Traditional Karate North Central Region Newsletter
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 59TH National Championship – Highlights/Results
The 59th 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
Tom Meagher achieved the rank of yondan at the 59th AAKF National Seminar in Dallas, TX on June 23, 2022 in front of the AAKF Technical Committee under Tabassi Sensei. Tom had a very good test resulting in achieving the rank of yondan. This is not an easy achievement. Tom spent many years of training and teaching to achieve this goal. Congratulations to Tom!
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
- Shiai – SKM dojo – March 25 at SKM noon-3pm – Click here for more details.
- AAKF/WTKF upcoming events
- AAKF
- AAKF 2023 Seminar – April 21-23 Van Cleve Recreation Center Mpls – Click here for the online registration link. Click here for the flyer.
- AAKF
- AAKF 2023 National Championship June 21-24 Washington, DC. Click here for more details on the AAKF National Championships.
- WTKF
- Pan-Am tournament – 2023 – more details to follow.
- WTKF calendar – Click here for this year’s events.
- WTKF
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
- NCR dan exam (Shodan-Nidan exams only) Friday July 21, 2023 6:00pm St. Paul dojo
- NCR dan exam (Shodan-Nidan exams only) fall- more details to follow
- AAKF April 21-23 2023 Spring seminar – dan exam (all ranks) and certification exam
- AAKF June 21-24 2023 National Championships – dan exam (all ranks) and certification exam
- Dan examination testing requirements shodan-sandan – click here
- Dan rank registration required when you pass your dan exam – click here
Traditional Karate North Central Region Subscription
Art Wong – Traditional Karate North Central Region Director, Godan