News

Graduations:

Adam Ballout, 24, a Washington Karate Association black belt, graduated from the Seattle University School of Law with a law degree, June 2007. He is currently waiting for the results of his bar exam completed July 26th. Adam received his BA at the University of Washington. Adam has been a student with the Ballard Dojo branch of the Washington Karate Association since he was 6 years old. Coming full circle, Adam has been instructing the Dojo’s Kinder Karate class for the past 6 years. His family is well known for their enthusiastic support. Congratulations!
Amina Haddadi, 22, graduated from Seattle University with a BA in international studies focused in political science and French language, June 2007. Amina, a shodan-ho black belt, has been training at the Ballard Dojo for 8 years and is well loved by all the Dojo children. Please join us in congratulating Amina.

Promotion, July 24th, 2007:

Brian Steiner – Shodan-ho. Brian has been involved with martial arts for the past 30 + years. He began training at the Ballard Dojo in June, 2000 and is well known for his tenacious kumite, great work ethic and friendly disposition. Brian is a real estate investor and agent, and proud parent of two teenage boys.
SJ Chiro – brown belt. SJ is an award winning film maker and founder of http://www.violetfilms.com. Her recent effort she both produced and directed is a remake of the classic Little Red Riding Hood tale, and has been featured in many film festivals including Redcat Children’s Film Festival, Cinema K, Bumbershoot and Reel to Reel in Canada. It stars Ballard Dojo’s own Allyana Mattson, age 11 and a green belt, as Little Red Riding Hood, and features Mrs. Katsuyo Arai, a black belt and mother of Sensei Junko Arai, as her grandmother. SJ’s daughter Jesa age 7, an orange belt, has a cameo as a wood nymph. The film’s executive producer was SJ’s husband Farayi Chiro, a blue belt. Some scenes were shot in the Ballard Dojo, and the fight scene between LRRH and the big bad wolf was choreographed by our own black belt, Sensei Gutierrez.
Liliana Gomez – Green belt (any additional info? How about school that she attends?)
Riku Wakita – Blue belt (school?)
Barrett Peck – Jr. Orange belt.

Birth

Congratulations to the Carlos family on their new addition Kevin, born March 25th, 2007. His big brother Derek Carlos, age 6, recently joined the Ballard Dojo July 7th, 2007. Welcome to the Washington Karate Association!

Events

On July 25th the Ballard Dojo performed in the annual Greenwood Seafair Parade for the fourth year in a row, garnering 1st place in the children’s performance category. The karate portion of the parade is a spectator favorite due to its high energy and crowd specific demonstrations. Our gratitude to those who participated and helped to make this such a successful event as well as to the parents whose support was invaluable.