ~286 Zoom training sessions lead by Sensei Takahashi; from the Mt. Kisco Dojo, or his home.
We all agree, this was an extraordinary time. There is absolutely nothing to compare it to. It was a completely unique experience for everyone who has been part of the Mt. Kisco Takahashi Dojo.
Accordingly, we took a moment to commemorate the 3 year anniversary of our first Zoom Training, with a gift to Sensei Takahashi, and the following thoughts:
“On behalf of the entire Mt. Kisco Dojo, we want to thank you, Sensei Takahashi, for your unwavering commitment to keep the Mt. Kisco Dojo together, and “to keep the fire burning.” We want to express our deep appreciation for your outstanding leadership through this unprecedented chapter of our life of training in Kenkojuku Shotokan Karate. It is remarkably clear that very few people on this earth have had a similar experience. OSS !!”
The gift was a photomosaic picture of Sensei Takahashi leading us in a training session, to commemorate the 3-year anniversary of our first Zoom training; Thursday April 2, 2020. The photomosaic is comprised of 300+ screen captures during our 2020-2022 Zoom trainings.
At first glance, this picture is a bit unusual; a bit abstract, like an impressionist painting by Claude Monet… Nevertheless, this collection of 300+ pictures comes together to tell the unique story of a remarkable experience during an extraordinary time for the Mt. Kisco Takahashi Karate Dojo.
Enclosed below are a few pictures from this special celebration.
Thank you Sensei Takahashi, for everything you have done to keep the Mt. Kisco Takahashi Karate Dojo together. We will always remember this…
We have had several Children’s Promotion Tests in recent weeks. Here is the update.
Dec 20, 2022 Markus Plechaty: Purple belt 1 stripe (4th Kyu) Theodore Nguyen: Brown belt (3rd Kyu) Brendan Sullivan: Brown belt 1 stripe (2nd Kyu) Shea Sullivan: White belt 1 stripe (8th Kyu) Layla Sullivan: White belt 1 stripe (8th Kyu) Swaraj Bhattacharya: Yellow belt (7th Kyu)
Jan 3, 2023 Vincent Negard: White Belt 1 stripe (8th Kyu)
Jan 18, 2023 Ava Bhattacharya: Yellow belt (7th Kyu) Lauren Pettersson: Yellow belt (7th Kyu) Luke Pettersson: Yellow belt (7th Kyu) Maya Bhattacharya: Yellow belt (7th Kyu) Aya Nakamura: Brown belt (3rd Kyu) Sensei Ammo: Brown belt (3rd Kyu)
It was great watching each of you take this next step…
We assembled on Sep 10th for our first “in person” Mt. Kisco Dojo Picture since 2019. It was a landmark moment after the Covid-19 related challenges we navigated in the meantime.
Enclosed below are the original two photos.
Credits: Rick King took the initial photos. Naoto Kihara put together the final photograph with the special design banner.
Looking forward to keeping this great tradition going.
USA Kenkojuku Shotokan - Takahashi Karate Dojo 