After 3 1/2 years in the new dojo, we finally had a ribbon cutting ceremony. That is sensei in the center, with his wife just to the left (as you are looking at the picture), and me on her left. To the right of sensei is Joshua, and in the back row far right is James and Blake. The girl just in front of James is Blake's girlfriend Liz. She isn't actually a student, but wore a gi just for this occasion. I don't know who any of the other people are--just folks from the city and chamber of commerce. The mayor was going to be there, but he got held up for some reason.I apologize for the poor picture quality. This is why I usually insist on taking my own pictures.
I couldn't this time. As sensei's only active black belt, I really needed to be in this one.
Liz, Blake, James, and Joshua waiting for things to kick off...
We started with a karate demonstration, first from the younger students,
then by the intermediate students. (As an aside, during class Thursday, sensei said we would have demonstrations from the beginning students, then the mediocre students, then the advanced students.)
Finally, the adult students showed their stuff.
Then the kick-a-thon began.
All in all, the students did just over 6000 kicks to raise money for the dojo scholarship fund. I don't know the total amount raised yet.
This is Bryce and Emma, sensei's two youngest children. Bryce will be two next month. He was born just a few days apart from my nephew Andrew, whom I haven't met yet since they live in Alaska. Every time I see Bryce, I think, "That is about how big Andrew is." Emma is 5 ish, and she is a hoot.
And finally, the obligatory group shot of all the kickers, plus Emma to make them look good.
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3 comments:
Great pics as usual, Becky. With the possible exception of the first one...which is too small to really see the people. But you know that! :-)
We have had kick-a-thons at our dojo too. one of them I participated in. Man, my legs were tired after that.
Thank you Buck. I don't know why people seem to think they need to take pictures from half a mile away. One time, my boyfriend (at the time) and I went to Disneyworld. He told me to sit on a bench and he would take my picture. I sat, and he then walked to the other side of the park--well, ok, not that far, but he was at least 100 yards away. I told him he wouldn't even be able to see me in that picture. So he took two steps forward and took the picture. I am a miniscule pink speck in it.
Frotoe, I didn't kick this year. I did last year and couldn't move for two days!
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