Christmas Party: Good Food and Good People.

Sensei Watanabe is thanking eveyone for its presence and support.

Christmas Schedule

The Christmas holiday schedule goes as follows:

Titans Boxing:

Closed from Dec 21,2009 – January 3, 2010

First course of the year is January 4, 2010

College Rosemont:

Closed Dec. 22, 2009 – January 7, 2010

First course of the year is January 8, 2010

Have a great holiday and all the best for the New Year.

on behalf of Sensei Watanabe

More Pictures: Once We Were Warriors.

Georges Pantelis found more pictures from the dojo's ancient times.

HO! HO! HO!: Christmas Dinner.

Please note that the date for this year’s Christmas dinner has been changed to Saturday December 19.The same place;

Elio Pizzeria

351, Rue De Bellechasse,

514-276-5341

19h00

Good Blog about Self-Defense and Personal Protection from Los Angeles.

When Celebrities Get Attacked…

"So “allegedly” when a certain superstar hits his superstar girlfriend in the face so she can’t be seen in public, it’s supposed to be ok??? Hmmm… The two people that would have made the Grammy’s a much more interesting show seem to be inexplicably absent.

When I hear about things like this going on, I just shake my head. I really chuckle to myself when celebrities think they don’t need to learn how to protect themselves against violent attacks because they think their bodyguards are always going to be around to protect them."

The 3 “P’s” of Self Defense - Part 1

"Personal, Property, and Psychological. There, you have them. Have a nice day. Hmmmmm…. I wish it were that simple, but unfortunately there is always something more to things than meets the eye. In reality based self defense there are always variables and circumstances that cause shifts in the way that situations must be dealt with. They are all dealt with by way of advanced techniques in my book. As most of you know, I believe first and foremost that you must learn how to physically defend yourself. Then, from there, everything else is just added personal protection for yourself and your family."

What happened to the “Martial” in Martial Arts???

"Something happened during the 70’s when the landslide of Asian action flicks hit “Saturday afternoon and the movies.” And since then it has only gotten worse. Don’t get me wrong, as most of you know, I love martial arts movies. But what I love about them is the choreography and fantasy of the art of fighting. The problem is, there are way too many people that think that is the way they should train for a fight out there in the real big bad world."

Okinawa : berceau du Karaté – Trailer

Voici la bande-annonce (trailer) du documentaire produit par Imagin’ Arts et réalisé par Lionel Froidure.

Un voyage dans le berceau du karaté avec de grands maîtres de Goju-Ryu (sensei Choyo Kiyuna), Shorin-Ryu (sensei Minoru Higa) et Ueshi-Ryu (Kiohide Shinjo).

Ce documentaire est destiné en premier aux chaînes de télévision puis une édition DVD verra le jour. (Peut être fin 2010)

Here is a link toward En Terre Martiale blog where you can read all the details about that unique journey in Okinawa.

Training Tips.

You are too busy to go train for any reason. You can keep your shape up by following the simple training tips from these two videos.

The Trial Dojo.

It was good. A bit small. But if you take one back room out, it is OK. The floor is nice too. Let's wait what the Sensei will decide after his trip to Norway. Meanwhile two pictures:

New Trial Dojo.

Good news! Good news! Good news!


Sensei has found a new locale and wishes to give it a try, the landlord also wants to see how our operation runs and the noise level. So next Monday September 14th until September 18 we will be training at the new place, here are the details.

From: Monday September 14th till Friday September 18th ,2009

Daytime classes : Mon, Wed, Fri. 12:30pm till 2:00 pm

Evening classes : Mon, Tue, Wed, Thurs, Fri. 6:30pm till 8:00 pm


Address: 273 St-Zotique east (Near St.Denis)


*** This is a trial week, there will be no classes given next week either at Titans boxing or at Rosemont College.****

Please Note that there are no showers it is barebones, if the landlord feels comfortable and wishes to sign a long term contract we will then install showers and place better flooring.

Annual Mechoui 2009.

Our annual “Mechoui” will be held on Sunday August 30th at 2h00pm

Cost: $20.00

Place: Grillade du nord
987 route 117 exit 76
Tel: 1-819-322-2330

Take 15 north and exit 76.

Those who will be attending the mechoui, please confirm with the organiser;

Sensei Watanbe; you can let him know or call him at 514-384-0908

Evening Training Schedule. Back to College Rosemont.

Bonjour,

Starting next week, we will be back at College Rosemont. We will have 2 nights per week.

· Tuesday from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm (starting the 18th of august)
· Friday from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Looking forward to train with you!

PS please forward this message if necessary

Bruce Pitre, M.éd., B.A.A.
Consultant en performance d'affaires
Formation - Coaching - Développement
1097, rue Spiller
Otterburn Park (Québec) Canada, J3H 5C8
514 967-9605

What Has Been Going On with Mark Krupa (part two)?

Like I had published in this post:

"We also had a young and promising actor named Mark Krupa. Let just say that if I was to produce a remake of Rocky IV, I would contract him for this Drago character, the huge russian boxer. In fact, Krupa is not that tall and that big. But his size would fit the production budget"

Mark is a black belt who stopped coming a few years ago. I had almost completely forgotten about him until I saw him on national television (Radio-Canada) in a children program called Zooville. Unfortunately, there is no info about the participants.

So, I checked around the Web. On Mahalo, I found that he is a well recognized wildlife photographer and fisherman. You can check his adventures on HOOKED with Mark Krupa: The Complete First Season.

"Take off with host Mark Krupa, as he explores Canada's unrivalled wilderness. Battling the denizen of the deep as well as Mother Nature's temper, adventurer and photographer Mark Krupa journeys to the pinnacle of angling adventure. Produced in High Definition by award winning filmmakers."

Then, through the Internet Movie DataBase (IMDN) , you realize that Mark participated in many movies or series. I counted 35.

He also has some wonderful pictures on Bountyfishing.com .

On Youtube, he has a demo video.




And finally, no Wikipedia page so far for him.

If we don't see at the dojo, see you at the Oscars... Take care...

Science behind Mixed Martial Arts

I found these videos on the feed "Gladiator Fitness" I just added in the left colum.





Part two can't be embedded, so the link is here.

Part Four is here.







Part Seven is here.




Part Nine is here

I found this blog looking for abs exercises to flatten my belly. I eat well. not too much and exercise on a regular basis. But, when Milad and Christian asked me: "Is this a belly?" I had to be concerned because those guys know what a belly is. :)).

So, I have been looking around to find an answer to my concerns. It seems that it is only a matter of tranversal abs. They are the deeper abs which hold the internal organs in place. In other words, thay are responsible for the flat belly look. If you don't work them, you will have strong abs but, no flat belly. And all those belly specialists will ask you the same bloody thing....

The above picture shows the impressive exercise called the "vacuum" by Simon Javierto (1922). This exercise is very effective to control the transverse abs and breathing. It is kind of forgotten today and is undoubtedly one of the exercises to reduce your waste size after having lost the extra pounds. It is also considered to be excellent for improving the digestive system (!!!).

What Has Been Going On With Mark Krupa (Part One)?

Why Mark Krupa? Who is Mark Krupa? Well, I will specifically come to that later. For now, let's just say that this year is the 40th anniversary of the Montreal Karate Club. I know the party was shortcircuited by this overloaded smoke show on December 23rd. Nevertheless, it is a good moment to remember some of the rare birds who once were members of this great club.

• A former blackbelt was caught in a robbery, went to jail and got out ... to go back a few months later (I think).

• This other 6'4" tall and about 300 lbs blackbelt with anger problems who can't keep the same job more than six months.

• Don't forget those friendly face punchers.

• Karate has always been good for the Ying. But, don't forget the Yang. I can count four late fathers who had their first child in their late 40's. And one of them, even a second one in his early 50's.

• Speaking of a well-trained Yang, we also have our Casanova blackbelt who is the envy of many lower belts.

• We've had some blackbelt apostles who after learning from Sensei Watanabe disseminated his teachings throughout the world (Alberta, Ontario, USA, Norway).

• The late comers in need of attention, always arriving at the last minute. The class starts at 6h30, they are there at 6h29. The class starts at 7h00, they arrive at 6h59.

• The executive blackbelt who knows how to stretch an afterclass Friday night meeting who should have last no more than one hour.

• MKC also helped forming many couples which lasted ... or not. Mostly not.

• We also had a young and promising actor named Mark Krupa. Let just say that if I was to produce a remake of Rocky IV, I would contract him for this Drago character, the huge russian boxer. In fact, Krupa is not that tall and that big. But his size would fit the production budget. Rocky would have been played by late Arturo Gatti.

Oh! I think I hear my daughter calling my name. Dad, dad, dad! Yes dear, I'm coming.

Sorry folks. Have to go. I will continue part two in the next post. Link is below.

Post two here.

New Evening Class Schedule for August.

As published in this previous post, from July 20th to August 16th, there will be no evening at College Rosemont.

But, thanks to Peter we have a new place to train during August. Therefore starting Monday, July 20th, the new place is at;

La Maisonnette des Parents

6651 St-Laurent (Corner of St.Zotique next to the Church style Condos)

Classes are on Monday / Wednesday / Friday From 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM. They will open the doors at 6:00 PM for us...

There will be no class on Friday August 14th because of the Italian holiday that weekend.

However there will be a last class on the following Monday August 17.

Following August 17, if we do not have a Dojo, we will return to College Rosemont, I will keep you all posted of any changes or developments.

See you all soon,

George Pantelis

Nice Visit from Germany.

Allo Éric,

Grace au site web nous avons eu la visite d'une très jolie ceinture noire shorin-ryu d'Allemagne.

Elle continue son périple vers les USA mais viendra peut-être s'installer à Mtl, auquel cas il y a de bonne chances qu'elle se joigne à nous.

Il semble qu'un nouveau local sur St-laurent sera utilisé en août, angle St-Zotique.

Tu devrais en avoir des nouvelles bientôt.

Bonjour à tout la famille,

Marc Boisvert

Glad, I could be of any help...

Eric

Evening Class Summer Schedule

Hello fellow Karatekas,

Hope everyone is doing well. I just wanted to send you a quick note to remind you that the College Rosemont will be closed starting July 20th. We do not have any signed contract after this date, if we return to the Rosemont College it will only be on August 17.

We will continue to train at the Titans boxing gym for the afternoon classes, there is no stoppage at this place, but as far as the evening classes are concerned, we are aggressively looking to re-locate. Of course I will keep you posted as soon as I get the latest news.


Thanks, see you all soon,

Georges Pantelis

Quiz #1: Doesn't She Remember You Anyone?

Small, ferocious and full anger. If you have the right answer, I will pay you (whoever you are) a pitcher next we go to have a beer together.

Last Chat.

Last Friday, I talked with Sensei. It seems that we are heading back to the old place.

The owner returned the calls made by Christian Jasmin. He lowered the rent a good 200$ monthly to something more reasonable now. Renovations are on.

How long could it take? Hard to tell. But, there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

Let's Play Basketball.

Last night, we were only four attending the class at CEGEP Rosemont. Sensei had not come back yet. In fact, he is doing it today. We had to wait 15 minutes since the girl in charge of the keys was late.

Then, she announced us that starting yesterday, we were to train in one gym besides her office. So, no more "palestre". More room and space ... and baskets to play basketball. So, we got a ball and play a good 45 minutes. Pretty good exercice.

Then, we did a short warm up with jumping jack flashes, pushups and setups. As if we needed that. We completed the class with our 18 katas.

MKC Uncertain Future: one comment.

I publish here the comment made by Georges Pantelis in reaction to the previous post since it is not that easy to see if there are comments or not. The link is pretty small. When I have the opportunity, I will increase its size.

"Hello Fellow Karatekas,

Although I agree that this ordeal has taken longer than expected, I have had discussions with several of you and we have all expressed our concerns and disappointment. An update concerning the College; we had confirm and book the college through June July and August, and prepay. The teacher had told me and maybe some of you that upon his return he will make an aggressive effort to get a Dojo. Also,the College will be closed for the 3rd and 4th week in July, there will be no courses for the last 2 weeks in July unless we find another temporary place, but if not, this will free up more time for the teacher to get something permanent.

Personally I believe that we have and will lose some students due to this situation, once we get back on track and get our new place, we will get the word out in hopes that our students will return and solicit for new members. Thats the best that we could do. At the present time we need to believe and motivate ourselves. I am pleading with my fellow Black Belts to do as much as possible to encourage,motivate,participate to salvage the few we have holding on.

Please pass on the word that there will not be any evening classes at the Rosemont College. We will keep everyone posted on any new developments.

See you at the Gym!

George"

MKC uncertain future.

Yesterday, I talked with some members and nothing good got out of this discussion.

There are many complaints that things are not improving fast enough.

It seems that we had a good deal for a place on St-Hubert. The owner really wanted the club. Those who visited it found it interesting, Sensei included. But then, one black commented that he didn't like the place because there were not enough windows, it was too narrow and the roof too low to practise kendo. So, the opportunity went with this shitty spring wind.

I also heard that we could go back to the old place. The owner had talked with Sensei about this possibility. Christian Jasmin left three messages, but no return call so far. No construction workers in sight. So, it doesn't smell good.

The boxing club's ciment floor gives a hard time to some members' "old" joints, me included.

The CEGEP Rosemont's slippery floor bothers others. Personally, I find it a bit too far. But, now that spring, or a pale copy of spring, is here, I can use my bike to get there. So, until next fall, I am OK.

Speaking of next fall, I was told that we don't have any location for the evening classes for september. So far, Sensei hasn't given his OK.

Then, the rumors are that some people will leave the remains of MKC. They will take this opportunity to try something new or different. I talked about that last January. Things have to return to normal fast. I talked of a six months dead line.

Why? Because people will try temporary solutions that, with time, will become not so temporary. Then, with the summer vacations, some members will become lazy and will stop training.

Change of Schedule Evening Class.

M. Watanabe asked that we change the schedule for the following wishing that the attendance will be improved.

Starting May 1st, the new evening schedule will be:

· Monday night from 6:30 to 8:00

· Wednesday night from 7:00 to 8:30

· Friday night from 6:30 to 8:00

Bruce Pitre wrote:

"On a personal note: Understanding that both temporary places that we have are not ideal, a dojo is only a training facility lead by a sensei. In our situation, the sensei and the quality of the training as not change, only the room. Actually, I feel that it is part of our learning to adapt to new situations and become more skilled. Adaptation is a key skill sought for in today live, professionally, personally and also in karate. I am sharing this with you because I was disappointed when sensei told me last night that some have stop training «because they did not like the training rooms».



We still have many challenges in front of us as a karate community. Not only do we have to help relocate the dojo and get it running, we also have to celebrate its 40th anniversary. "

Georges Pantelis added:

"Thank you Bruce, I agree with your comments. It is our lifetime sport! Lifetime being the key word! "

And Hai Phamhuy commented:

"Thanks for the information and also thanks for taking care of announcing it

I am quite sad and share your disappointment regarding comments made by some colleagues about the places etc. I humbly think this is just part of it. We all know that our school is going through a very tough time but I am very confident that there is somehow an acceptable solution ahead.

Sensei has shown a huge courage and it is obvious to me that we have to give him all the assistance and encouragement we can, starting by going on with a regular training and the so-called "esprit de corps" like they say in th army.

I look forward to seeing you in a very near future.

Again, many thanks."

G.P. Shorinryu Fundraising

Here is an update, I received through Facebook.

"Hi GuysI want to thank all of you for the help in the fundraiser for the teacher, we raised $2548 with the silent Auction and donations, this will help him rebuild after the fire,

If any of you still want to contribute contact me and I will give you the information necessary thanks and keep up the good work

Joe

Ps the the Teacher had a good time and was quite touched by the support"

Evening Class Schedule Changes

Attention, Attention!!!!

Due to some scheduling conflicts, the Wednesday course at College Rosemont will now begin at 19h00.

Therefore, Tuesday @ 19h00, Wednesday @ 19h00 and Friday 18h30.

Thank you all and have a pleasant training...

Two New Gadgets (Widgets)

On the left side, I added two new widgets (gadgets):

1. A Listen to the Post button. So if you are too lazy to read or simply blind, just select some text and press the button. You will listen to the text selected. Read only english.
2. Since we received many complaints about the unilingual content of this blog, I also added a translation widget from Google. So you can now translate the whole page in French or even Norsk. Isn't that cool and great? But remember this is an automated tranlation, so you might have to reconstruct some meaning out of it. Let's try it right now. The whole post will follow in French and Norsk.

Sur le côté gauche, j'ai ajouté deux nouveaux widgets (gadgets):

1. Un bouton pour écouter le texte publié. Ainsi, si vous êtes trop paresseux pour lire ou tout simplement aveugle, il suffit de sélectionner du texte, et appuyez sur la touche. Vous allez écouter le texte sélectionné. Lisez uniquement en anglais.
2. Depuis que nous avons reçu de nombreuses plaintes concernant le contenu unilingue de ce blog, j'ai également ajouté un widget de traduction de Google. Donc, vous pouvez maintenant traduire toute la page en français ou même Norsk. N'est-ce pas cool et génial? Mais rappelez-vous il s'agit d'une traduction automatique, donc vous pouvez avoir à reconstruire un sens en dehors de ça. Essayons maintenant. L'ensemble du texte sera en français et Norsk.

På venstre side, jeg har lagt til to nye ting (gadgets):

1. A Listen to the Post button. Å lytte til Post-knappen. Så hvis du er for lat til å lese eller bare blind, bare velg en tekst og trykker på knappen. Du vil høre på den valgte teksten. Les bare engelsk.
2. Siden vi fått mange klager på unilingual innholdet i denne bloggen, jeg også lagt en oversettelse widget fra Google. Så nå kan du tranlate hele siden på fransk eller Norsk. Er ikke det kult og flott? Men husk at dette er en automatisk tranlation, så du må kanskje rekonstruere noen mening ut av det. La oss prøve det nå. Hele innlegget vil følge i engelsk og Norsk.
   

Evening Class Advices

Here are some advices to assure your comfort during the evening class at the College:

1. The nearest door to the locker room is at the far right of the building on 16 avenues. It is also the entrance for the swimming pool. You will see a big bleu sign outside.
   
   
   
2. Follow the sign for the gym locker room (not the swimming pool lockers).
   
   
   
3. You will need a padlock (cadena) to secure your clothing in the dressing room. Remember, it is a public gym and the college is not responsible if something gets stolen.
   
   
   
4. Also, you will need dry shoes to walk from the locker room to the combat room (palestre).
   
   
   
5. As for water, since I can not remember where the water fountain is, please bring a water bottle with you in the combat room.
   
   
   
6. To avoid loosing time walking around in the college, please bring with you your fighting equipment in the gym room.
   
   
   
7. And finally, if it is your first time in the college, give yourself extra time to get familiar with the facilities.



8. New information, the combat room number is D-142
   
   
   Looking forward to train with you in our new temporary dojo and pursue our successful journey with M. Watanabe.
   
   
   
   Bruce

Evening Training, Back on Track

Starting Tuesday February 3rd, we will start evening classes, we have booked the College Rosemont located at 6400 16e avenue. Courses will be held as follows;

Tuesday 19h00 – 20h30
Wednesday 18h30 – 20h00
Friday 18h30 – 20h00

We are starting with these times and will evaluate shortly after Sensei returns from his seminar at Grande Prairie if changes are necessary including increasing more days.


PS: Bruno, can you please attach a new notice at the door with the information to redirect the students with the schedule, if some show up, please include my new cell number 514-377-0830. Thanks Bruno!


I have included the link to the College web site for directions, and any information you need about the place.


Thanks everyone, see you at the gym!!!

George

Agrandir le plan

Black Belt Dinner.

It is a tradition that the black belts meet once a year after the holidays for dinner, this year will not be an exception, it would be great if you can make it. Black Belt or not!!! Doesn’t matter. Part of the family!

Saturday, January 31, 2009
6:30pm - 10:30pm
Tutto Bene
120 St-Viateur O.
Montreal, QC

Plan B (7)

Hello everyone,

Just a quick note to let you all know that we are continuing to look for a temporary place to train for the evening students. As you already know we have found a location for the afternoon students. For the evening classes, Bruce has arranged a meeting at the Rosemont college, it’s a big place and the rent is very reasonable. Bruce the Teacher and myself will go and visit this Friday, I will let you all know of our findings. Thank you Bruce!

For those who are contemplating on contributing to the fundraiser, please do so before the end of the month, we are planning to have our annual Black Belt dinner by the end of January. Please ensure that I receive your generous contributions before the end of the month, Oh! If you have some photos, please include these as well, I will include these and any notes and moneys in the card, with your names of course.


Thank you, have a great day,

George

Afternoon Training, Back on Track.

Yesterday, Bruno Rousseau sent us this bloody good news:

"Just to let you know that we're going to restart training from monday 26th of january with the usual schedule (but only for monday, wednesday and friday afternoons).The training will take place at the Titans boxing club - 6777 St-André. (It's located beside our dojo!) "

Good work Bruno. Our abdominals, and especially Christian Jasmin's, are happy to hear that.

Fundraising Montreal

Hello fellow Karatekas,

While our fellow Karatekas from Grande Prairie and Norway are eager to help Sensei with expenses that will incur during the renewal of the dojo and his personal life, there has been some individuals that have expressed interest in starting our own fundraiser. The logistics in doing this is a little different as we don’t have anywhere to meet and contribute. The immediate solution is to send some money to one person. I am willing to accept all contributions, please reply as soon as possible with your ideas and if you feel that this is a good idea, if I receive your OK, then I will send you my address to mail me your contribution, I will then forward the contribution to Sensei with your name on a card with everyone’s name.

Please reply with your comments as soon as possible,

Thanks

George

Greeting Card

It is such a difficult and sad situation. I am, however, impressed by how all those close to the teacher has come together to help. It shows how much respect, admiration, and affection people feel for him. I think that he has impacted many lives. I love karate and that has changed my life. I am grateful to him. For those of us outside of Montreal, can we help by starting up a fund for the teacher.

Tina Wong


Dear all karate friends I was shocked when I recieved the news about the fire in honbu dojo in Montreal. I don’t know what to say or how to express my feelings as it is sad news.Visiting the dojo several times and meeting many of the great students to Watanabe sensei I am shure this case will be taken care of to the best for Watanabe, Shorinryu and all his students.My best wishes to all of you and thanks for all the information. Hope to see you againe next year.

Regards from Ylla


Oh my!!! I originate from Grande Prairie and I visited the montreal karate club about a decade ago; wow it hurts to know its up in smoke. I hope everyone is okay, and the MKC is able to locate a new site..

Best Wishes All, Yvonne M. Prince.


My name is Jeff Balin, and I was a student of Sensei Watanabe at the MKC in 1994-1996. I coincidentally came upon the news of the fire and I am very saddened by it. I would like to know how I can help. I currently live in Vancouver, but I would like to send a small amount of money in support of Sensei Watanabe and the dojo. Where can I send it?
My thoughts and prayers are with all of you and especially with Sensei Watanabe! I hope something good will come from all this. .

Jeff Balin

Bonjour
c est une tres triste histoire, j ai le coeur lourd mais je suis contente de savoir que tous le monde et le Sensei va bien, qu il n y a personne de blesses.

Marie-Claude xxx

Please keep me informed when you need help. I will do what is required to help the Sensei.
Regards,
Christian Guenole


Happy New Year

Normally I would phone the Dojo at this time (8:45 am) and wish everyone there a happy new year while I waited for my students to show up for our new years day training.

please let me know if there is any fundraising going on, everyone here is saddened by what has occurred, some members of the dojo were planning a trip to Montreal for the 40th anniversary( we are still hoping to do that)

hope to see you all soon

Joe


Hello
We are glad to see that the first shock has turned into determination and effort of getting a new dojo.
Please let us know if we can give any contribution or help.

Best regards,
Terje Årdal

Welcome back Sir,

Don't worry. You can count on us. We are taking care of business and supporting you all the way. Let turn things around and make a positive thing out of this sad situation.

A friendly hug.
Eric


Dear Sensei,
In this difficult time, we would like to express our sorrow at the loss of your home and dojo. Even though we are in Gatineau, we are deeply touched by this terrible turn of events. We have been closely following the events through Éric’s blog and members E‑mails, and from what we understand you will not be alone in the reconstruction efforts. Trusting that things will fall into place, we still would like to wish you a happy New Year.
Take care and hope to see you soon!
Ayano and Serge


I have been keeping everyone informed here about what has happened in Montreal, and we are in the process of fundraising. I hope to have it done when the teacher gets here. This is going to be the 22nd Seminar in Grande Prairie this February. We are planning to come to Montreal for the 40th Anniversary of the MKC.

Thank you all for taking care of the Teacher, I wish I was there to help

Joe





Sensei,

No matter what happens remember that you always have support from your Shorin-Ryu family, in Montreal, and across the world. As long as you want to keep teaching, we will always be eager to keep learning from you. Wherever the dojo goes, I will always be one of it’s students; and you will always be our Karate master, and Shorin-Ryu father.

Sincerely,
- Derek


Dear Sensei,I am so sorry for your loss, I have been thinking about you and what you must be feeling and the difficulties you will have to face. You can be proud of the family and community that you have created, and you can be sure that we will be there for you during your time of need. I will help you in any way I can, please do not hesitate to contact me. You must start teaching again soon, I have two little children that still need a Sensei!

Affectionately,
Erica
Thanks to all,
Erica














Hello Sir,

sorry not to be around to welcome you back, I guess that the late infortunate events
have somewhat trouble you, your holidays, may be even your confidence in life.
I don't know what i would or should say to you if I were standing by your side, but allow
me to share some current toughts.


It is not fate, neither destiny, not even events that determine man, it is the way he handles it
when he encounters it.

Remenber that elder samourai, gifted with a single son who spent much of his time horseriding.
.When she broke away, he saw he son sorry, kind of brokenhearted.
But a few days later, she returned having attracted a magnificient stallion, and the son got very interested in first taming
and later riding the horse. He did fall, broke his leg. But war burst, all his peers were recruted and sent to combat, none
returned.

Just to say that feelings do arise on spot when events occured, and even our mind cannot rationalise wheter they are
good or bad omen, only in time can we ascertain their true value and effect.

Even the worst winters are ended by spring.

See you soon,

Marc












GILLES LESPÉRANCE
AVOCAT – ATTORNEY – LL.M. Fisc.

450, RUE ST-PIERRE, BUREAU 100 TÉLÉPHONE: (514) 843-4794 (poste 206)
MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC) H2Y 2M9 TÉLÉCOPIEUR: (514) 843-4395
E-MAIL: glesperance@sympatico.ca
Montreal, January 13, 2009

Dear Sensei:

I have only been a student of yours for 10 months and already you have deeply impacted my life. I love karate and what it does to my body (most of the time anyway) and my soul. I have tried other martial arts and other styles of karate and I must say that the gentle manner in which you teach your art is most impressive. That was the first thing that struck me after I joined your school.

That is probably why so many black belts have stayed with you and your school for so long instead of going out to start a school of their own. That to me speaks volumes about the kind of man that you are. You are a kind and compassionate man and that is why I really feel a lot of empathy for you during such distressing times.

The funniest thing you ever told me was that you were good at a lot of things except make money. So I can easily see how difficult the next few weeks and months are going to be for you. But don't worry sensei, good things happen to good people and I am convinced you will make it though this. You have a lot of people who love you and from the many kind words that keep pouring in, I can see that your school will be up and running again in no time.

For my part, I'm not too sure how I could be of assistance in your present situation, other than to offer you my services as a lawyer on a Pro bono (free) basis. I have already discussed it at length with George Pantelis and he has my coordinates if you ever decide to take me up on my offer.

Before I sign off, and in spite of your setback, I would like to wish you a very Happy New Year in 2009. Try not to get too discouraged. Remember that you already have the most precious gift of all, your health. As for the rest, well, life is like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs and sometimes it's better to just go with the flow. Keep your spirits up and best of luck.

Yours sincerely
Gilles Lespérance



Dear Sensei,We are very sorry for this sad event. Although there is no human casualty, the material lost is always terrible, particularly regarding souvenirs. We wish you strength, serenity, and “good luck” in overcoming that major loss and turbulence. On our side, life is going very busy but well with our two young daughters, and a boy will be born in the next few days!

Jean et Karima

Alberta's Dojos: Fundraising on the Go.

I have been keeping everyone informed here (Alberta) about what has happened in Montreal, and we are in the process of fundraising.

I hope to have it done when the teacher gets here. This is going to be the 22nd Seminar in Grande Prairie this February. We are planning to come to Montreal for the 40th Anniversary of the MKC.

Thank you all for taking care of the Teacher, I wish I was there to help.

Joe

Photos Anyone? Say Whisky...

Hello to all,

I was hoping to get a photo collage for Sensei. I know some of you have been around for a long (LONG) time, and you must have some photos from the good ol' days.

I'm not looking for the originals, just copies (scanned). Groupe photos, tournaments, parties, anything related to the teacher and the Karate clubs, past and present.

All schools are welcome to donate some nostalgia. A short description of the history of the picture will be welcomed.

Thanks, and a great weekend to everyone.

Paulo Rocha

Plan B (6)

Hi everyone,

I went to see a martial art school today. The address is 3777 Jean Talon west. 2nd floor at a corner, 3 sides window, about 1200 sq ft. shower, floor matt, punching bag, one boxing ring....very good. Clean and neat.

The owner, Steve, told me that all weekdays after 6 pm are fully occupied. Saturday 1 to 3 pm is available. My feeling is, there could be other time available if we negotiateHe is now charging other people $500 per month for using his place 3 times of 2 hours @ in a week. It is a fully equipped place but is small for over 15 persons. The bus #92 on Jean Talon is running only once in an hour. not very convenient for student with no car.

I also went to see some dancing schools. Eric is right. forget about it. Have a nice weekend.

Asa Leung

News from the Sensei.

Dear friends,

I just spoke to Sensei for I called him to say good bye and to wish him a safe journey back to Montreal.I want to share with you my deepest concerns because when I asked him about his spirit, this is his answer:

"I feel bad. I feel like going to prison after a death sentence. I think about this business (the pub) beeing closed because of my fault. It is so bad"

Please take good care of Sensei when you will welcome him.See you all in two weeks time.

Very sincerely yours,
HAI

Plan B (5)

Hello,

I just talk to Mme Roy from Rosemont College . They have a place that we could rent temporary and it is available every night of the week after 18:15. We can rent it without a contract on a daily basis.

The room is 60 feet by 60 feet. We would have access to the lockers room, the shower and free parking after 18:00. The cost per hour is 30$.

They already have a Karate school in the college but as long as we do not recruit and advertise, it would be OK. They understand our situation.

It may sound expensive but for a couple of month we could guarantee that we would train only 2 or 3 night a week for 2 hours each night. This would only cost 60 $ for a training session. A cost, speaking for myself, I would be willing to share with others. See it like a temporary extra membership fee… that would cover the extra cost.

Looking forward to train with you

Bruce Pitre
Consultant en performance d'affaires
Formation - Coaching - Développement
1097, rue Spiller
Otterburn Park (Québec) Canada, J3H 5C8
514 967-9605

Thanks alot Bruce, that sounds pretty good to me. I had done some searching around my area and it's pretty much the standard fee for renting a room like that. Plus that time slot is pretty much perfect for the night time people, but what about afternoon training?

Derek

Hi everyone,

The Rosemont College idea sounds good to me for the short term.
I would be available most nights to pick up anyone needing a ride if we were to train there.

Guillaume Doucet

Plan B (4)

Hello fellow practitioners,

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who attended the meeting Monday, we all demonstrated solidarity and a strong willingness to help with the present situation. Following the meeting I believe that we achieved our goals; we assured that the teacher will reside with Milad, thank you Milad for doing this.

Secondly, everyone was asked to do some ground-work to find another place to train both permanent and temporary options are welcome. Already Steve, Daniel, Milad, Ari have suggested venues with some possibilities. Daniel and I visited a ex-Dojo this morning, unfortunately it needed too much investment and was a little pricey. Steve has been working hard to see if a Kung Fu school maybe have some room, he also referred me to a Yoga studio on St. Viateur, I have left a message, it appears that the studio is not used very much, Erica has also suggested the same place.

But the most promising place was discovered by Bruno, he found a place to rent on St. Hubert, right near our present Dojo, the Landlord seems very eager to help us get up and going, this is the best option so for, good job Bruno! To everyone, please continue your research to have a few good options when the Sensei returns next week, time is short.

Please keep in mind that ultimately the best scenario is to return to our Dojo, this may take a while we wait for re-construction, also the possibility of us not able to return is very realistic, therefore we need both temporary and permanent options.


Thank you for all your input and help,

George

Plan B (3)

The Black Belts met last night. We discussed about the situation. Since Sensei expressed the wish to stay in Montreal. We made some decisions:

1. Sensei can stay at Milad's house the time he wants. If he wishes to be closer to the action in Montreal, Bruno offers him a room in his appartment.
2. Christian Guenole has a 3 1/2 room appartment to rent for Sensei. It should be ready in around three weeks.
3. We keep on ice Eddy's proposal as a long term solution.
4. Maurice will check some second floor rentals on St-Hubert. I will call the church one block from my appartment and two dance schools, one on Mont-Royal and one on St-Laurent.
5. Every participant at the meeting will look around and pass the info about available rentals to Georges, so he can make a visit.
6. We want to have a concrete proposal to present to Sensei on his return on Monday the 12th.

Meeting

Hello fellow Karatekas,

As previously mentioned, we will be meeting to discuss the future of our school, please make an effort to attend. The topics of discussion are;

1) Update on the present situation regarding St. Zotique

2) Relocating the Sensei ( where is he going to stay)

3) Finding a new Dojo, permanent or temporary

4) Maintaining contact and interest with all the students, eliminating the risk of loss of memberships.

Please write back or call me to confirm,

When: Monday Jan. 05^th, 2009

Time: 18h00

Place: Elios Restaurant

351 Bellechasse

514-276-5341

Agrandir le plan

Plan B (2)

Happy New Year to All!

It is good that we are able to pull together with the intension to help Watanabe. It may be possible to rebuild the Dojo at St. Zotique, but realistically, it could take many months before the Dojo is rebuilt and it is not clear that the owner Mr. Bourassa would be interested in having Watanabe back. Alternatives are definitely a good idea.

My place of business is on a small industrial street named De Courtrai in the Cote Des Neiges area. The building has undergone a lot of renovation and the rent is very reasonable there is even a bar downstairs. The landlords are very nice and the building is owned by the Portugeuse Community. I will ask about a rental space for the Dojo, as there is a large space is available next to ours. Bus and Metro are nearby and there is parking available too..

Lets set a time for a meeting before Watanabe returns.

Best regards all,

and George, great job you are doing!

Eddy Wurm (Basch)