For those keeping track, our last newsletter was published in August 2012, ten years ago.
Ah, how innocent we were then! The pandemic was but a distant cloud, a young Elvis danced the Jailhouse Rock, and Dee Sensei was speaking to an eager and impressionable webmaster, that cryogenic sleep wasn't so bad, and if Amazon sold it, it must be safe, and besides, it would help with my ikkyo.
Ten years, frozen. TEN YEARS.
So here I am, in a brand new world, unfrozen, and (yes, finally) ready to write.
Let's see where this leads, shall we?
Our 30th Anniversary
I'm just as surprised as you. Apparently, 2022 was the thirtieth anniversary of our dojo. Don't believe me? Go ahead and click on our handy (and royalty free) dojo timeline, and see for yourself.
I do think, however, that this deserves more than a passing mention in our (admittedly posh) newsletter. So I'll throw this out to the dojo. How should we celebrate this milestone? Send me all your ideas, hopes, and dreams.
New Students
Honestly, I've no idea where to begin. We've had so many new students, it would feel unfair to mention some to the exclusion of others.
Oh well. No one ever accused me of fairness. Here are our recent enrollees.
In the adult class, please welcome Nick, Svetlana, Sebastian, Carlos, Amber, Clinton, Jacob, Anne, John, Tony, Jeet, Joshua, and Jill.
And in the kids class...dear Lord. I'd type out everyone but Sensei charges me ten cents a word. I'll save this for a future newsletter.
Winter Camp at Florida Aikikai
From what I have been told, this was an amazing seminar. (Your dedicated webmaster would have attended but for the whole cryogenic thing. Also his recent eye surgery.)
Anyway, our intrepid reporters managed to snap a few photos. Enjoy!
Dojo Improvements
Thank you to Ramon, Amber, and Clinton, (and of course to Dee for spearheading the project), for their efforts to solve the Case of the Seriously Sloping Mat™.
(Actually the mat doesn't slope THAT much. I've just been watching too much Perry Mason.)
And, because this is how we apparently are spending our Christmas vacation, Dee and I are fixing the nafudakake, or rank board, to add all our new students. If you notice any slight errors, please take your concerns straight away to Grady Lane Sensei. I'm sure he'd love to hear it.
Rank Promotions
Congratulations to Ramon for his promotion to godan, and to Jerry for his promotion to yondan. Congratulations are also in order to Harry for his promotion to rokudan, and to Dee and Buck for their promotions to godan and sandan.
In the adult class, our hearty congratulations to Sergey and Buu for their promotions to 1st kyu. Our (also hearty!) congratulations to Nick and Coleman for their promotions to 4th kyu, to Greg for his promotion to 5th kyu, and to Sebastian, Carlos, Manuel, Amber, and Clinton for their well-deserved promotions to 6th kyu. Huzzah!
