Saturday, November 20, 2010

CCHS Karate 2010-2011

Osu!

The CCHS Karate Club is extremely proud to usher in its third season of classes. We have over 45 students signed up to participate in classes, tournaments, and demonstrations over the 2010-2011 karate club season. I am very pleased that of the 45 students who have signed up for the upcoming karate club season, about 20 of them are returning lettermen. The karate club as a whole has expanded and is in its prime with so many new faces added to the overwhelming majority of expereinced practitioners that we welcome back from last years training.

This years karate club will feature some of the same exciting events such as board breaking classes, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes, tournament participation, guest instructors, and the very popular beach training event held in June. The karate club will appear in its first major demonstration this upcoming March. The CCHS spirit show will run over the first week of March and the CCHS Karate Club will present an exhilarating demonstration to a student body of over 1300 excited students.

Please check back over the next few weeks for any new and exciting updates. The first class of the season will begin on December 7th, 2010. Classes run from 5:30pm until 7pm and are held in the Baroni Multipurpose room.

Osu!

Sensei

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

"Sensei Award 2010"

Osu!

Yet another fantastic year of karate has gone by at the Central Catholic Karate Club and yet another outstanding karateka has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the Sensei Award. Congratulations to Shannon Bradish, a senior, who was chosen to represent all that CCHS Karate is about. This award is given out on a yearly basis to the person(s) who live out the mission of CCHS Karate.



Shannon embodies the spirit, strength, and leadership that accompanies a sempai or senior student. Although Shannon currently holds the rank of go-kyu, she pushes herself to become a better student of karate which in turn, pushes others to become better. This leadership by example is exactly what the discipline and humility of Kyokushin Karate is all about. She may not hold a black belt in Kyokushin Karate yet, but she definitely holds herself, respects others, and works like one!



Shannon has worked so hard over the past two years and it is only fitting to honor her with this prestigous award. Shannon, along with our core group of students have made CCHS Karate an unbelievable success. I am so proud of her! Hopefully, if we at the CCHS Karate Club are lucky, Shannon will train with us again next year during her break from college!

Congratulations Shannon!

Osu!

Sensei

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

MKA/CCHS Karate Beach Training 2010

Osu!

Beach trianing 2010 was a huge success! The CCHS Karate Club and the Methuen Karate Association combined to total over 130 participants at this year's session. The CCHS Karate Club almost tripled the amount of participants compared to last year! I was extremely proud of all of my students for participating in what I believe to be one of the most exciting training sessions of the year.



Training started off with kihon and quickly escalated into a race for pride between MKA and CCHS. MKA came out on top but it was a very close race to say the least. Next, we went on a stamina run of about 1 mile, paired up into groups for sumo wrestling and then took to the Atlantic Ocean to test our skills against the rush of the mighty Atlantic.



At the conclusion of training, we all came together for a family outing. The roughly 20 CCHS Karate participants had the chance to chat with some of the most experienced karate ka that MKA had to offer. I am happy to say that the knowledge that comes from the black belts and students at the Methuen Karate Association is a wonderful asset to our program. Since the CCHS Karate club is only going into its third year of karate training, it's nice to know how open and welcoming MKA has been. We at the CCHS Karate Club are blessed to have such a close connection with MKA...thank you to Hanshi Larry Giordano for being so generous with his time!



To cap the afternoon off, Varsity and JV letters were handed out. I'm extremely pleased to award my students with not only kyu ranks within the kyokushin karate system, but also to reward my students for their hard work and dedication to our new program with Varsity and JV letters as a symbol of our allegiance to our dear CCHS!






I hope to see many of my students training at MKA over the summer and I look forward to year 3 of the CCHS Karate Club!

Osu!
Sensei

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

CCHS Karate Welcomes Sensei Mike DiPietro

Osu!

The CCHS Karate Club was honored to have such a decorated black belt such as Sensei Mike DiPietro instruct last night. Sensei DiPietro is currently a 6th degree black belt in Kyokushin Karate and brought over 28 years of experience and knowledge with him to our class.



Sensei DiPietro shared some of his special conditioning exercises to help strengthen the body in preparation for kumite. Some students have already acknowleged some soreness and fatigue from such a great workout last night. Sensei DiPietro's class marked the last class of the year at CCHS.

Some students have been invited by Hanshi Larry Giordano to train at the Methuen Karate Association and I hope they take him up on this offer. Training at the Methuen Dojo is a priviledge that everyone should take part in.





The next event will be our annual Beach Training/Family Outing scuedled for this Sunday June 6th. Last year's event was fantastic...I believe we had 8 students train at Salisbury Beach last June, so I'm hoping to at least double it this year! A new and excited part of this year's Beach Training session will be handing out Varsity/JV letters to club members who have earned them. The step from club status to a varsity sport has improved the development of my students and increased the intensity of their training.

I'm so proud of all of the CCHS Karate students and how much they've put into improving themselves over the past 2 years!

Osu!

Sensei

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Central Catholic High School All Valley Karate Tournament 2010

Osu!

On May 15th, the CCHS Karate Club hosted the First Annual All Valley Karate Tournament. Incredibly, there were over 50 competitors and another 50 friends and family members attended the event in support of its competitors.


The CCHS Karate Club was honored to have Hanshi Larry Giordano, several of his black belts from MKA, and his demonstration team from MKA participating and judging during the event. The afternoon started off with a spectacular demonstration of karate techniques, weapons applications, board and block breaking, and self defense techniques.



The tournament itself was a huge success for Central Catholic as well as Methuen Karate. Each group had several fierce competitors in the fighting, forms, and weapons divisions. Central Catholic's Trae Musumarra (Methuen native) captured 1st place in the men's fighting division beating out several higher ranking competitors. In the women's division, Shannon Bradish took home several medals in the advanced division of fighting and forms. Other competitors who stood out for CCHS were: In the men's division - Keegan Shea, Brendan Stolarz, Jessie Alfonso, Ben Maroon, and Brian Silvey. In the women's division - Amy Whitney Perry, Samantha Gilman, Junellie Leon, Michelle Lagrange and Lauren Krugh.




Congratulations to all of these competitors on their success not only in this tournament, but during the course of the entire year!

Osu!

Sensei

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

CCHS Karate Promotions 2010

Osu!

I am proud to announce that four CCHS Karate club members successfully tested for the rank of Hachi-Kyu. Congratulations to Trae Musumarra, Jeff Duchesne, Jessie Alfonso, Junellie Leon, Lauren Krugh, Lesa Tran, Cally Konomi, Michelle Lagrange, Renee LeRette and Brian Silvey on their promotion! This is an exciting event at our dojo and these students earned their new blue belts through working with great spirit during a grueling exam. This is just the first step for these karateka...hopefully everyone in our dojo will see that hard work pays off in every aspect of life.







More of our students will be eligible for promotion in April. Tentatively we have one student looking to test for her Shi-Kyu (green belt) during a green and brown belt promotion that will be held at the Methuen Karate Association (CCHS Karate's parent dojo). We also have several students looking to test for Hachi-kyu and Roku-kyu (yellow belt) in the upcoming months. Good luck to all of them! I can't say enough about how proud I am of all of my students and the hard work they put into their training on a daily basis! We have the kyokushin spirit at CCHS Karate!

Osu!

Sensei

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Sempai Riane Goddard Instructs at CCHS Karate!

Osu!

It was with great pride that I was able to offer a karate/jiu jitsu class instructed by a pair of incredibly talented martial artists who just so happen to be related...Sensei John Goddard and his daughter Sempai Riane Goddard were guest instructors last night at our monthly Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class.



Sempai Goddard, home from college on her spring break, took time out of her busy schedule to offer some of her knowledge and experience to our club. It's always a wonderful thing for any student to see that a black belt is not just something that men can achieve. Sempai Goddard has had her black belt for a few years now and has proven to be one of the most technically sound female black belts at MKA.


Overall, last night's class was a huge success. After the strong Kyokushin warmup, we got started with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Not only did Sensei Goddard offer new and amazing escapes and submissions, but he had a lot of help from one of CCHS Karate's original students in David Daniels. We at the CCHS Karate Club are blessed to have a student as dedicated as David is. Even though David is only a green belt, he offers a vast amount of knowledge and even more spirit to each class. He was the recipient of the "Sensei Award" at last year's senior day assembly. Along with David, Dan Blackwell received the "Sensei Award" and continues to practice Kyokushin Karate while away at college in St. Louis. Dan actually came to class to train and help out last night since he too is home on spring break.



I am very proud of all of my students and I hope that the spirit of CCHS Karate will keep getting stronger and stronger over the years. Several students just tested for blue belt and a few more may test for yellow and green belt over the next few months. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing dojo!

Osu!

Sensei

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

AIKA Tournament 2010

Osu!

I'm both proud and excited to report that the CCHS Karate Club traveled to New Bedford, MA on Sunday, February 7th and we were extremely successful! Seven students competed in both fighting and forms divisions and were awarded ten trophies and medals! There were over 140 competitors at the Almeida International Karate Association's Invitational Tournament and these talented young karateka fought their way through their divisions showing true grit and confidence. The CCHS Karate Club competed with honor and were awarded accordingly!



Luckily we had the opportunity to perform in front of Hanshi Larry Giordano. He was incredibly supportive and proud of our group as well! I can't say enough about the support and help that Hanshi Giordano and many of the MKA black belts has given us. We wouldn't be where we are today without them!



Osu!

Sensei

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

CCHS Jiu Jitsu 2010

Osu!



The CCHS Karate Club has been lucky enough to hold a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class in January with one of the foremost apprentice instructors of the Methuen Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Club ( http://www.methuenkarate.com/dojo/BrazilianJuiJitsui.aspx ). Sensei John Goddard took time out of his busy schedule to come to Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, MA to share his vast knowledge of Jiu Jitsu, Jeet Kun Do, and MMA Grappling.


Students who participated in the class learned basic positions (guard, mount, side mount, cross body, etc.) and had the chance to learn several escape moves, counters, and submission holds. Not only did the students of the CCHS Karate Club have the opportunity to learn basic Jiu Jitsu, but they also have the chance to learn more advanced Jiu Jitsu from Sensei Goddard over the next few months.



Next week, the CCHS Karate Club will proudly welcome Sensei Bill Sherry. Sensei Sherry is a 4th degree black belt in Kyokushin Karate (Sensei Sherry and I tested for our Shodan rank together over 12 years ago) and he has advanced rank in Kenpo karate. He will bring an unbelievable amount of knowledge to the CCHS Karate Club. We will concentrate on kumite, kata, forms, and self defense next week. These aspects will come in handy since some of our students will be competing in a regional tournament in New Bedford, MA on February 7th.



Osu!

Sensei

Friday, January 15, 2010

CCHS Karate Board Breaking Class 2010

Osu!

Over 30 students and over 100 broken boards!

I am extremely excited about this year's enrollment! We seem to have new faces in class every week! This week, the students in the CCHS Karate Club tested their skills in a tameshiwari class. Students broke through 1inch thick pine boards using a number of different techniques! I feel like each student had the opportunity to understand how much confidence and strength that this karate class has given them.

Up next for the karate club...A Jiu Jitsu class from Sensei John Goddard on January 26th. This will be the second year of Jiu Jitsu lessons at the CCHS Karate Club. I really believe that offering multiple styles of the martial arts can only improve each student's overall conditioning of the mind, body, and spirit!



One last event to look forward to is the AIKA Invitational Karate Tournament held in New Bedford, MA. My plan is to take a number of CCHS Karate students down on February 7th to compete. More on this over the next few weeks!

Osu!

Sensei

Saturday, January 2, 2010

CCHS Karate 2010

Osu!


The CCHS Karate Club has had an extremely successful 2nd season! We have held 4 classes so far and the average attendance is between 30 and 35 students! This is double what we had last year! I believe that the early success of this year is only a glimpse of future success for CCHS Karate!




This year we've introduced the possibility of earning a Varsity or JV letter, competing in a nummber of tournaments, and being a member of a demonstration team as added perks of being a member of the CCHS Karate Club. I am very excited to say that not only do we have a large number of participants (30-35 members), but we also have a number of returning club members participating in classes. David Daniels, Dan Blackwell, and Jay Mackey have all returned from college to train in at least one class with this year's members. I really feel that it is a blessing to have past graduates come back to assist in teaching/train in classes with current students. It really shows the dedication and love for the art the these graduates have.




We were very lucky to have both Hanshi Larry Giordano and Sensei John Goddard of the Methuen Karate Association attend a recent CCHS Karate Club class. Not only was it a surprise visit, but it was a great chance for many of my CCHS Karate students to meet a legend of the karate world in Hanshi Larry Giordano! It is not very often that karate students have the chance to meet a 9th degree black belt. The CCHS Karate club was honored to have Hanshi Giordano and Sensei Goddard as special guest instructors for the night. I hope that they can find time in their busy schedules to train us again in the future. It is always a blessing to have such decorated instructors as special guests to our class at CCHS.





I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday vacation...it will be back to the grind come Monday...I hope everyone is excited about getting back into our training schedule come Tuesday night! This month should be very interesting since there is a board breaking class as well as a possible jiu jitsu class scheduled.


Lastly...I hope everyone in the club has their sights set on making this years spirit show demonstration an explosive one!


Osu!

Sensei