THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE YOSHUKAN KARATE ASSOCIATION Spring 2013

ZANSHINSensei Rebecca Khoury Promoted to Shihan!

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Making Things Happen!One lesson I teach my management students at the Universityof Toronto is that ‘The best indicator of future performance ispast performance’. In other words, people that have a trackrecord of achievement in the past are more likely to have atrack record of performance in the future.

Martial arts is a perfect microcosm of this tenet. Studentsthat have learned to excel in the dojo are far more likely toexcel in their personal lives as well. Academics; sports; musicand business are all examples where our Yoshukan students

have applied themselves and demonstrated better-than-average achievement.Lessons learned in the dojo: discipline; respect; sensitivity to others;

perseverance and courage are all qualities that carry forward into personal lives.

KANCHO CORNER In this issue

Sensei RebeccaKhoury, 4th Dan, wasrecently promoted toShihan (MasterInstructor) in YoshukanKarate-do. Thepromotion was doneat the National KarateChampionships so thather Sempai, ShihanLouise Provencher andher executive fromKarate Canada couldalso attend thepromotion. Joining thecelebration were:Sensei Alex Waith,Member of Canada's

Technical Committee and the senior Wado Ryu teacher inCanada; Executive Director Olivier Pineau, Vice President ofKC, Sensei Craig Vokey, Sensei Betty Gormley, YKA teacherand competitor, Sempai Sarah Perez and Sempai Max

Krouguerski from Mississauga dojo.Shihan Khoury joined the dojo as a 14-year old. Over the

past 26 years she has applied herself to her training, heracademics and her career. She began competing as an orangebelt and eventually became a 5-time National Champion andrepresented Canada numerous times in internationalcompetition. She moved to Japan and lived there for 4 monthsfurthering her study of martial arts (and co-habitated for ashort time with Shihan Provencher and Sensei Gormley). Shejoined the Canadian military and served with distinction beforereturning to school and completing her MBA at ConcordiaUniversity in Montreal.

Shihan Khoury speaks three languages (English; French;Spanish) and has worked in both private industry (economicconsulting; fashion) and not-for-profit. As President of KarateCanada, she oversees a membership of 15,000 and hastravelled the globe representing Canadian Karate. Over thepast 15 years, Shihan has travelled and trained with numerousworld champions and globally recognized karate-do teachers.She has a perspective on karate-do honed by thousands of

3 Holiday Party Mississauga

4 AY Goju Tournament

5 Origines d’Okinawa-Te

6 Championnat Canadien

Easter Egg Tournament Mississauga

7 Japanese

8 New Yoshukan Dojo –

Karate Excellence

9 Japan Tour

10 Gadbois Dojo

ZANSHIN 2

When a student learns how to achieve in the face of adversity,their self-confidence grows and their belief that they can takeon larger tasks increases.

We have recently been reciting the SHOWA at class end:��

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Showa

Ware ware karate-do o shugyo suru mono wa

Tsuneni bushido seishin o wasurezu

Wa to nin o motte nashi

Soshite tsutomereba kanarazu tassu

Showa

We who study karate-do

Must never forget the spirit of the samurai

With peace, perseverance and hard work

We are sure to reach our goal

Our cover story this issue is about our new ShihanRebecca Khoury. Rebecca embodies our philosophy of'Building Life Champions’. Accomplished across many fronts,Shihan Khoury is an inspiration to our younger students and toher dojo-mates. Take a moment and read her life story andyou will see one more example of Yoshukan Showa!

Kancho CornerContinued from Page 1

Sensei Rebecca KhouryContinued from Page 1

encounters in over one hundred dojos.During this time, Shihan has continued to teach Yoshukan

karate-do at her home dojo, NDG, and contributed to ourassociation as an instructor and examiner. She has travelledthe path most of our senior teachers have taken from Chito-ryu to Yoshukai to Yoshukan and earned her place as one ofour most senior teachers.

Our association is small but our leaders are large. The YKAhas only promoted two of our teachers to Shihan, – LouiseProvencher – whose outstanding performance and dedicationare second to none and Rebecca Khoury – another example ofperseverance and excellence that is recognized the worldover. Let these two extraordinary karate-ka set the standardfor all others who aspire to follow in their footsteps.

ZANSHIN 3

Holiday Party Mississauga

ZANSHIN 4

Ainsley and Taegen with their medalsEvan, Adam and Taegen

AY Goju Tournament

ZANSHIN 5

Do : C’est la compréhension des deux éléments de KIMEcomposant le mode de vie. KIME c’est le point deconcentration derrière (passé) le point d’impact. La focalisetotale des énergies mentales & physiques pour porter latechnique à son extrême limite en SHIME, efficacité enpénétration, conclusif : Il y a deux types de KIME : 1) Brisantet rectiligne (percussion) dit Karaté; et 2) Enveloppant etcirculaire (préhension) dit Aiki : Le 1e est Dur et Directe, 2e est Souple et Circulaire.

Okinawa-Te

*Naha et Shuri, les deux villes ont fusionnés 1896, amenant un regroupementde styles Tode-Te, évolution du Tode-Jutsu : Naha Te vers ShoreiRyu /Goju-Ryu/WadoRyu etc.; Shuri-Te vers Shorin Ryu, et Shito Ryu. Tomari vu lanaissance de Mutsabayashi Shorin Ryu (1907-1997). La Fondation du YoseikanCHITO-Ryu en 1946 passa par Kenpo KaratéDö et devient le karate de toutesles Ryu : Zen Kihon Kenpo Karate Dö Fukyakai Kyushu. 1960 Zen Nihon, 1970Chito Ryu Féderation, 1984 à présent Int’l Chito Ryu Fed. Au Canada CCRA.

ShinGan : Les trois concepts dans un tout: Leurs intégrationest la manifestation de la maîtrise sur la voie ‘’Do’’ (réf. :Bhuddisme Taoiste, Shinto Japonais…et les racines Hindi dl’Inde).1-Shin : Le mentale, & l’esprit; foi, cœur, vérité, fidélité,conviction, pureté… Le ciel2-Gi : Ce qui vient de la technique (Ki-Ryoku)… La Terre3-Tai : Ce qui est apporter par les aspect corporels (Dosa)…l’Homme.

Il est accepté par plusieurs sources bien documentée,qu’un des préceptes au fondement du karaté a commencéavec l’enseignant Bodhidharma qui voyagea de l’Inde au payede la Dynastie Liang en Chine. Il offrait à l’empereur Wu sonenseignement du Buddhism.

Origines d’Okinawa-Te Bodhidharma y laissait 2 textes traitant sur la santé de laconscience (le mentale) et sur la santé de la musculature. Lesdeux textes pédagogiques sur la purification de ces piliers dela vie humaine se nommait ‘’SUTRA’’.

Il y a deux aspects des ‘’SUTRA’’ sur le conditionnementde l’humanisme par rapport à la méthode et la forcenécessaire pour modifier un moyen de changer de un, uneattitude personnelle (défie mentale) face à l’adversité parexemple. Deuxièmement, la modification musculaire qui setraduit sans doute par des moyens d’entrainer le corps pouracquérir des os, ligaments et tendons forts et souple. Le Yogaest un médium en ressources précieuse pour ce faire et estoriginaire des Sutra.

Ce sont des notions de base provenant des deux originauxécoles de Karaté d’Okinawa : Shorin Ryu et Shorei Ryu , quiont chacun leurs caractéristiques distinctifs.

Shorin Ryu , souple et circulaire, exprime le besoin del’apprentissage de notions en proprioception, ou l’applicationde Kozuchi, Tsukure ou interoception, et Kake ouexteroception. Ainsi se réalisera l’acquitté perceptuelle quel’on peut trouver dans la discipline mentale. Ceci se résumepar l’apprentissage de l’utilisation de la force de son adversairepour la retourner contre lui.

Tel qu’illustrer dans le tableau précédent, Shorei Ryu par satechnique d’origine dur et directe, commande nécessairementle conditionnement des articulations et de la musculature poury évoluer correctement dans le système physiquement trèsexigeant, originaire de cette école.

Te ou Tode , comme il nous a été instruit par O SenseiChitose (Ryusei), est la racine chinoise du Karaté Kempo(boxe chinoise Quan Fa) et ultérieurement devenu intrinsèqueau Chito Ryu qui englobe Shorin et Shoriei. La base de Tode(Te) se compose des concepts de Tai-Sabaki.

Je croix qu’il sera toujours intéressant de découvrir,redécouvrir, et d’appliquer tout ces aspects techniques desarts martiaux traditionnelles pour en identifier encore d’autres,et les vérifier en les appliquant en pratique dans la quotidienautant que dans le dojo, et de vivre ce cheminement qui nesaurais jamais avoir une fin et en évolution avec toutes lessituations qu’apporte la vie.

Kime Dur et directe Kime Souple et circulaire

*NAHA-TE SHURI-TE

Shorei Ryu Énergie Shorin Ryu Extension-amplitude

*TOMARI-TE (Fusion avec Tomari-té fin XIXsiècle) QuanFa.

ZANSHIN 6

Chaque athlète de karaté revient du ChampionnatCanadien avec une médaille! Depuis plusieurs années, nombreux karatékas de l’AcadémieSportive de Montréal représentent l’Équipe du Québec auChampionnat Canadien. Une fois de plus la semaine dernière(du 15 au 17 mars à Toronto), les athlètes de Gadbois ont sudéfendre les couleurs de l’équipe du Québec avec ardeur et brio.

Cette année nous avons incorporé des pratiques de judo avecSensei Christian Royer, Sensei Claude Bédard et SempaiNicolas York du club Judo Monde à Gadbois dans notre

Sur la photo : Stéphane, (Louise Provencher entraîneur del’équipe senior), Guy, Patrice et Sorin.

préparation pour ce tournoi national. Nous sommes fiers desrésultats obtenus par Patrice Boily-Martineau, Guy Viau,Marianne Boulé, Stéphane Piazo, et Sorin Alexandru. Noussommes reconnaissants envers Judo Monde et lesremercions sincèrement des leçons offertes.

Nommé athlète senior de l’année 2012, malheureusementSorin s’est blessé. Par contre Patrice Boily-Martineau s’estspécialement démarqué en mettant en pratique certainestechniques de balayages développées lors de nosentraînements avec Judo Monde et ainsi remportant quelquescombats avec plus de 8 points d’écarts.

Félicitations à tous et bon succès sur la scèneinternationale!

Easter Egg Tournament MississaugaStudents lined up to compete in multiple categories: speedpunch; power kick; roundhouse kick marathon; flexibilitychallenge; Sensei Says; and warrior pose. Plus of course, theEaster Egg hunt!

Flexibility challenge under the watchful eyes of Sempai Wolfe; Sempai Klambauer; Sempai Robertson

ZANSHIN 7

In preparation for this year’s trip to Japan, I thought it wouldbe interesting to find out a bit about the Japanese language,especially considering the majority of the people we meetthere will not know any English. Learning an entire language isextremely daunting, so to make the basics more interesting Iread a bit on the origin and nature of the language itself,which was quite different from what I was expecting.

Despite its proximity to North and South Korea and China,the Japanese language actually shares very few words orgrammatical structures with any of the dialects of themainland. In fact, the origins of Japanese are so mysteriousand unclear that one linguist, and the author of the book IsJapanese related to Korean, Tungusic, Mongolic andTurkic?, Martine Robeets, has said that no other language hashad experts claim that it originated from such a wide variety ofother languages, from Korean to various Polynesian dialects.Its writing system however is strongly influenced by Chinesecharacters, and is either written in the traditional vertical wayor from left to right as we read in English.

Another interesting feature of Japanese is the complexvocabulary, verb forms and grammatical structures it has toindicate varying degrees of respect and formality, however Ididn’t find this feature very surprising considering the stories Ihave heard from Kancho Robertson describing the incredibleformality and politeness of Japanese society. For example, thelanguage has at least five different forms of the word “I”,which can variously be used depending on the context orstatus of the speaker. As well, there is a wide variety of

honorifics which may be used, including the prefix “o”, whichadds reverence to a noun, for example when a very seniorteacher is referred to as an “o-sensei”.

While I know I will not be able to speak conversationalJapanese at the time of our trip, I think it might be useful aswell as fun for all of us who are planning to go to learn somemore interesting features as well as some vocabulary of thelanguage in preparation. That way, if we ever recognize a fewwords, structures or phrases when hearing the Japanesearound us, we may feel rewarded in understanding at leastsome parts of what is being said!

Japanese by Cole Jackes

Zen Shin Kotai Bunkai

ZANSHIN 8

For many years now I have wanted to start a dojo, to sharemy passion for karate and teaching others. On January 8th Istarted a dojo at Villa Maria High School in Montreal. The dojois for women and girls 12 years and up. We have two full timestudents and several of my friends come from time to time toencourage and support me :) It is a true labor of love!

We also have several Yoshukan Instructors who lend ahand by teaching and attending classes. I cannot thank thefollowing people enough for their time and words ofencouragement: Matthaeus Bauernberger, Maryève Gouron,Dave Francis, Sylvie Mercier, Miki Nishida, Simon NguyenMercier, Sensei Rob Kalinowicz and Shihan LouiseProvencher.

Having different instructors gives my students a diversityof experiences and has allowed me to have some greatsessions one on one with the instructors, especially inFebruary when the weather was not so great, and studentschose to stay home!

As many of you know I am Nidan in Kanreikai Karate, sothe decision to open a dojo under the Yoshukan banner was atough one. However I did so with the support of my Sensei,Denis Cordeiro, to whom I owe my start in and my passion forkarate. Many things came into play in making my decision butthe main reason definitely lies in the active support I knew Iwould receive from the Yoshukan community. While SenseiDenis supports me in spirit, I live too far from his Dojo now tocount on his help and that of the Kanreikei Senpais.

We have already done a few clinics at Villa Maria and areplanning several other promotional activities to help build thedojo. You can follow our progress on our Facebook page.

All Yoshukan members are welcome to visit and take aclass at any time. Hope to see you soon!

OSU!Senpai Sandra

New Yoshukan Dojo – Karate Excellence

ZANSHIN 9

JAPAN TOURSummer, 2013

Contact Kancho at:

iaito@rogers.com or (905)

601-2880 for more details!

ZANSHIN 10

Yoshukan DVDs – White Belt to 5th DanAll Kata; Bunkai; Kumite; Ukemi; Kobudo and Goshin Jutsudemonstrated by Kancho Robertson from beginner to 5th Degree Black Belt in the Yoshukan System.

$29.95 each or both for $49.95. Please add $15 forshipping & handling charges. Payments can be madeby credit card or check at the Mississauga dojo.

ZANSHIN2355 Royal Windsor Drive, Unit 9Mississauga, ON L5J 4S8Phone: 905.919.1919Email: iaito@rogers.comWebsite: www.yoshukankarate.com

Gadbois DojoBy Sempai Raluca Stanescu

Amina Mecheri (blue belt), recently participated at “Jeux duQuebec”, and won two silver medals, in kata and in kumite14-15yr (blue, brown, black) category. This is the largestprovincial competition that is held every two years in allathletic disciplines. After 4 years, karate was back in thisevent. Amina represented Montreal for which she qualified ina preliminary competition.

Congratulations also to her sister Milad, who participatedat “Jeux du Quebec” in 2009, and was the girl team'sassistant for Montreal region.