SEVERAL JAPANESE EXCHANGE students who are staying with host families in the Battle Ground area were able to go to The Battle Ground Dojo at the Lewisville Gym and participate in the karate class put on by Battle Ground Community Education.
DURING ONE OF their first days in the North Clark County area, exchange students from Japan were able to tour around the area and were able to visit with some horses with Kathy Drake, an area horse trainer and black belt at The Battle Ground Dojo. Pictured here (back row, left to right) are Leena the palomino, Kathy Drake, EM the bay, Delilah Crawford and Sisco the buckskin; and (front row, left to right) Riyota Maeda, Kazusa Kayamaula, Yukiori Hayashi, Kiaru Ono and Takeshi Kamio.
Six of 78 Japanese exchange karate students who participated in the Northwest Classic international karate tournament in Troutdale, OR, on March 15 are currently staying with host families in the Battle Ground area.
Paul Hittle, instructor for the Battle Ground Community Education karate class held at Lewisville Gym, said the exchange students are from a variety of schools throughout Japan. Most of the students are from the Tokyo area and were here to enjoy the Northwest Class karate tournament, but also to spread awareness of the tsunami rebuilding that’s going on.
The Japanese students arrived from Japan and toured the Portland and Columbia Gorge areas. The next day was a free day for the students, so the six students assigned to families in the Battle Ground area went to look for wildlife above Saddle Dam. They were served lunch by the Drake residents and Kathy Drake, an area horse trainer and black belt at the Battle Ground Community Education Karate Dojo, taught them all to ride horses. The students then went to Moulton Falls to do some rock skipping.
On March 14, the students spent time participating in seminars. The seminars were instructed by world-renowned instructors, including Sensei Igaki who teaches at the JFK NW Dojo in Hillsboro. On March 15, the students participated in the Northwest Classic, which will next year be renamed the Yoshida Cup, so renamed in honor of Sensei Junki Yoshida for his dedication to the training of karate. It was through his efforts that so many famous instructors were able to be in the area for seminars.
At the tournament there were three categories: one to two years training novelists; two to three years training intermediate; and finally four or more years training advanced. Each category had various age groups. In the Beginners, 14-15- year-old The Battle round Dojos Steven Thomas took Gold in Kata and Kumitei (sparing). One of the students, Takeshi Kamio, also took Gold in Kata (Forms) and in Kumitei.
The day the students arrived, they all went to the The Battle Ground Dojo at the Lewisville Gym. The students got to see the the results of the hard training that the Japanese students go through. The Japanese students train four days a week for three hours a day. It showed very well in the way they moved.
The BGCE students will be able to show off what they learned at the Battle For Battle Ground tournament on June 20 at the Battle Ground High School Gym. The Tournament is open to all styles.
For more information, contact Paul Hittle at (360) 687-9230. For registration information for the tournament or the classes, call the Community Education office at (360) 885-6584.
