Tameshiwari 2011 (Board Breaking) at CCHS Karate

This week's board breaking class was a spectacular event that every student embraced as a time to test their skills. We broke over 100 pine boards last night! Whenever we hold a breaking class, the students always surprise themselves. It's amazing to see what the human body is capable of when properly trained. We were lucky enough to have another guest instructor this week. Sensei Mike DiPietro of the Methuen Karate Association was in attendance and gave the CCHS students an opportunity to learn kata and breaking techniques from the highest ranking black belt at MKA under Hanshi Giordano. Sensei brings a great deal of knowledge and experience to class and we really appreciate his time and generosity.



I decided to change things up this week by starting class off with a few videos of Kyokushin at its best. The first video was of Sosai Oyama and his incredible feats of strength in creating what we know now as the "Strongest Karate". Another video depicted various tameshiwari from Kyokushin legends such as Kenji Midori (former world champion), Shokei Matsui (former world champion and victor of the 100 man kumite), as well as other well known Kyokushin practitioners. These inspiring videos gave way to a spirited breaking class.



After our tameshiwari, we broke into groups to work on our kata. Sensei DiPietro worked with our more advanced students, while our Jr. Grade Black Belt Amanda Meli worked with our new students. We are very fortunate to have students in the CCHS Karate Club who are advanced ranks such as Amanda. She is a good role model for other students and will hopefully be our first Sempai at CCHS Karate. Our next big event will be the Second Annual All Valley Karate Tournament on May 14 at CCHS. This tournament will give our students the chance to compete against other high school age martial artists.



More information will follow!

Osu!

Sensei

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at CCHS Karate 2011

Osu!



This past Tuesday, the CCHS Karate Club was very excited to welcome Sensei John Goddard of the Methuen Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Club and the Giordano Family Methuen Karate Association. Sensei Goddard took time out of his very busy schedule to instruct us on the basics of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. We had the opportunity to learn sweeps, submissions, and some important concepts of grappling. Sensei Goddard has been a long time student of Goru Jim Marino (Methuen Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Club) and Hanshi Larry Giordano (MKA).



I can say without any doubt that my students learned an array of skills that might one day help them to get out of a life threatening situation. I am always very grateful to any guest instructor that comes to CCHS, but I am especially thankful to Sensei Goddard because he has been coming to CCHS on a regular basis for the past three years. He has been a big part of the foundation of mixed martial arts that are taught here at the CCHS Karate Club.



David Daniels, one of my original CCHS Karate students also came to this Jiu Jitsu class. He is now ranked as shi-kyu in Kyokushin Karate and holds a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. David has been one of the most dedicated students that I have had over the past few years. He is actually the first CCHS student ever to receive the "Sensei Award" back in the 2008-2009 season. I am very grateful to David for the amount of hours he has put in at CCHS helping new students to have a desire to improve as he does. David is going to participate in a promotion next month and will hopefully be the first of my original students to be promoted to brown belt or ni-kyu. David currently trains at Hanshi Giordano's MKA dojo as I have for many years now. I am extremely proud of him and he truly represents what karate is all about.

Last, but certainly not least, Nicole Kebler was promoted to Hachi Kyu. This is an important step here at CCHS Karate. Most students don't realize the significance of that first promotion within the Kyokushin system. Nicole has proven her dedication to the art and has shown her desire to improve herself physically, mentally, and spiritually. We at the CCHS Karate Club congratulate her on this promotion and look forward to more in the future!



Next week we will hold our annual board breaking class...check back soon for pictures!

Osu!

Sensei

True Fighting Spirit - Sensei Chris Augeri of the Tiger Karate Dojo

Osu!

Yet again, we at the CCHS Karate Club are incredibly fortunate to have had an outstanding Kyokushin Karate instructor share time and knowledge with us. Sensei Chris Augeri of the Tiger Karate Dojo and the Methuen Karate Association brought an action packed karate lesson to CCHS on Tuesday, March 15th. Sensei Chris is well known as an incredible technician and brings a tremendous passion to his training and teaching.



Sensei Augeri was one of my primary instructors when I was growing up and I can't even begin to describe the amount of valuable lessons I have learned from him over the past years. He brought a number of long range vs. short range fighting techniques, spoke of breathing and controlling one's body while fighting, and of course the budo spirit of karate! Finally, at the end of class, it was my pleasure to promote a few of my students to Hachi Kyu (blue belt). I wanted Sensei to be there during this promotion, because in a way, my students development are a product of my instructors lessons to me. Obviously, Hanshi Giordano has affected me in the biggest way, but Sensei Chris Augeri as well as Sensei Kevin Bihl who visited CCHS a few weeks ago hold a special place in my past. (Below is a picture of Sensei Augeri and I during our Winter Beach Training in Hull, Ma)



Two of the students who were promoted are Neal Drapeau and Victoria Lambert. Each of these students have worked extremely hard to improve their skills and tested very well in terms of their spirit, focus, and determination. Neal has a background in Uechi Ryu karate which is very similar to Kyokushin which helps with his understanding of Budo. While Victoria did not have experience prior to Kyokushin. No prior experience didn't matter when it came to how much effort Victoria put in to make this promotion a reality. Congratulations!







Next week we will have a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class with Sensei John Goddard of the Methuen Jiu Jitsu Club and MKA!

Osu!

Sensei

CCHS Karate Club is honored by Hanshi Giordano

Osu!

Last month the CCHS Karate Club was honored by having one of the most prestigious black belts in the world attend and teach classes. Hanshi Larry Giordano, a 9th degree black belt, graced us with his presence during a well attended class at CCHS. Approximately 25 CCHS students had the wonderful opportunity to learn from a very experienced and knowledgeable master of Kyokushin karate. Hanshi is now in his 48th year of karate and has had great success with his dojo located in Methuen for the past 43 years.

I feel that I have been lucky learn from such a highly qualified instructor for over 25 years and luckily, my students can now say the same thing. Hanshi took us through a solid 60 minutes of kihon, bag work, contact drills, and kumite. At the end of the class, every student had felt the effects of a challenging workout, but also felt compelled to tell me that they learned a great deal from Hanshi.

We look forward to another visit from our master, hopefully in the near future. I can't end this post without thanking Hanshi Giordano for the support and generosity that he has so selflessly contributed to the forming of our club and sustaining a balance that will push us all to the next level of karate training.

Osu!

Sensei