This weekend marks Dahn Bo Nim Robert Tremblay's 2nd grading in front of the UKMAA panel, which makes him eligible for his First Degree Black Belt. Rob has been with us for many years and his hard work and dedication could pay off in less than 48 hours. Even though he doesn't need it, Valley KMAC wishes Robert good luck!

Robert is not the only one from the Valley who will be grading, though. Michel LeBlanc and Mathieu Langlois will be undertaking their first term grading. To obtain a Black Belt under the UKMAA's guidance, a student is required to test twice, 6 months apart. During the 2nd grading, the candidate must show great improvement since their last appearance at a Black Belt grading. Best of luck to them as well!

Over the summer, instructors Alexandre and Martin St-Amant competed at the International Hapkido Canadian Open in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. Together they brought home 3 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 2 bronze medals. The competition was fierce and featured events such as Open Hand forms, Weapon forms, Self Defense, Long Diving Roll, High Diving Roll and more.

Alexandre placed 1st in Long Roll and High Roll, with a distance of 15 feet and 6' 1", respectively. Together with his partner and brother, Martin, they achieved a 3rd place in Self Defense.

Martin also received 1st place in Long roll, 2nd in Long Roll and Open Hand forms.

Congratulations to the both of them and special thanks to Master Peter Cornachio for hosting the 2011 International Hapkido Open.

Wow. What an amazing weekend. It is difficult to find somewhere to start when there is so much to talk about!

This weekend brought place to the World Dahn Moo Do Championships, held in Sault Ste Marie by Master John Gencarelli. The event was a great success and allowed competitors from Northern Ontario to qualify for the WKC National Team Tryouts who will be held during the long weekend of May. The KMAC crew did an outstanding job, both in participation and etiquette.

Valley KMAC's very own Martin St-Amant undertook his 2nd black belt grading on May 8th and has officially been promoted to the rank of 1st degree black belt under the rules and regulations set forth by the UKMAA. Martin did an outstanding job and displayed all the necessary attributes to receive his black belt. There was about a dozen candidates testing for their next rank, notably Albert Rovinelli who received his 3rd degree black belt. Congratulations to everyone who graded over the weekend.

Below are a few pictures of the grading. Pictures from the tournament and KMAC results will also be posted soon. A KMAC Promotional Video will also be released sometime this week.

On behalf of KMAC Valley East, I would like to thank Oriental Arts Academy for hosting another great tournament. Everyone had a great time and the tournament went well, as always. Congratulations to all the competitors who came and had fun.

A group picture will be taken on Wednesday May 3rd at 6:45pm at the Sudbury location. Everyone who participated at the tournament is welcomed. Please bring your trophies if you earned any. Thanks, and see you there!

Saturday, May 7th, the KMAC crew will be participating at the KMAC World Dahn Moo Do Championships. This tournament allows competitors to qualify for the WKC Nationals. Any top 3 positions at the World Dahn Moo Do Champinships give the ranking competitor the opportunity to compete for a spot on the Canadian National Team. Every member of the National Team is invited to participate in the 2011 WKC World Championships, held in Spain.

The next day, Dahn Bo Nim Martin St-Amant and Robert Tremblay will be attending the UKMAA Black Belt Grading for the 2nd term, and first term gradings respectively. I invite everyone to wish them luck.

The next 2 weekends will be busy ones for the KMAC. On Saturday April 30th, we will be competing at the 26th annual Mid Canada Karate Championships, held by Carlo Tonon and Don Gauthier. Then, the following weekend brings us to Master John Gencarelli's World Dahn Moo Do Championships, held in Sault Ste Marie on Saturday, May 7th. For more information on these tournaments, I have posted the flyers below.

On Sunday, May 8th, the Black Belt Grading will also be held in Sault Ste Marie. For more information on this event, please contact your instructors. Best of luck to all the Dahn Bo Nims!

For more information on the Mid Canada tournament, please visit: http://www.sportlink.ca/images/stories/sportgroupnewsletter/mckc%20newsletter%202011_1.pdf

The Valley KMAC would like to wish you and your families a Happy Easter! Enjoy spending time with your family, hunting & eating chocolate eggs and all other activities you might partake in on this Easter Sunday. We would like to remind you that classes are still happening on Monday April 25th, see you there!

On that note, here are a few pictures from the NCBC aftermath, just in time to get you excited for the April 30th tournament.

We would like to congratulate everyone who graded on Monday, March 28th at Sa Bu Nim Yvon Carriere's dojang in Dowling. The event was, as always, a great success! The kids and adults performed in front of Master Charles Coutu and a panel of black belts and were awarded their next rank. Everyone did great and had fun demonstrating their knowledge for parents and teachers! Great job everyone ... and keep on practicing!

As for the competitors out there, remember that the Mid-Canada Karate Championships will be hosted at Cambrian College on Saturday April 30, 2011. For information, you can reach Carlo Tonon or Don Gauthier at thedojo "at" persona.ca. Join us for this event's 26th year. See you there!

I would like to thank everyone that came out to support our Great Event. Thanks to all the competitors, Black Belts, students, volunteers and of course the parents for making this year's competition one of the best! We hope to see all of you next year! A special thank you to Shihan Marceau, the recipient of our Best Supporting Club Award. Kam-sa-ham-ni-da

First and foremost, we would like to thank everyone who volunteered and helped set up and tear down the event. The Nickel Capital Budo Challenge was a great success thanks to all of the participants, parents, judges and volunteers. Once again, we had a great turn out this year, and hopefully we will see you guys again next year! The day went by very quickly, with competitors arriving as early as 8 O'clock to register! There were smiles all around, topped off with no injuries. Once again the KMAC crew has made us proud, congratulations to everyone who participated! Below is a table of the Valley KMAC crew results ... See you in April ;)

WELCOME! To the 13th annual Nickel Capital Budo Challenge.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continuing support. Best of luck to all competitors in this year's competition!

All 1st place winners compete for grand champ award:

10 GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS
Adult Coloured Belt Forms
Ginzo Coloured Belt Forms
Women Black Belt Forms
Men Black Belt Forms
Ginzo Black Belt Forms
Adult Black Belt Sparring
Junior Black Belt Forms
Junior Black Belt Sparring
Junior (11 & under) Coloured Belt Forms
Junior (12 to 16 yrs) Coloured Belt Forms

TOURNAMENT
ENTRY FEE
$ 40.00 for One or Two events
$ 5.00 for each additional event
$ 5.00 for spectators
Children under 6 yrs of age with
their parents get in FREE

BLACK BELT MEETING: 9:30AM REGISTRATION: 8:30AM TO 10:00AM
ELIMINATION: 10:00AM

For more information, please visit the Facebook page for the event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105143622895656

Great job to the students who graded tonight! We were pleasantly surprised and we look forward to working with you guys again next session! We would also like to extend our congratulations to our newly promoted junior red belt, Luc Perras!

Remember to keep practicing during the holiday season. If we do not get to see you guys again before the break, have a safe and pleasant holiday! See you in the new year ;)

We would like to congratulate everyone who attended the Little Dragons Grading on November the 29th for their promotion. As lead instructor Martin St-Amant performed demonstrations and exercises with the class, Master Charles Coutu watched and graded 16 kids under the age of 7 years old. Thank you for the parents, grandparents and friends for coming out to watch! See you in the New Year!

This Saturday, November the 27th of 2010, our very own Dahn Boh Nim Martin St-Amant undertook his first black belt grading. For a practitioner of Han Moo Do to receive his black belt in Kuk Sool-Hapkido, it is necessary to pass two examinations. The black belt examinations are held twice a year throughout Northern Ontario. I would like to thank everyone who came out and volunteered themselves as partners. The grading ran for nearly three and a half hours and was a definite success. We are all very excited for the next grading. Congratulations to all who were promoted!