Well the photo above pretty much says it all...West Island Karate's annual Christmas party was a blast! :-)  Featuring a potluck supper of international main dishes, finger foods and dessert treats, everyone wined (or juice-boxed :-)) and dined to their heart's content.  There was some festive recorded music, videos (not the least of which was a video of Sempai Kimm's first knockdown fight), and live music courtesy of The Just Janyss Trio (with your humble webmaster on guitar).  And as luck would have it, Santa managed to squeeze his way down the chimney and attend our party once again to give out toys to all the kids (and to a certain Sempai who is just a big kid himself :-)).  It was a great way to end another very memorable year at West Island Karate.  Happy holidays to everyone and have a healthy and joyous New Year full of laughter!  OSU!  Click here to see a photo album of the party courtesy of Anne Marie (thanks Anne Marie :-)).  

Many congratulations to Sempais James, Louise, Manon, Kimm and Alex M. (pictured in front row from left to right) on passing their Shodan grading on this date!  As usual, Sensei required more from his karateka, so he put them through "Part 1" of the black belt grading on the previous evening.  Part 1 consisted of a written exam and demonstrations of several bo and nunchaku katas as well as self-defense techniques.  The next day, our WIK black belt candidates joined others from local dojos at Shihan Roman's dojo, where he and all the Senseis involved put them through an arduous 6 hour grading!  This is always a "closed" event (i.e. no spectators), but by all accounts, it was a brutally challenging grading.  Their physical fitness, technical knowledge and abilities, katas, fighting skills and Kyokushin spirit were all tested to the extreme.  In Sensei's own words, our candidates set a new and very high standard at the grading for our dojo.  Omedetou gozaimashita (congratulations) Sempais!  OSU!

Ring Wars is a full contact/knockdown tournament hosted annually by Sensei Rene Cruz of Muteki Kyokushin Karate in Rochester, New York.  Compared to other  Kyokushin tournaments, it is unique in that the combatants square off in a boxing ring and compete in only one fight.  In general, the fights consist of three 2-minute rounds with a 1-minute respite between rounds.  In 2007, West Island Karate participated by sending a four-person team to compete.  This year, Sempai Kimm (pictured above beside a natural formation of Kyokushin ice native to the New York region :-)) decided to make her knockdown debut at Ring Wars 2009.  Accompanied by Sensei John, Sempai Alain (her dad), Sempai Tony, Sempai Alex, and a small but very vocal cheering section from WIK, we left Montreal early in the morning and drove down to Rochester to attend the event that evening.  The quality of the fighting was high with participants from as far away as Poland and Spain.  Kimm was matched up against a black belt named Anne Marie Gauthier, an excellent and experienced fighter from Rimouski, Quebec (coincidentally, Anne Marie's first knockdown fight ever was at our own Matsushima Canadian Championships earlier this year).  Kimm fought with amazing composure for her first full contact experience ever.  Coached in the corner by Sensei John and Sempai Alex, Kimm was able to shrug off an early kick to the head and land some excellent punches and kicks of her own.  It was a well-paced fight throughout all three rounds with lots of action for the spectators.  Kimm fought with great spirit, but in the end, the judges' decision went to her opponent.  Regardless, Kimm can be extremely proud of her very first knockdown fight ever.  Many thanks to Sensei Rene Cruz for putting on another great edition of Ring Wars.  Stay tuned for a video of Kimm's fight which will be posted soon (pssst....there's a rumour that there will be a pre-screening of the video at our annual dojo Xmas party on Dec. 19th before it's posted on the website :-)).  Great job Sempai Kimm!  OSU!

It was a long Saturday today as Sensei conducted gradings all day of many of the kid, teen and adult students.  To nobody's surprise, Sensei's expectations were high, and he challenged all aspects of their Kyokushin abilities and general knowledge as appropriate for each student's level.  Needless to say, it was a difficult test, both mentally and physically.  Congratulations to everyone who managed to earn their next Kyu.  Many thanks to the Sempais and other students who turned out to assist with the gradings.  Click on the photo above for a larger version of the same photo and then click here to see three more pictures from that long Saturday in November courtesy of David Boily (thanks Dave!).

Sensei began a new round of gradings during the first week of November.  As usual, he came up with some innovative ways to test his students (see photo above :-)).  Pictured are Jenna and Jasmine being put through their paces (trust me...it's them behind the blindfolds :-)).  Both did very well and earned their orange belts.  Congratulations girls!  Osu!  Please note that as a general rule, we will no longer be listing individual names of all the students who are graded.  But as always, you are welcome to submit photos of your kids to the webmaster or to Sensei, and we will be very happy to post them on our website (and maybe mention them in a news entry as well :-)).  Click on the photo above to see two more pictures from that evening's grading in our Parents' Photo Album.  Many thanks to Georgia T. for the wonderful photos!

Jimi Hendrix, Super Mario, Yoda, Wolverine, Obi-wan Kenobi and a host of other humorous, costumed karateka came out of the woodwork for West Island Karate's annual Halloween Training.  Led by Samurai Sensei John, Sempai Nurse Nancy, Sempai Wicked-Witch-of-the-West-Island Manon, Sempai Patsy the Clown, and a very hairy Sempai "Victoria", the kids enjoyed a ridiculously fun training (and some yummy post-training treats).  Click on the picture above to see all the photos courtesy of David Boily (much appreciated Dave!).  WARNING: you may find the images of Sempai "Victoria" particularly disturbing (I know I did).  Enter at your own risk!  :-)

It was time once again to drive down to Maine for the 4th Annual Beach Training with Shihan Roman!  Under sunny skies on the Saturday (and not so sunny skies on the Sunday :-)), a sizeable group from West Island Karate joined students from other local dojos for an unforgettable weekend of training on the beautiful sands of Old Orchard Beach.  Led by Shihan Roman and Senseis from the participating dojos (including our own Sensei John), the students were taken through some vigorous warm-ups and given various lessons in kihon, kata and weapons (bo and bokken) - all with the Atlantic Ocean at their backs.  By all accounts, the beach training was engaging, varied and incredibly fun...as it is every year.  Click on the photo above to see some wonderful pictures of this year's event courtesy of Anne Marie and Gillian (thanks so much ladies).  Many thanks to Shihan Roman and all the Senseis for their time and energy.  Osu!

As you may have heard through the dojo grapevine, Sensei Steve (pictured above with Sensei John, Hanshi John Taylor and Sempai Tony) will be away from the dojo for an extended period as he recovers from surgery.  All of us at West Island Karate would like to wish him a restful and speedy recovery.  Steve Sensei, your place at the front of the dojo floor will be here when you get back.  Get well soon.  Osu!

Shihan Roman and Sensei John received a congratulatory letter of thanks from Hanshi John Taylor who recently attended our 2009 Matsushima Canadian Championships.  The letter is a testament to everyone involved including all the Senseis, Sempais, competitors and volunteers, so Sensei wanted to share this letter with all of you by having it posted here.  Osu!

Dear Shihan & Sensei, Osu

I am sorry that it has taken so long to let you know that I arrived back home OK.  Things have been a little hectic since my return.

I would like to thank you both for inviting me to the tournament and the seminars, and to congratulate you on the tournament which was both well run and entertaining.  From my side, both the seminar and the tournament were very enjoyable and the tournament was a credit to you both.  I was also very impressed by your supporters who all worked very hard and no doubt contributed to its success.  Please pass on my congratulation to them all on a job well done.

Regards and best wishes,
John

Besides being a guest of honour at our 2009 Matsushima Canadian Championships and giving a series of seminars the next day, Hanshi John Taylor found the time to teach us a class at West Island Karate as well (click on the photo above for a larger version...many thanks to Sensei Steve for the picture).  It was a true honour and privilege to train with and learn from someone as accomplished in Kyokushin Karate as Hanshi.  All of us at West Island Karate would like to thank Hanshi John Taylor for being so generous with his time, energy and Kyokushin knowledge (not to mention regaling us with some fascinating and often hilarious karate stories :-)).  We hope he will come visit our humble dojo again soon.  Osu!

First and foremost, we were honoured to have Hanshi John Taylor make the long trip from Australia to attend this year.  Hanshi also gave a series of seminars the following day.  It was a very rare opportunity to train with one of the few recognized 9th Dan black belts in the world (nevermind one who actually trained with Sosai as an uchi-deshi for over a year)!  We were also honoured to have Shihan Roman Szyrajew (7th Dan) in attendance.  Shihan has been a fixture at our annual tournament over the years and his support is always welcome and appreciated.  Hanshi and Shihan have each been training and teaching Kyokyushin karate for over 40 years!  It goes without saying that we were humbled to have both of them as our honoured guests this year.

Since its inception, our tournament has always been a juniors-only competition, but this year we introduced a full-contact, knockdown event for adults as well.  Our inaugural knockdown event drew 24 men and 4 women...all talented and tough Kyokushin fighters from all parts of Quebec as well as Ontario, New Brunswick and New York state.  Judging from the high level of competition and overwhelmingly positive reaction of the spectators, our knockdown event was a success for everyone involved.  We anticipate that this portion of our tournament will only grow in the years to come.

The 2009 Matsushima Canadian Championships was also remarkable for the largest number of competitors from the most varied list of dojos in the history of our tournament.  We hosted some 280 junior competitors and 28 knockdown fighters from 26 different dojos!  Even more remarkable was the fact that many of the dojos were from different karate organizations than our own and were attending the MCC for the very first time.  West Island Karate would especially like to acknowledge their participation.  We hope that the spirit of cooperation and support between our various organizations continues to grow and thrive.  The benefits for everyone involved are obvious, in particular for our students.  It was no coincidence that the level of competition this year was the highest it has ever been.  This influx of karateka from other organizations brought out the very best in all the competitors and it was a real treat for all the spectators (especially the parents) to watch Kyokushin karate practiced at such a high level.

An undertaking of this magnitude could not have been successful without the involvement and support of numerous people.  On behalf of Sensei John, West Island Karate would like to thank Hanshi John Taylor and Shihan Roman, all the Senseis and Sempais from all competing dojos who generously gave their time and energy to help out as judges/referees, and finally to all the WIK volunteers who worked extra hard behind the scenes to ensure that the tournament ran smoothly and efficiently.  Thanks to each and every one of you, the 2009 Matsushima Canadian Championships was a rewarding and positive experience for all the competitors and spectators.  Your efforts are much appreciated.

Click on either picture above to see Rick's photos of the knockdown competition (thanks Rickster...awesome shots as always)!

West Island Karate looks forward to seeing you at the 2010 Matsushima Canadian Championships!  OSU!

Besides May flowers, the April showers also brought a few gradings to West Island Karate.  Sensei graded an orange belt in the beginner kids' class and two white belts in the evening adult class.  All of them passed their tests and earned their next Kyu.  Congratulations to Kasper C. (9th Kyu), Sabrina (10th Kyu) and Valerie (10th Kyu)!  Osu! 

Hosted by Sensei Denis Cordeiro of Montreal Kanreikai Karate, the Yukan Ultimate Karate Championship featured daytime junior competitions in weapons kata and kata, as well as semi-contact fighting for juniors and seniors.  They also put on an adult full knockdown competition in the evening with fighters from as far away as Poland this year.  As expected, our sizeable team of juniors did a great job, displaying the kind of detailed technique, fighting spirit and sportsmanship for which West Island Karate is known.  The same applied to our group of senior men's fighters this year...Rick, Vince, Dave and Joe...who faced some stiff competition and took a few errant hits, but did very well in their respective weight divisions.  Congratulations to our entire West Island Karate team!  Well done everyone!  Our two main dojo photographers, Rick and Dave, were both busy competing in the ring this year, but fortunately Sempai Manon snapped a few shots of her own.  Click here to see her photo gallery of the tournament.  Your intrepid webmaster also managed to capture a few videos of our kids.  Many thanks to Sensei Denis for hosting another wonderful event and making it a positive experience for all our competitors.  Osu!

Sunday, April 19th, 2009 is a very special day.  Not only is it Sensei John's birthday, but it also marks his 20th year in Kyokushin Karate!  That's quite the accomplishment for someone who looks so young (hopefully that comment will earn us an easy warm-up next class...fat chance :-)).  Please join us in congratulating Sensei by leaving him a message in our Guestbook.  Happy birthday Sensei...all the best!  Osu!

West Island Karate was invited to give a demonstration at the Montreal Japanese Language Center's annual spring festival.  Accordingly Sensei John and Sempai Alex led a small team from our dojo through some kihon, idogeiko, kata, tameshiwari and kumite to the delight of the festival-goers.  Despite being up on a big stage in front of a large crowd, our kids did a great job and represented the dojo very well.  The ninjutsu school of Bujinkan Dojo Montreal (who holds some of their classes at West Island Karate's Beaconsfield location) was also invited to take part.  Shihans Manolo Serrano and Estelle Padeloup obliged by having some of their students demonstrate typical ninjutsu skills.  Their demonstration culminated in a fascinating clash of martial arts styles when Sensei John joined Shihan Manolo on stage to show the crowd various karate and ninjutsu self-defense techniques!  Finally the martial arts demonstrations were followed by a rousing and thunderous concert from a Japanese taiko drum troupe.  It was a wonderful ending to the festival.  Click on the first photo above to see some videos from West Island Karate's demonstration.  Click the second photo to see David Boily's excellent pictures of the demo and festival.

In today's Beginner Kids class, Sensei decided to conduct an impromptu grading of one of the white belts.  Sebastien B. did a great job and earned his 10th Kyu.  Congratulations Sebastien!

This past Saturday, our own Sempai Victor fought in his first ever, full contact/knockdown competition at the 2009 Gold Cup tournament.  In point of fact, this was actually his first competition fight EVER...semi-contact, full contact or otherwise...period.  So why not start off his fighting career with the potential of getting knocked out? :-D  Fortunately with Sensei in his corner, that didn't happen. :-)  Sempai has been training very hard for this and gave it all he had against a very tough and very experienced adversary.  In the end, the decision was awarded to his opponent, but Sempai can be very proud of his debut performance in the ring.  Great job Sempai Victor!  Congratulations from all of us at West Island Karate!  OSU!

This past week, a few more kids were tested for their next Kyu and all of them successfully passed their gradings to Sensei's satisfaction.  Congratulations to Jenna Z. (7th Kyu), Muhammed S. (7th Kyu), Wyatt D. (7th Kyu), Thomas R. (7th Kyu), Pierre-Antoine C. (10th Kyu), Alexander F. (10th Kyu), Jacob L. (10th Kyu) and Jessie L. (10th Kyu).  Way to go!  Osu! 

This week Sensei decided to grade some kids who have been training hard over the winter months.  All of them passed their tests with flying colours and earned their next Kyu.  Congratulations to Goran Z. (7th Kyu) and Thomas R. (7th Kyu) (both pictured above) as well as Alex L. (7th Kyu), Ronnie L. (7th Kyu), Logan M. (7th Kyu), Nicholas F. (7th Kyu), Julien B. (7th Kyu), Johnathan D. (7th Kyu), Tristan M. (8th Kyu), Mark N. (9th Kyu), Andrew A. (9th Kyu) and Genevieve (10th Kyu).  Well done everyone!   Keep up the hard work.  Osu!

A team of 28 strong from West Island Karate, consisting of students from both the Beaconsfield and Pierrefonds dojos, travelled to Joliette for the first tournament of 2009.  Hosted by Sensei Dominic Morin of Kanreikai Karate Joliette, it featured kata, weapons kata, and kumite competitions for all ages and ranks.  Our team did very well, putting forth their best and displaying the kind of technique, heart and sportsmanship for which WIK students are known.  As Sensei always says, you are all winners for simply competing.  Congratulations to each and every one of you!  Many thanks to all the Sempais for helping to prepare our kids through the many hours of hard training, and to Sempais Patsy, Alain, Alex and Manon for coaching our kids at the tournament.  Thank you also to Sensei Dominic Morin for putting on another fun event.  Osu!  Fortunately we have two excellent photo albums of the action to share with you, courtesy of David Boily and Sempai Manon (much appreciated Dave, Sempai) as well as numerous videos of our team's katas and kumite matches.

Sensei graded a few students in the Kids and Teen classes today.  From the former class, Jessie, Jacob and Pierre all earned their orange belts (10th Kyu).  Great job kids!  In the evening, Sensei tested Matt T. (6th Kyu), Alex T. (6th Kyu), Christine S. (8th Kyu), Emmett A. (8th Kyu) and Bianca (10th Kyu).  Well done to all.  Osu!

Everyone knows Sensei loves springing surprises on his students. :-)  This time, Sempai Alex was the "surprisee".  At about 2/3rds into this evening's Adult class, Sensei instructed everyone to put on their sparring gear.  But this was just a diversion because Sempai Alex ended up doing most of the sparring!  One by one, she fought the brown belts and other Sempais who were in attendance, some more than once.  Sensei apparently wasn't satisfied with the fact that Alex had already passed her black belt grading in Japan after competing at the 3rd I.KO. Matsushima World Open.  So in a sense, this was a continuation of that grading (unbeknownst to Alex :-)).  Sensei has done this before (notably to Sempai Lia, Sempai Michael, Sempai Yves, Sempai Victor and Sempai Alain after they had already been graded by Shihan Roman for their Shodan), so it wasn't unprecedented.  In short, nothing is easy at West Island Karate (as all of Sensei's students know :-)).  When Sensei finally called an end to the fighting, he surprised Alex by retrieving her black belt from his office (they are custom made in Japan) and awarding it to her with the comment that it was not right for a West Island Karate black belt to don their belt for the first time wearing a dry gi (I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it).  Alex Sempai, omedetou gozaimashita (congratulations)!  Osu!

Just as this evening's adult class was winding down, Sensei instructed everyone to put on their sparring gear...uh-oh! :-)  By the time we exited the locker rooms and got back to the dojo floor, Sensei was already putting three of the white belts through a kata test - surprise, surprise...grading time!  Three of the orange belts then joined the white belts on the floor and some spirited sparring against their fellow karateka ensued.  By the end of the night, the six of them had earned some extra colour on their belts.  Congratulations to James (9th Kyu), Vince (9th Kyu), Vlad (9th Kyu), Laurie (10th Kyu), Tamara (10th Kyu) and Doug (10th Kyu).  Good job everyone!  Osu!

In late January, Sensei offered a special tameshiwari class for anyone interested.  Many of us signed up because that's why we joined West Island Karate in the first place...TO BREAK STUFF (just kidding)! :-)  The class consisted of two sessions.  In Session #1, the students were taught how to use a burlap-covered telephone book as a makiwara.  This served to condition the various points of the body used for breaking (eg.  the knuckles, base of the hand, elbow) while simultaneously allowing us to practice the breaking techniques to be used in Session #2.  Sensei taught and stressed the importance of proper technique to avoid serious injury (disclaimer:  don't try this at home kids!).  Here's a report from Steve R. (pictured here attacking your humble webmaster :-)) on Session #2...the actual breaking class:

The class was great and fast paced.  After a 5 minute warm-up with Sempai Alex, we went right to it.  We were usually in sets of 3 people, breaking at the same time.  We first started with the 5 pine boards (seiken, shuto, hiji and whatever else we wanted), then moved on to the (concrete) slabs if we wished.  Most of the higher belts did the slabs, along with V (Witold) and myself.  The good thing is, nobody broke any bones or had any serious injuries.  I am sure there will be a few bruised knuckles and elbows on Monday.  Sempai Alex did a nice job of breaking 2 concrete slabs using shuto sakutso.  The highlight was seeing Sempai Alex and Sensei John do a flying tobi geri over 2 and 5 people, respectively.  And they broke the boards to boot!

Check out this video of Sempai Tony breaking some concrete slabs courtesy of Steve R. (thanks Steve)!  Steve has also posted another tameshiwari video and some pictures here.  You may also click here to see some photos from this special tameshiwari class courtesy of Sempai Manon (thanks Sempai)!  Enjoy.  Osu! 

Our apologies, but there was one more grading that Sensei did back in November of last year which got lost in the shuffle.  So without further ado, we would like to congratulate Riley H. on earning her 10th Kyu!  Way to go Riley!  Osu!

Thanks to an e-mail reminder from Tasha (pictured in action at left above along with a computer illustrated version at right created by her dad), we can announce some more successful gradings which took place before the Christmas break as well as just recently.  Congratulations go out to Natasha R. (7th Kyu), Noah N. (7th Kyu), Yannick C. (7th Kyu), Wyatt D. (8th Kyu), Jenna Z. (8th Kyu), Goran Z. (8th Kyu), Johnathan D. (8th Kyu), Thomas R. (8th Kyu) and Johnathan P. (8th Kyu).  It goes without saying that Sensei made them earn their next Kyu with thorough and challenging tests.  Osu!

On that note, we apologize for any errors or omissions regarding announcements on our website, but sometimes things slip through the cracks because of the busy schedule at West Island Karate.  As always, please do not hesitate to e-mail the webmaster to bring these or any other problems to our attention - it's very much appreciated (thanks again Tasha! :-)).

The results of the 3rd I.K.O. Matsushima World Open in Japan have been posted on the I.KO. Matsushima website along with some great photos of the tournament as well as the subsequent general training and black belt grading.  This was the tournament at which Sempai Alex made her fighting debut at the world level and a team from West Island Karate journeyed along to cheer her on.  She was subsequently graded for her Shodan at the black belt grading at Kancho Matsushima's dojo in Isesaki, Japan.  Look carefully and you'll see a photo of Sensei and Rickster assisting with the "wheelbarrow" portion of the test as well as photos of Sempai Alex doing Pinan Go blindfolded, fighting, and posing with the group after the grading.  Osu!

We'll start this entry by correcting an oversight from last year's news.  Just prior to the Christmas break (Dec. 21/08 to be exact), Sensei graded a few more of his younger karateka and all of them passed with flying colours.  Congratulations to Maddy C. (9th Kyu), Julien P. (10th Kyu), Ariele S. (10th Kyu) and Orlando B. (10th Kyu).  Well done.

Now back to 2009. :-)  On this evening, Sensei graded some of the adult students.  As always, he tested their knowledge of the basic techniques, Japanese terminology and katas required for their next Kyu.  The students' mettle was then tested in typical Kyokushin fashion...through a series of challenging and grueling fights against their fellow karateka which on this evening included Sempai Alex, Sempai Louise, Sempai Manon, Sempai Victor, Sempai Yves and Sempai Tony (it's giving me bruises just thinking about it :-)).  Congratulations to Rebecca P. (3rd Kyu), Joe O. (7th Kyu), David B. (7th Kyu), Mike W. (7th Kyu), Deb L. (8th Kyu), Melaney A. (9th Kyu), Witold C. (9th Kyu), Laetitia V. (10th Kyu), Brigitte (10th Kyu) and Quinn A. (10th Kyu).  Osu!

Despite all the secrecy, somehow the word leaked out over the holidays.  So let's confirm the rumours once and for all.  Yes indeed, Sensei John and Sempai Nancy decided to ELOPE during our recent trip to Japan (to attend the World Open Karate Championships)! :-)  They had to do a lot of running around to get all the necessary paperwork, but they finally managed to get married in Kyoto!  We were all sworn to secrecy until they had a chance to return home and tell their families.  Now that that's done, all of us at West Island Karate can join in on the celebration!  There wasn't any time for an elaborate ceremony while in Japan, but I imagine it would have looked something like the picture above (my "Photoshop gift" to the newlyweds). :-)  Their honeymoon included a romantic, overnight stay in a Japanese temple...very apropos.  Anyway I'll let Sensei give you all the details (if you haven't already heard them through the dojo grapevine that is :-)).  Please join us in congratulating John and Nancy by leaving them a message in our guestbook.  Omedetou gozaimashita (congratulations) Sensei John and Sempai Nancy!

Sensei sent an e-mail a couple of days ago to remind us about today's New Year's Training.  His e-mail ended with the cryptic note "bring a towel".  Hmmm...that should have triggered the alarm bells immediately, but I guess we were all still too punchy from holiday turkey and stuffing to catch on.  So off we went with towel in hand to the Kirkland Arena for our traditional first training of the new year.  Sensei started the class by having us methodically work each body part with some vigorous exercise routines (including everyone's favourite :-), wheelbarrow jumping push-ups, and even some handstands for good measure).  As tough as it was, it felt good after the long holiday break.

Then Sensei asked us to take out our towels.  How thoughtful!  Now that class was over, we could grab a shower because Sensei had made sure we wouldn't forget our towels!  Uh, not quite. :-)  After running around the gym for a few laps, we followed Sensei OUTDOORS into the snow covered soccer field behind the arena!  Yup, you read that right...we trudged through the snow in freezing temperatures in nothing but bare feet and dogis (note:  the younger kids were exempt from this and stayed indoors the entire time)!  This was West Island Karate at its hardcore finest and was reminiscent of the way Sosai would train outdoors regardless of the weather or conditions.  After some kicking and kata in the snow, we returned inside to warm up and dry ourselves off with our handy dandy towels.  Sensei is nothing if not creative, so he then had us don our towels as blindfolds before going through some kata (those of us without towels substituted scarves).  It was excellent practice, although it got a little dangerous (and funny) when some of us went a tad wayward (witness Kimm at above right).

As expected, it was another challenging, but ridiculously fun West Island Karate New Year's Training!  Many thanks to Sensei John, Sensei Steve and all the Sempais for their time and energy.  Happy New Year everyone!  All the best for 2009!  Osu!

Click here to read what happened at West Island Karate in 2008