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