Fall Classes begin Wednesday September 9th!
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
5:15-7pm in DuPont
Multipurpose Room
Conditioning begins as soon as you have a partner, class
formally starts at 5:20.
The club is actively recruiting beginners, and beginners are
welcome at any class.
News
The MIT Shotokan Karate Club participated in the Battle for
Boston Tournament on October 24th. The team fielded 11 excellent
students, recovering from a nearly decade long period of
difficulties with recruiting. (Link to Tech Article)
In the advanced division, Santolina Savannet (G), an assistant
captain and instructor, won first place in Advanced Individual Kata
18-22, as well as Grand Champion in Kata with her performance of
Kanku Sho ("To View the Sky Minor"), second place in Advanced
Individual Kumite, and second place in Advanced Team Kumite with
Piotr Fidkowski (G) and Michael Snella ('10). Brian Neltner (G), the
team captain and instructor, won first place in Advanced Individual
Kata 23-35 with Nijushiho ("24 steps"), second place in Weapons
Forms performing Shushinokon ("Shushi's Bo Kata"), and second place
in Advanced Team Kata with Santolina Savannet and Piotr Fidkowski
performing Empi ("Flying Swallow").
Piotr Fidkowski, also a club instructor, came in first place in
Men's Advanced Kumite 18-22, and second in the Grand Championship
for Kumite. In the Boston Battle competition, he and Sam Powers
('12) came in third place overall. Piotr also managed to just edge
out Brian Neltner for first place in Weapon's Kata performing
Shushinokon. Michael Snella on a team with Fernando Esteverena (a
substitution at the last minute for Santolina due to an injury),
came in first place in the Boston Battle competition. Michael's
team ended up beating the team led by Brian Neltner in advanced
team kata with Vazrik Chiloyan ('11) and Sam Powers performing a
strong and powerful Bassai Dai ("Storming the Castle") against
Brian's team performance of Empi ("Flying Swallow"). Michael also
won third place in Advanced Individual Kumite 18-22.
In the intermediate division, Vazrik Chiloyan's team, including
Yves Matton (G) and Sam Powers, won first place in Team
Kumite. Vazrik also won first place in Men's Kumite 18-22 and Men's
Kata 18-22 with his performance of Gankaku ("Crane on a Rock"), as
well as third place in Grand Champion Kumite, coming in just behind
Piotr Fidkowski from MIT. Sam Powers won first place in Women's
Intermediate Kumite 18-22 and third place in Kata 18-22, performing
Bassai Dai. Yves Matton placed second in Kata 18-22, performing
Tekki Shodan ("Iron Knight").
In the beginner division, Alexander Clayton ('13) and Emily
Rosser ('12) won second and third place respectively in Individual
Kata 18-22 performing Heian Nidan ("Peace and Safety Number Two"),
and a team of Nathan Brei ('11), Alexander Clayton, and Julian Lemus
('13) won second place in Team Kata performing Heian Nidan.
Congratulations to Piotr Fidkowski for promoting
to 1st Kyu Brown Belt, Vazrik Chiloyan
for promoting to Purple Belt, and Jason
Cohen for promoting to Yellow Belt with
Orange Stripe!
Congratulations to Brian Neltner for promoting to Nidan!
Congratulations to Piotr Fidkowski and Santolina Savannet for
earning their C-Rank Instructor Certification!
Congratulations to Santolina Savannet for promoting to
Shodan!
Club Information
Practice is held Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the DuPont Multipurpose Room (W31-225),
which you need to enter through the Center for Real Estate to get
to. Going through the main Gym entrance will not lead to the
Multipurpose Room.
People typically begin arriving at 5pm for conditioning
exercises with a partner, and we formally begin class at 5:20pm.
Note that practices are only open to MIT Students, Alumni, Faculty,
and Staff with valid Athletics Cards.
Upcoming Events:
Rossini Tournament - November 15
Club Dues are $30/(term or summer). This will include your
uniform and basic sparring gear. The promotion test is $20, and
tests are held once per semester.
Shotokan Karate is a Japanese style of martial art. It is a
"hard" martial art, meaning that force is typically met with force,
and there is a particular emphasis on coordination, speed, and
strength. Shotokan Karate is also considerably simpler than similar
martial arts in that it has a very limited number of basic blocks,
attacks, and kicks which are used.
As students progress, they are gradually exposed to more advanced
moves, including throws, pressure points, deflection, deception,
weapons, and neat-looking kicks. However, these advanced moves are
meant to be just that -- advanced moves. The majority of Shotokan
Karate is based solidly in the upper body, and training the reflexes
to deflect without thought and strike without pause.
Shotokan Karate is a very kata-heavy martial art compared to
most. Kata are sequences of movements developed over centuries to
distill the essence of karate practice into a sequence of moves that
can be practiced alone. They form a cornerstone of Shotokan
practice, and are practiced for meditation, conditioning, and body
awareness.
Our club is not focused heavily on competition, but we do compete
in a number of tournaments and perform quite well. Essentially,
competition is not the focus, but it is something that students have
the opportunity to participate in if they are interested.
Example Curriculum
Mondays: Basics, Speed, Stances, Katas
Wednesdays: Basics, Strength, Conditioning, and Throws
Fridays: Katas, Special Techniques, Meditation, and Sparring
The Shotokan Karate Club is a part of the North American Karate Do
Federation (NAKF) and the New England Collegiate Karate Conference
(NECKC). You can find out more information about Shotokan Karate in
the area at www.nakf.org
For more information, please email:
shotokan-karate-officers@mit.edu
to be added to the new email list!
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