Dojo Tansei Arts Martiaux

Article by Nancy Ricard (Dec. 21, 2008)

On dec.13, all three of us passed for our 10th kyu, that is ; orange belt. Marie-Léo (5 years old), Jeanne (7 years old), and I Nancy (41 years old), started practicing karate in September 2008. Our expectations were many: satisfy a curiosity, keep in shape with something different, improve concentration and balance, and to develop reflexes for defence. More importantly, what joy to discover a new discipline with my children. One where we are all learning at the same time since the three of us have no experience, or knowledge in this discipline. Even though we are all quite active, we had many challenges in this new culture. The movements were unfamiliar, the physical effort challenging, and not mention the Japanese terms! The katas demanded all our concentration and maintaining our balance was not easy. We realized from the start that this was not going to be an easy road to travel. I asked myself: why add an exam, we already have many stresses at school and at work? And yet, with every karate training to prepare for the exam, we experienced moments of pure satisfaction, both physical and psycolgical. We, therefore persevered, and gave everything we had in order to perform well for our day of the exam.

I must also speak of the spirit of the dojo, inspired by Sensei Luciano, and by his partner, Sempai Marisa. Their passion for karate is overwhelming. We feel their sincere personal touch, as well as the values they want to transmit and that brings us to give our best efforts, even more than we thought we could give, and then to success.They find a way to find a balance between discipline, respect, encouragement, and self-confidence of every student. What pride for a child to receive congratulatins from their Sensei, and Sempai…they will speak of it for many days, forever imprinted in their memory. In fact, for the adult as well..! It is also a pleasure, and very enriching, for me to train with partners of all ages and at different levels of experience, and I am joyful of their success as well. Again, more pride to share!

When the time came for our 2 hour exam, we were ready. We knew our movements, and we were all motivated. We only had one goal in mind: we do not stop until the end, we will not give up! The girls were anxious, but excited. Throughout the exam, we were all aware of the seriousness of the event, the challenges to overcome, and at the same time, we felt well surrounded and supported by our partners and parents.

We also perceive the attentive eye of Sensei, both demanding yet compassionate . This again reflects the spirit of the dojo! We had to give 100% effort, we had to humbly present ourselves in front of everyone, we had to execute our katas alone, and fight to the best of our abilities. I found to answer to my question (why have an exam?). We experienced great pride and satisfaction knowing that we overcame many challenges, and are moving a little farther on that road we decided to take in September. This feeling of pride has stayed with the family ever since the exam, it brings us forward without hesitation and motivates us to continue putting in the effort, and to overcome the challenges As I watch my children, I see their attitude has changed, their posture has changed, they have more pride and confidence in themselves, and an openness to a new culture. Our motivations evolve toward a growing passion. Thank you for this new discovery.