Wishing everyone a good Labor Day, the last big summer break before we head into the busy fall season. This adorable picture and caption of 8 week old Hana comes courtesy of blue belt Chong Ho (pictured directly below her) and yellow belt Chun-Soon. Much congratulations to the proud papa and mama!

Speaking of babies, I managed to snap this photo of sunbai red belt Shawn with his first child, Naila in July at one of the seminars. Looking forward to seeing Naila and Hana in class in 5 years!

In other "labor day" news; I'd like to congratulate black belt Julie C who is expecting a child due on New Year's Eve 2011.  Julie who goes by Jade now, is one of those students who've been with Sabumnim since she was a teenager in the mid 90's. For those who did not know her, she is a rare treasure indeed. Always ready with a smile, totally generous and compassionate; on the mat she turned into a tiger who sparred with the ferocity of a samurai from the olden days.  Sadly, Jade doesn't live here anymore, if you ever visit Hawaii, make sure you look her up. Jade's brother Ted, is a red belt at the school so we are lucky to have one of the family still around. Good luck Jade on the impending birth of the little warrior!

At the August test, we presented Sabumnim with his birthday present from the students. Every year is a fun challenge to find a gift with some thought behind it. This year, a state of the art video camera made the cut. Hopefully it makes it easier for him to create the curriculum DVDs that we all know and love. Thank you to everyone who contributed to his gift and to Jill for organizing the collecting. With much love from the students, we wish you a happy and healthy year, Sir!

The 1967 film The Dirty Dozen may have featured some of the movie's biggest stars like Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin but we had our own version in Chinatown this month with 12 WMAC warriors. Bodan Eda organized the group which included Black Belt Kimberly and bodans Liz, Nicole, PJ, Teresa, Tim; red belts Anthony, Carolyn, Claire, Pete and orange belt Betty. The annual Chinatown health fair is a great way to introduce the community to our super healthy practice. It was a scorching day in a super tight performance area and the 12 performed with much aplomb executing their forms and techniques as if they were in the dojang, even avoiding some strollers during the back rolls. Thank you to the 12 for taking time out of their busy day to help the school out and give back to the community!

Thomas, earlier this month being thanked by Kyosanim and the students; earlier this year at the WMAC school tournament, showing his fierceness.

Many know the "martial", many know the "arts" part but the ones who also realize that service and dedication to their community are just as important; well those are the rare few indeed. Bodan Thomas L. to me is a true epitome of a gentleman, the kind of man we don't see much of anymore. Mild mannered, hard working and personable, Thomas started later in life than most of us who come to the school but he is a work horse on the mat. Off the mat, he decided to take on one of the Manhattan dojang's restrooms. Realizing that while it was totally serviceable, he felt it was lacking in the right "atmosphere" and didn't match the rest of the dojang. 6 months later, on his own time (and with a very understanding wife), thanks to him, we have a very nice restroom with cabinets and atmosphere lovingly crafted by Thomas himself. As an acknowledgement and show of appreciation, Kyosanim organized a small get together after one of her classes. Thomas, we totally thank you for your generosity to the WMAC community!

For those of you who may not know, Sabumnim is a bit shy about his birthday. If you didn't get a chance to wish him an excellent one last week, now's the time to do it. Mary who helps take care of the Brooklyn dojang has been asking people to pose for her these last couple of weeks for a card for Sabumnim and the wonderful collage pictured here is the fruit of her labor. Happy Birthday Sabumnim, we wish you a healthy, joyous and blessed year!

In front of his sushi restaurant, Shiki's, on St Mark's and 1st Avenue. Image courtesy of Vinnie A.

Shiki was one of those wonderful WMAC students who made an indelible impression on all who met him. Sadly, he has been battling cancer for the past several years and moved back to Japan in 2009. WMAC student Palmer who is in Japan sends us a very sorrowful message: "This is Palmer I am in Japan now and today I visited Shiki in the hospital with his family. Some people don't know that he is very sick and has left NYC. He has high spirits but doesn't look very good and the doctors give him about one or two weeks to live. It was sad but inspiring to see how positive and strong he was even though he doesn't look good. He asked that I contact everyone that ever knew him and tell them that he loves them. If you or any one at WMAC has a message for Shiki you can all send it to his sister's email, she visits him every day:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ."

We send our love and prayers to a brave and extraordinary man. We love you too Shiki-san!

Sunbai Red belts Baijanta (top picture) and Frank (2nd pic) received their bodan belts this past Friday. Along with Jack, Bobby and Mary (from the June test) they join the group that will be our next generation of black belts. Congratulations everybody!

Last year's Chinatown Health Fair team (missing Susan and Nathan)

Calling all warriors! (That would be everyone who trains at WMAC!) If you are around in 2 weeks on Wednesday August 4th, bodan Eda C is looking for people to help out for the annual Chinatown Health Fair demo. Remember Blue and Red belts, this is an excellent way to get your dojang hours.  White to Green belts who want to participate or help out by handing out flyers, you are also greatly welcomed. As for Black Belts, it's an important way to stay involved. Contact Howard/Janett/Mary at the schools and they will get you Eda's number, call her by July 28th. MUDO!