Try this next time you\u2019re standing on a forgiving surface: raise one foot, kick to the front, then side and then back.<\/p>\n
Now do that four more times.<\/p>\n
Now imagine having to do other sets of punches, kicks and blocks before a panel of scrutinizing judges who do those moves better than you.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a taste of what 51-year-old Stacey Poulson, a Nugget Alaskan Outfitter employee, and 42-year-old Maraiya Gentili, Juneau School District staff member, underwent in August at an International Shotokan Karate Federation-sanctioned testing outside of Anchorage.<\/p>\n
There, they were tested in three areas of the sport: kihon, kata and kumite. Kihon consists of basic stances, kicks and punches put into combinations. Kimite is sparring or self-defense with a partner. Finally, kata is various patterns of movement.<\/p>\n
Poulson passed her examination to become a Sandan, or third-degree black belt.<\/p>\n
Gentili also passed her examination and is now a Nidan, or second-degree black belt.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll tell you it\u2019s just another training, but it\u2019s so not true,\u201d Gentili said about the testing, who described the weekend as a test of fortitude.<\/p>\n
For Poulson, attaining the rank of Sandan has been a long endeavor.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people want to be black belt but it takes so much to get there; you have to have a can-do attitude to stick with it,\u201d said Poulson, whose started in Shotokan in 2003.<\/p>\n
She finds inner-strength by having a firm handle on her body\u2019s ability to protect itself, and also knowing that physical force is a last resort to a conflict. It\u2019s what\u2019s kept her in Shotokan for so long.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt works on your whole body, your spirit, how you treat other people, your balance, your coordination, your awareness of the world,\u201d she said. \u201cIt works on everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a mandatory three-year waiting period after one becomes a Nidan to test for Sandan. As a Shodan, Poulson will have a mandatory four-year waiting period before she can test up to earn the rank of Yondan, or fourth-degree black belt.<\/p>\n
Poulson said it can be rare for Nidans to pass their Sandan evaluation on the first try.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis time, I took more years in between testing for this particular rank and I felt ready. Before the test, another karateka (person in karate) came up to me and he asked what rank I was testing for and he said, \u2018Don\u2019t go up there and test for your Sandan, go up there and show them you\u2019re a Sandan,\u2019\u201d Poulson said. \u201cAnd that just clicked with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Gentili, who started Shotokan in 2011 after she enrolled her kids, it was her second testing in two years. Gentili, along with three other karatekas from Juneau, earned the rank Shodan three years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was surreal when I passed my test. I was waiting for them to say, \u2018Good job \u2014 six-month re-test,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Both Poulson and Gentili have found one of the most rewarding parts of the sport is keeping the Dojo Kun and Niju Kun.<\/p>\n
ISKF Chief Instructor Teruyuki Okazaki said Master Gichin Funakoshi, who founded the martial arts, \u201cgave us the Dojo Kun and Niju Kun to help guide us along the path of becoming peaceful human beings. He knew that with modern technology quickly advancing it would be easy to forget our basic core of humanity and how to relate to one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seek perfection of character, be faithful, endeavor, respect others and refrain from violent behavior are the five principles of the Dojo Kun.<\/p>\n
The Niju Kun contains 20 principles that relate more specifically how one is to conduct themselves in karate. Two examples of this include: \u201cnever attack first\u201d and \u201cmove accordingly to your opponent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gentili says the recitation of the Dojo Kun, conducted before the beginning of every Saturday class, serves as the inspiration for everything that follows.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do like it that you\u2019re not just learning how to hurt people but you\u2019re actually learning control over yourself, over your emotions over how you interact with people over how you learn your sport,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
^<\/span><\/p>\n Want to try it yourself?<\/p>\n For more information on Juneau Shotokan Karate, call chief instructor, Diana Stevens at 723-6165 or juneaushotokan1@gmail.com. Juneau Shotokan Karate is located at 9447 LaPerouse Avenue.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Try this next time you\u2019re standing on a forgiving surface: raise one foot, kick to the front, then side and then back. Now do that four more times. Now imagine having to do other sets of punches, kicks and blocks before a panel of scrutinizing judges who do those moves better than you. That\u2019s a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":425,"featured_media":5740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":6,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-5739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/425"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5739"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=5739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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