Get well Anita Bendickson

Anita Bendickson Sensei suffered severe injuries during a biking accident while on vacation with Joel Ertl Sensei in Custer, SD. Anita is now back home recovering. The following is a Caring Bridge link on her accident and her current status – https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/anitabendickson/journal. 

Even though Anitia’s medical care has been great and she is slowly recovering, her medical expenses are astronomical. Her injuries and long recovery time have severely impacted her income as well.  Vince O’Connor and Meghan Wilson, Joel Ertl and Anita Bendickson’s daughter, have put together a Go Fund Me page to help Anita with her growing medical expenses. Go to this link and contribute to this effort https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-anita-b-recover.

AAKF 59^TH National Championship – Highlights/Results

The 59^th AAKF National Championships were held in Dallas, TX July 21-25, 2022. Congratulations to Cassie Le! Cassie placed 2nd in kata and kumite events.  Also, congratulations to Camila Cedeno (1st place) and Mateo Cedeno (2nd place) on their performance in their individual youth divisions.

Photos of the championships can be found by clicking here. These photos were taken by professional photographer Michael Shay of the Northwestern Region ©2022 Michael Shay Polara Studio

Videos of the championships can be found by clicking here. The videos were taken by Mark Abeln, SKM dojo.

New Yondan in our region

Continue Growing our Ranks

Congratulations to Chris Anderson, Jim Harrell, Megan McMann, and Kara Winter for passing their Nidan exam. Also, congratulations to Jethro Harding for passing his Shodan exam on July 23, 2022 at the St. Paul dojo as well.  They all worked very hard to achieve their new rank. The COVID pandemic made it even harder to prepare and then wait for exam date. They all focused their efforts to push on in their training to accomplish their new dan rank.  The day of the test was hot and humid. Taking the exam was physically and mentally exhausting. Their many hours of training, strong stamina, and mental discipline helped them to overcome the obstacle and achieve their goal. Again, congratulations! to Chris, Kara, Meghan, Jim, and Jethro for passing their dan examination!

Upcoming Calendar of Events and Registration

• NCR upcoming events
  • 2023 October 14 noon – NCR Fall Shiai – kata and kumite. SKM dojo. Click here for more details.
  • 2023 November 4 – UofW Madision Karate tournament 11am-5pm
  • 2023 November 18 – Traditional Karate-Do Academy at UMN shia – Kata and Kumite – More details to follow.
  • 2024 January 27 – Kumite Seminar noon-2pm. SKM dojo
  • 2024 March 23 – (tentative). NCR Shiai. Noon. SKM dojo. More details to follow
  • 2024 May 18 noon-2pm Preparation for 2024 AAKF National Champioships – NCR judging seminar and competitor feedback. St. Paul dojo. More details to follow
• AAKF upcoming events:
  • 2024 April 12-14 (tentative) – AAKF Spring seminar – Madison, WI – More details to follow.
  • 2024 June 19-22 – (tentative). AAKF National Championships – Bloomington, MN – Hosted by Traditional Karate North Central Region. More details to follow.
• WTKF Events
  • Oct 4-7 Pan-Am tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina – 2023 – Click here for more details.
  • WTKF calendar  – Click here for more upcoming WTKF events.

Click here to see past event videos and click here for past event photos from the NCR video and photo Library.  Click here for additional photos from the U of Mn club photo library.

Dan Examination Schedule

• NCR and AAKF dan exam schedule
  • TBD
• Dan examination testing requirements shodan-sandan – click here
• Dan rank registration required when you pass your dan exam – click here