International Karate Association
&
College of the Martial Arts
Fairbanks, Alaska
TOURNAMENT
Northern Kubota Cup Championship
Saturday, November 9, 2019
West Valley High School Kubota Cup Championship Tournament will have competitors from across Alaska, the United States, and beyond. Stop by on November 9 to enjoy the action and support competitors!
The 58th Kubota Cup Championship Tournament, hosted by the International Karate Association, will take place on Saturday, November 9, 2019. As always, this is an OPEN tournament meaning all martial art schools and styles are welcome to participate. We have been privileged in the past and seen wonderful support from other local schools in the greater Fairbanks area and have even seen repeating contributors from Anchorage, Juneau, Wasilla and beyond. We hope to have another great turnout, and most of all we hope everyone enjoys themselves and has a fun and exciting learning experience.
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Early registration is always encouraged. Participants can mail-in their registration forms and fees or drop them off at the dojo at 1140 Downwind Dr. This will limit the time spent signing in on the day of the tournament. For those of you who wish to arrive early, we will be opening the doors at 8:00 AM. The black belt meeting will take place around 9:00 AM -- that location will be provided at a later time. We hope to cover all tournament rules and regulations by 10:00 AM. With enough aid and assistance from other high ranking officials we are able to run 6 rings at the same time. This will allow the tournament to run as smooth as possible. All events will be completed by 3:00 PM.
REMEMBERING SHIHAN TOM SERRANO
JUNE 2, 2016
"The 70’s were a time where karate masters would not let just anyone in off the street," especially one who had already been training and was currently a body builder, like Hanshi, at the time. You had to pay your dues with blood and sweat. Hanshi Scott first met Shihan Tom Serrano in Pasadena, California in 1970. Hanshi talks about how Serrano was kind and quick-witted—“he may have been a big guy, but he was fast!” Tom noticed the skill level and ability of a, then 22 year old Charles Scott, and after 4 years of training with him finally introduced him to Soke Kubota. It was the kindness and keen intellect of Tom Serrano that we wear an IKA patch on our uniforms. Hanshi has been training with Soke Kubota since this first introduction in the mid 70’s and this was all due to Shihan Serrano. Serrano ran a dojo in Pasadena for a number of years and would travel occasionally to visit Hanshi here in Fairbanks, Alaska. On one occasion he visited in early 2000 and taught a week long seminar for Kobudo, Iaido and deep tissue massage. At this time students learned the fundamentals of Bo, Sai and Tonfa in addition to testing for ranks in Iaido.
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Shihan Tom had a very loving and caring heart. He was always one to help encourage young students with kind words or a smile. Shihan Tom always had a presence that seemed “larger-than-life”. He was a man of such great stature and immense presence yet he could move effortlessly across the floor like a viper. Shihan Serrano taught so many students in his life and passed on his knowledge of his chosen arts willingly.
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Shihan passed away suddenly on June 1, 2016. He began his martial arts training at the age of 13 and at the time of his death was a rokudan (6th dan) with Soke at the International Karate Association.
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He was a warrior that we will never forget. Thank you for the lessons that you have passed on Shihan Serrano, may you rest in peace.
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IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUE TO SHIHAN SERRANO'S MEMORIAL SERVICE
The following link is to an interview Shihan Tom Serrano participated in with Martial Force Magazine in 2003. It holds a full biography of the man who introduced Hanshi Scott to Soke kubota. Osu!
HOJUTSU WEEKEND SEMINAR
MAY 22, 2016
Twenty students joined Soke Jeff Hall in the dojo and on the firing range this past weekend. Training started on Friday night in the dojo working hand-to-hand drills, weapon retention, and kata. Saturday and Sunday were spent at the Police Academy Range shoot for over 8 hours each day. Students learned the basics of pistol work, perfecting the presentation of drawing a handgun in addition to trigger control, sight alignment and shooting accurately. Drilling these techniques allowed students to graduate to timed drills the last day of the seminar. Soke Hall lead the group shooting through the long and the short courses on Sunday ultimately testing all of the skills learned over the weekend. Students were promoted at the dojo on Sunday night after another long 8 hour day of shooting had finally concluded.
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Soke Hall was very excited that so many of Hanshi Scott’s students had chosen to participate in this clinic. Soke was able to introduce a number of new shooters to his art and presented 17 students with new ranks during his visit.
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Additionally, Sensei Craig and Sensei Ace will be teaching classes at the dojo on a rotating schedule this summer that will be held on Sundays in order for everyone to continue their training and for those who may be interested in beginning their journey in this new art.
PROMOTIONS OF RANK:
ORANGE BELT -8TH KYU
PURPLE BELT -6TH KYU
BLUE BELT -7TH KYU
GREEN BELT -5TH KYU
BROWN BELT -3RD KYU
BROWN BELT -1ST KYU
Bill Hedman
Loren Borane
Brittney Smart
Tammy Swarthout
Chester Sniegowski
Shihan Delphin Labrador
Richard
Jackie Cheek
Anne Weaver
Bo Weaver
Artem Zhdanov
Skyler Borane
Mike Ables
Kendra Harter
Kaari Wesh
Renshi Dennis Swarthout
COLOR BELT TESTING
MAY 19, 2016
There was some fantastic energy on Thursday night during the adult+kids Kyu testing at the dojo. Hanshi was very pleased with how everyone did. He pushed you a little farther and worked you a little harder. Overall comments for the kids were to stay focused. Classes can be long and very tiring to young students who are expected to focus in order to do their best. So many of our young karate-ka are learning this, so keep up the good work. Your efforts will be rewarded in time. Focus will improve all other aspects of your karate abilities like, form, technique and speed. Everyone testing had wonderful commitment and energy. We are a spirited bunch and it is amazing watching each of you find and use your spirit! Congratulations to all!!
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If you were unable to make it to Thursdays testing Hanshi has placed your name on a list to be reviewed at a date in the near future. Stay sharp because you may never know when he will be looking at you!
SENSEI BUCK MOVES TO TEXAS
April 11, 2016
Monday April 11th was Sensei Buck’s last class. He and his family will be relocating to Texas for work reasons. Buck has been a part of our school for the past 5 years and was a student of Hanshi Scott’s at Lathrop High School in the 80’s. Buck was recently awarded his Shodan in February of 2016 after years of commitment. Buck is known for his intensity and has shown remarkable improvement over the years. It was not long ago that he would be seen frustrated in class and could be heard growling at himself in aggravation. Today, Buck still growls in class but not because he is aggravated but because he is relaxed and having fun. Buck has a very intimidating presence for those who do not know him, but for those of us who have been fortunate enough to train alongside him know that there is a big toothy grin behind that growl.
Buck, you are an exemplary student who has accomplished so much in your martial art career. Not only do you lead by example by pushing yourself physically but you are an inspiration for others because you have also conditioned your mind.
Buck you will be missed greatly and we will all look forward to seeing you in the future.
Until we meet again! OSU!
TESTING RESULTS
February 8, 2016
Our newest black belt members!!
Left to right: Hanshi Scott, Ella Adkinson, Kendra Harter, Buck Guffey, Renshi Swarthout.
Congratulations to all those who tested this last Saturday! This test was long overdue and there has been some great improvement from the young kids all the way up to the senior adults. The test was direct and to the point. Often Hanshi will begin looking at those preparing to test weeks before the actual test.
A very special congratulations to those who were promoted to Shodan. Kendra Harter, 23, and Buck Guffey, 45, have been training for over 3.5 years often attending 4 classes a week. In addition, Ella Adkinson, 15, was promoted to Shodan-Ho. She has been training for a number of years and will sadly be leaving the Fairbanks area and moving to Juneau, AK later this summer.
Uphold tradition -attend the next scheduled practise after your test!!
Kyu and Dan Testing
Scheduled for February
Color belt (Kyu) and Black belt (Dan) testing will take place the first Saturday of February. This will be the first test the dojo has held since June of 2015. Our school is very unique in that we typically keep students for long periods of time, fostering them from white belt all the way through Shodan and more advanced black belt ranks. This causes us to become rather Black Belt heavy in classes, meaning there are more black belt ranks than there are colored belts. This February more than a dozen students will look for promotion at kyu ranks and a select few will be testing for Shodan. It will be up to Hanshi, as testing time nears, if he will seek to promote other higher ranking black belts or remove "probationary status" on other young black belts.
Kids testing will take place during normal class time. Please ensure your child arrives rested and early before class begins. Class will typically run longer than usual as awarding belts and certificates can take a while. Directly after kids class the adult’s class will take the floor. Kung Fu students who are scheduled to test will also be expected to participate in the adult karate class.
The previous Black Belt test in June last over 5 hours. Please make sure you are rested and ready for a potentially long and strenuous class period.
Kids Karate 9:30am
Adult Karate (+Kung Fu) 10:30am
SLIDE SHOW FROM SOKE KUBOTA CLASSES AND TOURNAMENT 2015
ALL-STAR TOURNAMENT
OCTOBER 5, 2015
IKA ALASKA had 13 members from the dojo fly down and train at head quarters with Soke Kubota in Glendale, California. Soke recently turned 81 years old this past September and this year was the 51st All Star Tournament. Competitors from all over the world came to compete, most notably: Poland, Italy, India, Egypt, Alaska and a number from throughout the continental United States.
IKA Alaska performed well bringing home nearly a dozen medals. What is more important are the valuable lessons learned while training with some of the phenominal instructors based out of IKA HQ.
Four of Hanshi Scott's students were privlaged to test with Soke. Skyler Borane was promoted to Nidan, While Sensei Bo, Anne and Kaari were promoted to Sandan in Gosoku Ryu. This is separate from the testing that we do at our local dojo with Hanshi in Shudokan. These students now hold ranks in two different styles of traditional karate.
Here are the results for our representatives that participated in Soke's 51st Annual All Star Tournament, October 2015.
Hannah Weaver-
Intermediate Kids 7-8 yo
Bronze Kata and Bronze Kumite
Sempai Emily Bellant-
Advanced Kids 9-7 yo
Bronze Kata and Silver Kumite
Sempai Ella Atkinson-
Advanced Kids 15-17
Silver Kumite
Sensei Skyler Borane-
Black belt Girls 15-17
Gold Kata
Inter/Advanced Weapons Kata (over14)
Silver Kata
Sempai Kendra Harter-
Advanced Women's (over 18)
Gold Kata and Gold Kumite
Sensei Kaari Wesh-
Black belt Women's (over 18)
Silver Kata and Gold Kumite
Honorable mentions for Sensei Bo and Sensei Bill Bellant. The Men's Kata and Sparring Divisions are always very large, this year totally over 16 participants in each event! Both guys did very well and should be pleased with how they performed.
Congratulations to all who participated in this year's 51st Annual All Star Tournament!!
TO SEE MORE VISIT NEWS&EVENTS!
​SHODAN PROMOTIONS!
JUNE 6, 2015
Congratulations to those who were promoted to Shodan this month!
Bill Bellant
Emily Bellant [Shodan Ho]
Matt Irinaga
Paula Earp
Chester
The following folks were promoted to I-kyu
Buck Guffey
Kendra Harter
Cooper Irinaga
WE TRAIN,
WE SWEAT,
WE LEARN.
UAF WOMEN'S SAFETY SEMINAR
SEPTEMBER 20, 2015
Sensei Jean and Hanshi Scott lead a safety seminar to a group of young women at UAF Student Rec Center on Sunday. The seminar focused on staying safe and being aware of your surroundings while out with friends or out at parties. Jean stressed the importance of reporting domestic violence while Hanshi Scott led the application segment of the seminar. Simple and effective moves were taught in a one-on-one environment. The students were paired with IKA members to help better test their abilities and ensure they were successfully executing each technique.
Students learned about vital points on the body and how to effectively use hands, elbow, knees etc to free themselves from an attacker. A big thanks to the IKA women who were able to stop by and help with this seminar. We received a number of wonderful reviews from the UAF students.
Hanshi practices with a UAF student during a takedown technique with the victem originating on the floor and an attacker coming from a standing aggressor.
Donations for Wendy's Family
June 27, 2015
Sensei Paula is taking donations for those who wish to show a little support for Chester and Wendy's family that will be visiting for Sensei Wendy's memorial service this coming month. Cash donations will be put on a visa card for the family to use for groceries and meals. Sensei Wendy leaves behind 7 children and 8 grandchildren. Please help anyway you can!
UPDATE: NEARLY $800 WAS RAISED TO HELP SENSEI CHESTER AND HIS FAMILY DURING THIS EMOTIONAL TIME. WE THANK ALL OF YOU WHO CONTRIBUTED. PLEASE KEEP THE FAMILY IN YOUR HEARTS. OSU!
TOP: Sensei Wendy's Budo family crest.
BOTTOM: A carefully knotted Hakima skirt for Iaido