Shotokan Karate in the Pacific Northwest
Oregon and Washington

We train in JKA Style Shotokan Karate following the guidelines of Sensei Hidetaka Nishiyama, the head of our organization. Master Nishiyama is a direct student of Sensei Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate and founder of our style.

 

New Members

Need to fill out a liability wavier form (available at the dojo) for the fitness center and pay a prorated fee to cover annual dues. (full annual fee is $60.00)

Continuing Members

The regular Intel Karate Club dues are $60 per year. This fee is per calendar year and is not prorated. The primary reason we have started to charge this small amount (most clubs charge $50 per month!) is because we are now officially registered as an AAKF (American Amateur Karate Federation) and JKA (Japan Karate Federation) dojo and there is a yearly cost associated with doing this (but there are also many benefits). Also, the fees enable us to expand our library, including getting some videos, and to purchase training equipment.. The bottom line is that the fees are only being collected to pay for administrative costs; our instructors don't get paid.

Also, if you decide to train regularly, we ask that you wear a Gi (uniform). If you don't already have a Gi laying around, they are available at various martial arts supply places for around $50. You can also choose to buy a higher quality Gi from Arun Raghunath (please see his contact information below). You Further, if you choose to take belt exams (optional), you must join the American Amateur Karate Federation ($25/year) and pay a fee for the exam ($35).

Club Officers
  • Mike Zaslavsky: registration officer for the dojo (AAKF, test, dues)
  • Arun Raghunath:  purchasing/librarian officer for the dojo (orders uniforms, equipment for dojo, etc.. and maintains Karate library)
  • Yuriy Shusterman: financial officer for the dojo (manages checking account and distribution of funds)
  • Lynn Zhang: web officer for the dojo (manages web site as required)
  • Gyuszi Suto: Dojo Director  (founder and chief instructor for club)
  • Ritch Rice: Instructor

Dojo Etiquettes
  • When entering/exiting dojo, bow
  • When bowing to a person (sensei (teacher) or otagani (partner)) say "Os" means something like I'm here to serve you
  • Address the teacher as "sensei" in the dojo
  • Highest ranked student is called sempai
  • At start/end of class, sempai calls:
  •   seza - sit
  •   mokuso - meditate
  •   mokuso yame - stop meditation
  •   shomen-i rei - bow to front (silent bow)
  •   sensei-ni rei - bow to teacher, say Os
  • If you come in late, do the mokuso on your own, then stand up, do warm-up on your own and wait for the sensei to invite you in.
  • If you need to leave early, bow out. Do mokuso on your own.
  • Clip your toenails, fingernails, they're weapons of mass destruction
  • Don't speak during classes, unless instructed to do so, or when sensei solicits questions/comments. (ex. It's not nice to see students argue with each other or "teach" each other. That's the sensei's job. When you are instructed to assist a partner and give him feedback, then it's OK)
  • Avoid hurting yourself and your colleagues! If a technique is too difficult or you have an injury, then don't do it, or just do it partially. e.g. you have a bruise on your fist, then do the pushups on your palm. Your elbow is hurting, then don’t do the pushup at all, maybe just hold the pushup position to strengthen your core.
  • Karate can give you tremendous power and efficiency. After training for a few years you can really hurt somebody. Remember that this is a self-defense martial art and always always try to avoid any kind of physical conflict, unless you or your family members are in immediate danger. Oregon laws are quite strict and you may end up on a losing end of a lawsuit even if you're the "good guy".

Training Format and Uniform

The traditional training uniform is a Gi, which is a traditional white, all-cotton uniform and a belt. However please feel free to train in ordinary gym clothes. Classes begin with a brief meditation period (Seiza) and warm-up period with conditioning exercises and stretching.  This is followed by various drills in stances, blocking, kicking, punching, controlled sparring, and kata (choreographed forms).  We finish each class with a cool down exercise and another brief meditation.

 

Gi Ordering information: If anyone wants to purchase a Gi, we get club discount pricing from www.tokon.com for different types of Gi’s (including Europa style Gi). Gi ordering at the club is handled by Arun Raghunath. His email is <arun[dot]raghunath[at]intel[dot]com>.

How to Join
  1. Print the registration form and fill it out.
  2. Write a check for $50, payable to Intel Karate Club.
  3. Sign Liability Wavier. Give items 1 and 3 to Shawn T Rader (shawn[dot]T[dot]rader[at]intel[dot]com) at JF3-410.
  4. Give item 2 to Ritchie Rice (ritchie[dot]rice[at]intel[dot]com) at JF5-204. .
  5. Plan to purchase a Gi within one month of your start date. Contact Arun Raghunath (arun[dot]Raghunath[at]intel[dot]com).

Also, you must take the fitness center orientation class (available through Intel U Online) if you haven't already done so.

How to (un)subscribe to the karate mailing list

Please send email to (gyuszi[dot]suto[at]intel[dot]com) to get onto Intel Karate mailing list (karate[at]eclists[dot]intel[dot]com)
Sameer Abhinkar.
Copyright © 2009 Intel Karate Club. All rights reserved.
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