November 23, 2003
Several members of the dojo, including Peter Papoutsis, Pete
Nason, Eugene Fliman, Paola Bortolin and Sensei Kahn attended another fantastic show by
the Shaolin Monks at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago. Unlike the show earlier in the year,
this show demonstrated a typical "Day-In-The-Life" of a Shaolin Warrior living
at the Shaolin Temple in China.
November 2, 2003
The Chicago Dojo was fortunate enough to host Uechi-ryu Sensei
Gustavo Gondra, 7th Dan, from Argentina. Sensei Gondra is Paola Bortolin's original
teacher, and is currently in the midst of a month-long seminar tour through North and
South America with stops in Columbia, Edmonton, Canada, Connecticut, Washington, D.C. and
Miami. Sensei Gondra spent several hours with our students teaching Uechi-ryu
concepts and personal defense techniques. At the end of his visit, Sensei Gondra
promoted Paola to Nidan (2nd Degree Black Belt). Congratulations, Paola!
October 23, 2003
We received the above photo from our good friend John Long.
John is a Uechi-ryu and Okinawan Kobodo instructor in Western Australia. We hosted
John at our dojo several years ago when he was visiting Chicago's Field Museum of Natural
History for some research. John is Head of the Department of Earth and Planetary
Sciences 2003 & Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Western Australia Museum.
October 5, 2003
In addition to her Uechi-ryu study, Paola Bortolin also cross-trains
in Krav Maga in Lincolnwood, Illinois. Krav Maga is the official self-defense system of
the Israeli Defense Forces. She was recently promoted to the Level 3 rank by her
Krav Maga instructor, Dante Pena. Congratulations, Paola!
August 8-10, 2003
The 2003 Martial Arts Summerfest, hosted annually by Sensei George
E. Mattson, was once again held on Buzzard's Bay, MA. Accompanying Sensei Kahn this
year were camp regulars Peter Nason and BJ Monson, as well as newcomers Eugene Fliman,
Corey Diamond, Paola Bortolin and her husband Alex Grossman. Rounding out the group was
little Jami Kahn. In addition to leading several seminars over the course of the camp, and
serving on the IUKF Dan Test Board for the Summerfest Black Belt Test, Sensei Kahn was
honored in the first group of IUKF "Specialists" for his work as a certified
tournament official. The group spent three days of seminars training in Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu, Filipino Arnis, sparring concepts, kata applications and realistic self-defense
training. There was also considerable time spent working with Senseis Vinny
Christiano and Van Canna on progressive Uechi concepts.
July 29, 2003
All of our students and their families took a "field
trip" to a Schaumburg Flyers minor league baseball game. We watched the game in
comfort from a luxury skybox, courtesy of Mike Resnick. Even though the Flyers lost,
everyone had a great time, especially the kids. We even got our name in lights--on
the scoreboard!
June 1, 2003
While in Boston for the weekend, Sensei Kahn had the honor of
sitting on the IUKF Dan Test Board for the New England, Spring 2003, Black Belt
Test. This was Sensei Kahn's first time sitting on such a prestigious board. Sensei
Kahn extends his congratulations to all the candidates that passed the difficult exam.
May 30, 2003
Sensei Kahn was soon back in Boston to help officiate at
Sensei George Mattson's 9th Annual Uechi-ryu World Championships. Eugene Fliman
joined Sensei Kahn on this trip, competing in his first tournament, in the Men's Black
Belt Kata division. The competition was stiff, and though he didn't place this time out,
he performed extremely well and should be proud. Sensei Kahn's teacher, Richard
Baptista, along with Jerry Gross, drove down to Plymouth, Massachusetts and helped
officiate in Sensei Kahn's ring.
May 24-25, 2003
Paola Bortolin and her husband, Alex Grossman, traveled to
New Orleans, Louisiana to assist Alex's dojomate, Christian Santos, as he competed in the
29th National Tae Kwon Do Championships. Christian, fighting in the Lightweight Black Belt
division, won his first round match, but lost in the second round to the national
champion. Great job, Christian!
May 3-4, 2003
Sensei Kahn traveled to Boston (again) to attend the wedding
of Samantha Baptista, his Karate teacher's daughter, to Kenny DeModena. The wedding turned
out to be quite a reunion of Black Belts from Sensei Kahn's original Brandeis University
Dojo. Lot's of food, fun, laughter and mischief.
February 7, 2003
Several members of the dojo, including Peter Papoutsis, Mitch
Zaveduk, Eugene Fliman, Paola Bortolin, Benjamin Monson and Sensei Kahn attended a
fantastic show by the Shaolin Monks at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago. The skill and power
of these monastic warriors was an inspiration to all.
