December
23, 2000
Students
and Families
RyuBuKan
Dojo
Dear Friends and
Students,
I
am writing first to thank you for all of your support, particularly during these
past months. When it seemed that
the world had stopped turning you were there to help us through another day.
On behalf of my entire family, and especially Junko, Julia, Christina and
me, please accept our sincere thanks for all you do for us.
This
letter is also intended to inform you that classes at the RyuBuKan Dojo will
begin in 2001 with the addition of a new black belt instructor, Julia Ai
Bernardy. Julia earned her
first-degree ranking (Shodan in Japanese) in a test conducted on October
29, 2000. Her true test, however,
came in the manner she prepared for this challenge.
To give you a sense of what I mean you must know that she not only
significantly increased her training time and intensity in the weeks leading up
the test, but also took charge of teaching weekly classes in our dojo while I
was focused on Christina’s personal challenge.
Judging the test were over fifteen senior instructors in various martial
arts disciplines, making it a memorable but difficult experience to undergo.
Julia also did her part to help throughout Machi’s illness and was by
her side with Junko and I when she passed on November 11.
We are all extremely proud and grateful for how she conducted herself.
Also successfully achieving rank advancement at this test was Nathan Dunn
who received 3rd degree brown belt (San Kyu), the first of
three levels on this ranking. In a
special ceremony Christina Machiko was promoted to Shodan by the many
instructors present who know her and agreed that she was deserving of this
honor. Please join me in
congratulating all of these students for their dedication and effort.
Classes
at the RyuBuKan Dojo will commence on Saturday, January 13, 2001 and are
scheduled every Wednesday evening from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM and Saturday mornings
from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Each
month will have a different focus depending on rank and experience levels.
A few of the upcoming highlights include revisions to our Student
Handbook that add aspects of physical conditioning, progress tracking, safety
awareness and more to our training curriculum.
Our Internet presence has expanded and developing into a useful knowledge
base. The network we have of highly
skilled and open-minded teachers from diverse martial disciplines has also
grown, and we will be invited to attend various seminars throughout the year
that should expand our understanding and appreciation of other arts.
All of these changes and more to follow are designed to provide an
effective and satisfying learning experience.
I look forward to hearing from each of you on your training goals for
this year and seeing you in the dojo again soon.
We
wish you all a joyous Holiday season, and all the blessings of a healthy and
happy New Year.
Sincerely,
The
Bernardy Family
Pedro, Junko, Julia Ai, Christina Machiko