National Camp
National camp 2006 was hosted by West Coast Goju Kai on the August long weekend. The opening class was on Saturday at 9 AM and the weekend formally came to an end with a breakfast banquet on Monday morning. There was training for kids and adults, black belt grading, the Annual General Meeting, and a Friendship tournament on Sunday afternoon. Plan on coming to Yellowknife in 2007!

The Empty Vessels
The karate club put together a team to participate in the Porter Street School Trivia night fundraiser. In the end, we donated $60 (1/2 of the ticket price) to the fundraising efforts. Members of the Empty Vessels (our team name) opened their pockets and with good humor and a generous heart, participated in the toonie and loonie games, the 50/50 and the dessert purchase. The trivia questions left me “empty” as I searched my brain for answers….thanks to those Trivia buffs that were on our team (Vivian…), we were strong contenders. As far as the team placing, we were 4th overall. Next year……..the Empty Vessels will strike fear in the hearts of other teams!!

"Should Always Observe Proper Decorum"
Chris Browett - Sempai

On October 14, 2006 three members (I and two others) of West Coast Goju-Kai attended and participated in the Annual Karate BC Open Championships in Vancouver, BC. We all did our personal bests and had a good time. As I watched the day's events unfold, something struck me as odd and sad; that decorum was very obviously missing. That is until John Lees Jr. lined up to compete. He bowed nicely, sat still and watched his fellow competitors. When his turn came, he entered the ring properly and bowed when he was supposed to. Although he didn't place in the top 3, he definitely would have won if a decorum award was offered. John Jr., you made us all proud! Keep up the good work.Sure, there were others that showed some decorum, but John Jr. stood out in his group.

I continued to watch with much interest in how the rest of the day went. Yes, there were others out there but not many. So I ask all of you out there in IKGA Canada, what do you think? Have you experienced any changes in the decorum at your own local tournaments? Should there be more emphasis on decorum at tournaments? Should it be awarded? Should it be scored and/or penalized?

West Coast Gojukai at the Zones Tournament
Donna Gardecki - Sensei

On November 19, 16 members of West Coast Gojukai competed at the Fraser Valley's Zone tryouts. When I and Sempai Chris arrived at 7:45 AM to help set up mats, I was happy to see a lot of the club members roll in shortly thereafter to help as well. After the mats were out and competitors checked in, we listened to O Canada and posed for a large Zone 3 group picture.

There were few errors in the draw thanks to Mrs. Susan Lees (and John Lees) who produced a sign-up form ahead of time for everyone and made sure the forms got to where they were supposed to go before the deadline. After moving John Sr. out of the under 7 for kumite and into the Master's division where he belonged, the little ones began their kata.

I volunteered for officiating and was unable to see all the competitors during their time on the mat. I did get reports from Sensei Carlos who helped out with coaching and organizing as well as Sempai Chris who was doing triple duty with first aid, coaching/helping, and competing. In the novice divison for 8-9 year-olds, our club put forward two competitors, Jaden Lucas and Nicholas Dawson. Jaden performed a solid, strong kata putting him 1st place giving him a spot on the Zone's team. Nicholas, a newcomer to competition showed good form, good decorum and a nice kata placing him 6th for that division. Well done boys! Mason Gardecki-Browett, also competing in his first Zones tournament, showed good focus during his kata placing him in 3rd for the intermediate 8-9 year olds. He also fought very well in kumite and placed 2nd giving him a spot on the team in both events. I understand that 8 year-old Madeleine Lees performed well and placed 2nd in both the intermediate kata and kumite divisions securing her spot on the team for the Provincials. Savannah Disanjh, competed in her first Zones and conscientiously following last minute instructions during her warm-up, kept her arms "in" and placed a solid 3rd in her division. Ryan Wearing, a veteran at his second Zones this year did a beautiful focused kata putting him in 1st place in his ring. Both Savannah and Ryan will join their dojo-mates at the Provincials in April next year. John Lees Jr. was part of a huge kata division (just like last year) of at least 13 athletes. He did a nice clean kata and placed strongly in a tie for 5th place - you're starting to scare them John! He showed good spirit in the kumite division and although I did not see his match, I am told he had some good exchanges - not enough to win a medal but enough to give him something to chew on until the next tournament.

For the adult contingent from West Coast Gojukai, we had almost all our competitors in the Master's divisions. Maybe we will need our own bus next year and wheelchair parking!! Mads Hansen showed good form in his intermediate men's division to take 1st place - see you at the Provincials, Mads? Sensei Carlos and Chris Browett will both be headed for Provincials in the Master's kata division with Sensei Carlos placing 1st and Chris placing 3rd. Sensei Carlos also advances in the men's black belt division where he took gold as a solo competitor (they are scared of you this year, Sensei!). I was able to quickly change out of my uniform and into my gi, perform a kata for the women's Master's black belt division, get gold for my solo performance and suit up again to officiate - all in the span of about 10 minutes - whew!! Donna Forsyth-Lucas bravely entered the women's novice Master's division and did a fine first performance to take 4th place and a spot on the Zone 3 team. Kris Nordgren, Greg Nutbrown, John Lees and Al Montgomery dominated the men's intermediate Master's division for kata and took 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively. They all go to provincials as Al Montgomery cleaned up in Master's intermediate kumite division against all his dojo-mates (and others) to secure his spot on the kumite team for Zone 3. Eating his dust (but making him work for it) were John Lees in 2nd, Kris Nordgren in 3rd and Greg Nutbrown in 5th place. Al, incidentally, is also part of the Zone's Kobudo team for his 2nd place in the weapons division for his Bo kata, Shushinokon-sho.

A big thank you to the set up/take down crew for the mats - Al, Mads, John, Chris, Kris and Donna F. Also to Midori, Carrie, Tony, Rogan, Kris, John, Susan for assisting with the scorekeeping/timekeeping. It was a big help to have you all there even for a short time. Thanks to Eric, Charlie, Mike and Mataya for their support (Mataya, I didn't think you still fit inside a changing room locker?). Thanks to Sensei Carlos for helping with coaching and keeping the kids on track. Lastly, thanks to Me & Ed's Pizza for the Godfather and the Meatlovers large that was devoured on the way home from the event.

Well done to you all - see you at the Zone's training on Sunday, January 21st (I think) at the first Zone's practice session for the team.