Hurricane IKE. No class Saturday morning, 09-13-08 due to high winds and evacuations associated with the Hurricane. Stay safe. Classes are scheduled to resume as normal, Monday, September 15, 2008. The Youth Tournament has been postponed from Saturday September 27 to Saturday November 1, 2008. Everyone try to make it to class next week. OSU, Sensei Scott

Hurricane Gustav Update. Today, Thursday, Sept. 4th we will reopen for Karate at the dojo. We had some minor damage to the glass framing and a little water incursion, but everything else seems to be fine. Here are some pictures of the dojo before and after the storm. Special thanks to Bobby Vincent, David Jeffreys and Steve Bellingham for the assist in boarding up and boarding down the dojo. I hope to see everyone at the dojo tonight.

SPECIAL NOTE AS OF FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2008. Please note that there will be no Karate classes on Saturday September 6, 2008 due to continuing clean up efforts. We had quite a small but spirited group last night (Thurday). Classes resume as normal on Monday, September 8, 2008. Thanks for all the kind notes and comments.

OSU, Sensei Scott

DAN RESULTS / 2008 CAMP. Last weekend, NIKI co-hosted our annual Lafayette Training Camp and we made a very strong showing at a very vigorous camp. Candis Durand and Chad Norris were among the participants and each had an outstanding camp. Both Candis and Chad tested for and were promoted to Nidan (2nd Dan). They also both participated in the team trials for the All South National teams and Candis made both the women's Kumite and Kata team and Chad was named an alternate for the men's Kumite team. Congratulations to both. Here are some shots of them in action at the team trials. More photos can be found by clicking here. Thanks to Brayon's mom, Shantell, for taking many of these pictures. Candis and Chad will participate individually as well at the JKA nationals in Tampa on October 11, 2008 along with NIKI’s other youth competitors Cody Sedlitsky and Chase Norris. This tournament serves as a team trial for the national team selection for the Funakoshi Cup held every three years in Tokyo (September, 2009). Lane Nevils (men’s Kumite / kata teams), Soon Yeoh (men’s Kumite / kata teams), and Holly Damico (women’s kumite team) from the Lafayette Karate Club (LKC) will also be participating in the tournament. I wish all the best of luck to our local competitors. Let’s all strive to challenge them in the next couple months so that they will give their strongest performances.

TEST RESULTS. I thought everyone did well and showed great spirit on the test. Please see your results below and the belts and certificates will be awarded next class.

Summer 2008. I am sorry that I have been unable to post more this summer. We had as our June Student of the Month Thierry Dardant. Our July Student of the Month was Kyle Jeffreys and our August Student of the month is his dad, David Jeffreys. Congratulations to all on a job well done. It is hard to train consistently during the summer and I appreciate everyone's efforts.

Our summer camp begins today, Friday August 8, 2008 at Heymann Park Gym, 1500 S. Orange Street, Lafayette, LA. You can find more details on it here.

Our kyu test is Sunday, August 10 at 11:15 a.m. at Heymann Park Gym, 1500 S. Orange Street, Lafayette, LA. I will try to promptly post the results of the exam on the web site for you and at the dojo.