December
9-10, 2000
Sensei Kahn & Mitch Zaveduk
embarked on a road trip to Dayton, Ohio for a two-day seminar led by Guro Dan Inosanto.
Other than the Hubad Drills Sensei Kahn & Mitch were already accustomed to, the
knife drills taught by Guro Dan were merely a blur--and that was with Guro Dan perfoming
them in slow motion. Still, it was a worthwhile trip.
November 4-5,
2000
Guro Raffi Derderian traveled to
Chicago to spend the weekend teaching several seminars on Filipino Martial Arts,
Grappling, Joint Locks and Street Self Defense. Raffi was very good at teaching the new
material in a manner that consistently referred back to its use within the Uechi-ryu
arsenal.
October
14-15, 2000
Sensei Kahn & Mitch Zaveduk
attended a two-day seminar led by Professor Remi Presas, the founder of Modern Arnis.
Sensei Kahn & Mitch learned a great deal of knife and stick drills, some
grappling techniques, as well as a new Modern Arnis Anyo (Kata).
August 25
& 26, 2000
Mitch Zaveduk and Sensei Kahn were in
Lincoln, Nebraska this weekend, where the two conducted Uechi-ryu seminars at the dojos of
David Lamb and Tim Snyder. Friday night was spent at Sensei Snyder's dojo where the
seminar focused on a free exchange of ideas between two arts that share a common ancestor,
yet have chosen two very different paths. Saturday's seminar took place at Sensei
Lamb's dojo, where the seminar focused on two areas of Uechi-ryu. The first part
concentrated on Uechi-ryu fundamentals, and the second portion demonstrated the need to be
flexible in one's thinking, and adaptable in one's performance. Thanks to both
dojo's for their hospitality.
August 11-13,
2000
Sensei George E. Mattson's Annual Martial
Arts Festival was held this weekend on Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts. Sensei Kahn
was invited to teach a couple of seminars over the weekend, and was accompanied by Peter
Papoutsis, Mike Sydorowicz, and Mitch Zaveduk. During the camp, Mitch was given the
honor of acting as official interpreter for the contingent from Argentina. We'd like
to thank all the wonderful teachers who gave their time in leading exciting and
informative seminars. We would especially like to thank Guro Raffi Derderian for
spending so much quality time with us.
July 12-16,
2000
Sensei Kahn and Mitch Zaveduk embarked on
a four-day whirlwind tour of six New England Uechi-ryu Dojos. The first stop was at
Mike Murphy's Dojo in Randolph, MA where guest instructor Raffi Derderian conducted a
knifefighting seminar. Later that same evening, we arrived in Lexington, MA for a
traditional Uechi-ryu workout at Allan Azoff's Dojo. The next morning found us in
Tewksbury, MA for an intense workout at Gary Khoury's beautiful Dojo. That evening
we returned to Mike Murphy's Dojo, where Sensei George Mattson gave an extended seminar on
Uechi fundamentals. The next morning we stopped briefly at Sensei Kahn's original
Dojo at Brandeis University, where we "treated" ourselves to some 30-year-old
dojo "artifacts" that still remained. That evening we visited Ed Huff's
Boston Dojo for an exhausting workout. Finally, for our last adventure we traveled
to Atkinson, NH where we were treated to a high-spirited workout led by Buzz Durkin at his
gorgeous, traditional Dojo. Every dojo we visited treated us like family, and made
us feel welcome. We would both like to extend our sincere thanks to each and every
Dojo owner and their students for making our trip so memorable.
May 20, 2000
Sensei Kahn made his yearly trip to Boston
for the 24th Annual New England Open National Karate Championships hosted by Richard
Baptista, which is held in conjunction with the Annual Uechi-ryu World Championships,
hosted by George E. Mattson. Three students proudly represented Chicago Uechi-ryu in
the Uechi-ryu Tournament. Continuing his winning streak, Benjamin Monson far
outscored his nearest opponent, winning first place in the 14-17 year old Black Belt Kata
division. Mike Sydorowicz won 3rd place in the Adult Black Belt Kata division,
despite only being ranked as a Black Belt for one month. Mitch "Stuart"
Zaveduk turned in a fierce performance, capturing 2nd place in the Adult Green Belt Kata
division, losing by a mere 0.06 of a point. Congratulations to all!
April 8 &
9, 2000
Sensei George Mattson and Sensei Richard
Baptista conducted a two-day seminar in conjunction with the Chicago Dan
(Black Belt) Test. With a focus on the "Basics," Sensei Mattson stressed
the importance of continuing to train on the foundations of the style: posture, breathing,
and spirit. All the students, from our novice Green Belts to our newly minted Black
Belts, eagerly soaked in the information that Sensei Mattson so effortlessly demonstrated.
All of our students wish to express their gratitude to Sensei Mattson &
Sensei Baptista for their time and effort.
April 8, 2000
Sensei George Mattson and Sensei Richard
Baptista traveled to Chicago to conduct a Dan (Black
Belt) Test for seven of Chicago Uechi-ryu's students. After a strenuous exam
Peter Papoutsis was promoted to Sandan (Third Degree
Black Belt). Peter Nason and Michael Resnick were promoted to Nidan
(2nd Degree Black Belt). Michael Sydorowicz, Michael Treleaven and David Wachtel
were promoted to Shodan (1st Degree Black Belt).
Also, Benjamin Monson was re-tested by this official Test Board, thereby formally
validating his Junior Black Belt rank. The performance of all the test candidates
was excellent and the entire Dojo is proud of you all. Congratulations!
March 25, 2000
Today Chicago Uechi-ryu Karate once
again made their presence known at Sensei James Thompson's annual Okinawan Karate
Tournament in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Peter Nason blasted through his kata in the Men's
Black Belt division earning himself fifth place in the process. Benjamin Monson also
continued his streak by again capturing first place in the 13-15 Year Old Advanced Kata
division, besting his nearest competitor's score by an enormous margin. Mike
Treleaven placed second in the Men's Brown Belt Kata Division after beating the third
place winner in a close tiebreaker. Corey Diamond turned in a spirited performance,
winning third place in the 7-9 Year Old Novice Kata division. Rich Skloot captured
fourth place in the Men's Brown Belt Kata division, and pummeled his way to 3rd place in
the Men's Brown Belt Fighting division. Finally, tournament newcomer
"Big" Mitch Zaveduk performed his kata like a hurricane, finishing in first
place in the Men's Green Belt Kata division, and then he blasted his way to a second place
finish in the Men's Green Belt Fighting division. Congratulations to all the
competitors and their families!
February 5
& 6, 2000
This weekend marked the kickoff event
in the newly launched Chicago Uechi-ryu Karate Seminar Series.
Our Dojo was pleased and honored to host Sensei Gary Khoury for two full days of intensive
training in Uechi-ryu sparring techniques and drills. Our sincere gratitude and
appreciation go out to Sensei Khoury for all his effort and enthusiasm.
January 21-23, 2000
The first Uechi Winterfest was held in
Orlando, FL, and was hosted by David Berndt's beautiful Dojo. Sensei Kahn, joined by
Richard Skloot, attended two full days of intensive advanced study led by Senseis George
Mattson, Van Canna, Gary Khoury, and Raffi Derderian.
