News
Farewell....
At the end of 2009 we had to say goodbye to Sensei Stuart Grey who left with his family to begin a new adventure in Tasmania. In conjunction with Sensei David, Sensei Stuart played a large part in the development of a lot of the older club members. He will be missed by both students and their parents who all wish him and his family the very best.
On the brighter side, we can look forward to the possibility of Kickarate Tasmania at some stage in the future and all the exciting opportunities this will present to Kickarate members in both states. Hopefully the Tasmanian karate community will recognize how fortunate they have been to gain a member of the calibre of Sensei Stuart.
Black Belt Population Has Risen!
On the 4th December 2009, three of our club members (Jaimie Lee Holstein, Paul Rusic and Jake Vella) presented themselves at Sensei Shayne's Hendra dojo as candidates for the black belt grading. To be invited to attempt this grading in front of Sensei Paul was a huge honour in itself and not to be taken lightly. However, all three candidates had put in many years of training in the dojo and in the final months of preparation, had spent hour upon hour training at home and at special sessions arranged by Sensei David. Both Sensei David and Sensei Rocky believed they had all shown the necessary dedication and achieved a level of skill worthy of presentation to Sensei Paul.
As expected, Sensei Paul demanded an exceptional level of fitness, endurance and mental toughness, hence it was a long and physically exhausting grading. Jake Vella and the other junior candidates were asked to do almost the same black belt grading as the adults. By the end of the night, all three Kickarate members had done their best for Sensei David by pushing through the heat, the exhaustion and even injuries to complete the tasks demanded of them. In the spirit of the club, Jake, Paul and Jaimie Lee encouraged each other throughout the lead up to and even during the grading.
The following day, the adults had a course with Sensei Paul where we were delighted to learn that Jaimie Lee and Paul had been awarded their black belts.
Jake had to wait another agonizing 24 hours to find out if he had been successful. On Sunday 6th December, Jake attended the junior course with Sensei Paul and was already convinced that his efforts hadn't been good enough to warrant a black belt. Even as his name was called out at the beginning of the course and he was presented with a certificate, Jacob mistakenly thought he was being given a "certificate of participation" for his attempt. It wasn't until Sensei Paul handed Jake his black belt that it dawned on him that at barely 12 years old, he had done it.
Understandably all three were elated at their success and the Kickarate club is also delighted to offer its congratulations to Sensei David for training three candidates, one of whom is the youngest in Queensland, to a level where they were awarded the elusive black belt. The camaraderie, endurance, courage and skill displayed in front of Sensei Paul by Kickarate club members were a credit to the spirit and the standards upon which Sensei David has based his dojo.
Click here to read the South West News story done on Jake Vella.