In the ASU website, there is a link to a list of individuals who were recently promoted this past year (click on title above). Among them are our very own Sensei (yondan) as well as Danny, Doug K., Doug C., and yours truly (all shodan). And last week, Sensei presented to us our shodan certificates that came from Hombu Dojo in Japan (although Danny's certificate has yet to surface). Congratulations to Sensei on his promotion and congrats to my fellow comrades.
On a personal note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone I have trained with on the mat past and present. I very much appreciate the support and encouragement, the honest effort and positive energy in our practice together, and the exchange of ideas through taking ukemi from each other. Training with you has helped reveal and improve the gaps of my technique. I also want to give a special thanks to my sempai - Karen ("Zuihan"/Sempai), Doug ("Taisho"), Danny, and the late Ken "Phabava" Bender - for their guidance. And of course, many thanks to Sensei, who teaches the art of Aikido in its purest and authentic form.
I have always wanted to do martial arts since I was a little kid but somehow was not able to get around to it until just five years ago. Furthermore, I could not have imagined myself to be a black belt in anything, especially since I am certainly not the athletic type, I am prone to injury, and I had a history of asthma as a child. So this achievement is a dream come true for me.
Best of luck to those who are preparing for their upcoming tests later this month. To everyone in the dojo, I look forward in our continuing endeavor to discover the true essence of Budo. Domo arigato gozaimashita. Gassho.
-Andre ("Muketsu")
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