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MAGAZINE Karate College Clubs

SUMMER 2025

NEW JKA BLACK BELTS 2025

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RECAP OF SUMMER 2025

Summer 2025 Karate Infographic

JKA NOLA Summer Camp

JKA Miami Camp

Peiqi’s Birthday

ALTRUISM IN ACTION 20 Vazrik’s Birthday Uniform Fundraiser

EDITORIAL HELPING YOUR COMMUNITY

Karatekas-Sailors Program

SEMINARS - BUILDING BRIDGES 16

Tekki Shodan + Gojushiho Sho Kata Seminar

Heian Godan + Gankaku Kata Seminar

Kumite Judging Clinic

Advanced Kata Review (Gojushiho Sho, Gankaku, Sochin, Kanku Sho)

PROMOTIONS

TABATA SENSEI LEGACY ADVANCED KATA AND FUDO DACHI

HARVARD KARATEKA AT JKA MIAMI CAMP

New JKA Shodan Black Belts

New JKA Nidan Black Belts

New JKA Licensing

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READ OUR LATEST ISSUES

06 MHKH DELEGATION AT JKA NEW ORLEANS CAMP

SUMMER 2025

INFOGRAPHIC

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4 4 2

SPECIAL KARATE TRIPS

JUNE NEW ORLEANS JKA AF CAMP JULY MIAMI SUMMER CAMP

# OF NEW JKA SHODANS ACHIEVED CAROL CUESTA EMILE ZOUNON

# OF NEW JKA LICENSING ACHIEVED AMANDINE FROMONT VAZRIK CHILOYAN

# OF NEW JKA NIDANS ACHIEVED ANGEL CHAN IYIT BENUSIA QIU YU HONG LU SASIRU PATHIRANAGE

SPECIAL KARATE SEMINARS TEKKI SHODAN + GOJUSHIHO SHO KATA SEMINAR HEIAN GODAN + GANKAKU KATA SEMINAR KUMITE JUDGING CLINIC ADVANCED KATA REVIEW

# OF ALUM STUDENTS PROMOTED VARAK MOURADIAN PEIQI CHEN

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# OF KARATE UNIFORMS WE FUNDRAISED TO DONATE AROUND THE WORLD

Editorial

Helping Helping Your Your Community Community

One of our goals is to teach and spread Shotokan Karate at the college level, and to empower students to do this in their local communities. Many of our students come to study at a university in Boston, but then often graduate and leave and go elsewhere for work or continued study. Often, they will return to their hometown, and we hope that they take the lessons that they learned and help in their local communities. Just like we feature acts of altruism in our magazine, which focus on how students offer their time, money, and skills to help others, we encourage Karateka to do the same wherever they are in the world. However, we often see examples where Karateka will focus on themselves and their own growth, but believe that their growth also means the growth of those around them. It is important in these cases to reflect on whether one’s personal growth truly is translating to helping others achieve that growth. Sometimes students will achieve a new high rank at a Dan exam, or compete very well at a tournament, and feel that this is already enough for helping their community. One question we tell our students to ask themselves is: are you helping your teammates reach the same rank and skill that you have reached, and are you helping your teammates reach the same successes in competition that you have reached? It is impressive to be able to climb a high mountain, but it is far more impressive to be able to then help others reach that same pinnacle.

-Vazrik & Cassiano

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JKA AF AF Summer Summer Camp Camp with with Oishi Sensei and Ogura Sensei 6/18/2025-6/22/2025 This summer marked the fifth consecutive year of participation for students from the MIT–Harvard Karate Hub (MHKH) at the Japan Karate Association (JKA) Training Camp. This year’s event was particularly significant as it served as a joint USA National Training Camp, hosted by Sensei Takayuki Mikami, 9th Dan, Chief Instructor of the JKA American Federation, with the support of JKA World Federation Americas and SKDI. The camp took place from June 18–22, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana, providing an exceptional opportunity for our students to refine their skills and deepen their understanding of Shotokan Karate. The camp featured renowned instructors from JKA Headquarters in Japan, including Sensei Takeshi Oishi, JKA HQ Chief Director, celebrated for his technical precision and dynamic teaching style, and Sensei Yasunori Ogura, JKA HQ Vice Director, known for his profound insights into kata and kihon fundamentals. Participants of all ages engaged in comprehensive seminars covering kihon, kata, and kumite. Students were grouped by level to ensure personalized instruction and optimal learning experiences. They also benefited from the expertise of chief instructors from across the United States, making this an enriching opportunity. The intensive daily training sessions provided invaluable experience and inspiration that our students will carry back to their respective universities.

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Beyond the rigorous training, the camp fostered meaningful connections with fellow karateka and dojos nationwide. This year, two newly promoted color-belt students from MHKH attended for the first time, expressing excitement about joining JKA US National Training Camp. In addition, our delegation had the honor of presenting gifts from universities across Boston to Oishi Sensei and Ogura Sensei to honor the spirit of cultural exchange and gratitude. With renewed energy, enhanced skills, and a deeper sense of community, we are excited to share what we learned through workshops, seminars, and collaborative training events in the coming months, further enriching the karate experience within the university community in Boston.

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Congrats to New JKA Shodans 2025 Emile Zounon and Carol Cuesta from Harvard University In addition to intensive training sessions, the JKA USA National Training Camp offers eligible students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and pursue advancement through black belt promotion. This year, we are proud to celebrate the achievements of two of our dedicated students: Carol Cuesta and Emile Giovannie Zounon (Harvard University), who successfully earned their Shodan (1stdegree black belt) after extensive preparation and rigorous evaluation. Congratulations to both students on this incredible milestone! Your hard work and perseverance reflect the true spirit of karate.

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Congrats to New JKA Nidans 2025 Angel Chan, Sasiru Pathiranage, Iyiti Benusia, Qiu Yu Hong Lu

We are also thrilled to celebrate the remarkable achievement of four dedicated students of our community who successfully earned their Nidan (2nd-degree black belt) at the JKA USA National Training Camp. Congratulations to Iyit Benusia (Lesley University), Angel Chan (Lesley University), Sasiru Pathiranage (Boston University), and Qiu Yu Hong Lu (Boston/Columbia University). Attaining Nidan is an impressive milestone that reflects years of consistent training, technical precision, and unwavering commitment to karate. This achievement represents not only personal perseverance but also a deepening mastery of karate principles. We are incredibly proud of you all—your dedication and passion continue to inspire the entire MIT– Harvard Karate Hub community!

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New JKA Licensing Licensing for Amandine Sensei and Vazrik Sensei

Beyond black belt promotion, the JKA USA National Training Camp serves as a vital platform for advancing instructor and examiner certifications, further strengthening leadership and teaching excellence within the karate community. This year, we are proud to celebrate two of our members for their remarkable achievements: Sensei Vazrik Chiloyan, who earned Licenses for Instructor B and Examiner C, and Amandine Fromont, our dedicated Sandan (3rd Dan) student, who achieved Licenses for Instructor C and Examiner D. These accomplishments reflect not only their technical skill and perseverance but also their spirit of altruism and commitment to giving back to the community that MHKH holds. Their progress ensures that the next generation of karateka will benefit from high-quality instruction and mentorship. Congratulations, Sensei Vazrik and Amandine, on reaching these incredible milestones! Your leadership and dedication inspire us all.

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MHKH University Representation In JKA AF New Orleans Summer Camp 2025 June 18 - 22, 2025

At this year’s JKA National Training Camp in New Orleans, we were proud to represent eight different colleges and universities: MIT, Harvard University, Boston University, Wellesley College, Georgetown Law, Lesley University, Columbia University, and University of Massachusetts Amherst. Our student representatives worked hard to present the best of their respective schools! It was also an exciting opportunity for interschool bonding, as students made new friends and learned from each other’s Karate journeys. Importantly, MHKH had the privilege of presenting gifts from all of our universities to Oishi Sensei and Ogura Sensei, this year’s honored guests and instructors from the JKA headquarters in Japan. After Vazrik Sensei gave a brief speech introducing our Karate community, students went to Oishi Sensei and Ogura Sensei to present their universities’ gifts one by one, marking this remarkable occasion and expressing gratitude for the teaching and experiences we received.

MHKH delegation with Oishi Sensei and Ogura Sensei

Oishi Sensei and Ogura Sensei receive our university gifts

Our MHKH delegation had students representing a variety of different universities: UMass Amherst, Boston University, MIT, Wellesley College, Lesley University, Harvard University, Georgetown Law, Columbia University

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Our MHKH delegation had students from a variety of different cultural backgrounds: Armenia, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, France, Spain, Benin, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong

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JKA Miami JKA Miami Summer Summer Karate Camp

July 23-27, 2025

Every year, the JKA Miami club hosts a Karate Training camp in July with Kunio Kobayashi Sensei. This year, they hosted Kobayashi Sensei as well as Hikaru Hirose Sensei, the kumite champion of the last Gichin Funakoshi Cup. Emile Zounon and Carolina Cuesta went to participate to represent our MHKH team, and were able to learn new drills and techniques for jiyu kumite, as well as Kanku Sho (a kata that Hirose Sensei taught in his lessons). We thank Jose Ferrand Sensei for providing this opportunity for students to train together and to learn and grow in their Karate understanding.

Jose Ferrand Sensei (7th Dan JKA) with our students Carol and Emile

Photo opportunity with Kobayashi Sensei and Hirose Sensei during beach training

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Hirose Sensei leading Tekki Shodan training

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Peiqi’s Birthday at Fogo de Chão Peiqi’s Chão

6/13/2025 | Boston, MA

We got to celebrate a special milestone for one of our Karateka, Peiqi Chen. Peiqi turned 25 years old, and while she has been doing Karate with us for only about 2 years, she has really become passionate about training Karate and embracing the power of altruism. To give her a special birthday to remember this quarter of a century milestone, we reserved an entire section of Fogo de Chao and celebrated it with Karate friends! We gave Peiqi our typical advice that “Life doesn’t have to be complicated”, and that helping your community and contributing to improving the lives of those around you is the key to happiness. Happy Birthday Peiqi!

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Tekki Shodan Tekki Shodan and and Gojushiho Gojushiho Sho Sho Kata Seminar Kata Seminar 6/29/2025 On Sunday, June 29, 2025, we had our first practice after the New Orleans JKA National Training Camp (and with our brand new black belts)! To celebrate the start of this new chapter, Vazrik Sensei taught the advanced Kata Gojiushiho Sho. One of the longest in the Shotokan system at 65 moves, this Kata is also a favorite among black belt students. Its smooth techniques and elegant structure introduce complex hip mechanics and high contrasts in speed. Vazrik Sensei taught this Kata in several chapters, emphasizing first the repeating “chorus” before presenting each unique chapter of the Kata. This Kata is one of four advanced black belt Kata we will be learning over the summer to help students explore the breadth of Shotokan Karate. In that same practice, Vazrik Sensei also taught Tekki Shodan, an essential cornerstone of skill progression for our students. Beginner and intermediate students learned the choreography and rhythm, while advanced students who already knew the Kata had the opportunity to refine their technique further. Vazrik Sensei particularly emphasized the three major teaching points of Tekki Shodan: kibadachi stance depth and motion, head rotation, and hip movement.

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Heian Godan Heian Godan and and Gankaku Gankaku Kata Seminar Kata Seminar

07/13/2025

On Sunday, July 13, 2025, Vazrik Sensei introduced two new Kata of focus: Gankaku and Heian Godan. Gankaku is our second advanced Kata of the summer after Gojiushiho Sho. Having seen it performed at the JKA National Training Camp in New Orleans, students were particularly excited to learn this Kata. Gankaku’s name means “crane standing upon a rock,” and as the name suggests, one essential element of this Kata is balance. Vazrik Sensei spent time reviewing the recurring technique in this Kata, which requires coiling one’s body on one leg to then deliver a strong side kick. Another important aspect of the kata is forward rotation. Given it rarely appears in other Kata of the Shotokan system, we practiced moves requiring such rotation several times to help students develop this new skill. Vazrik Sensei also taught Heian Godan, the last of the Heian kata family. Heian Godan’s choreography introduces a broken-down version of manji-uke, so we reviewed that section to ensure beginner students could get comfortable with this new move. This was an exciting chance for some students to learn their next promotion Kata!

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Kumite Judging Kumite Judging Clinic Clinic at at MIT MIT On Sunday, August 10, 2025, in addition to our usual Karate training, Vazrik Sensei led a judging clinic to help students learn about the rules and procedures of a JKA kumite tournament. He reviewed the Japanese commands for starting a match, stopping a match, continuing the fight, awarding points, explaining why a point was not awarded, and how to penalize for dangerous behavior or a competitor going out of bounds. The goal was to help students understand better the various commands that they see in JKA tournaments for jiyu kumite, and begin to understand what to look for in a tournament match themselves. As we recently came back from the JKA AF New Orleans camp 2 months ago in June, one of the feedback that Oishi Sensei and Ogura Sensei gave to the advanced black belts was to keep training the judging rules and procedures. As such, we wanted to begin to pass on this knowledge not only to our black belt students but also our kyu level students so that they can acclimate to these rules and procedures and for it to become second nature to them over time.

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08/10/2025

Summer 2025 Summer 2025 Advanced Advanced Kata Kata Review Seminar Review Seminar (Gojushiho (Gojushiho Sho, Sho, Gankaku, Gankaku, Sochin, Sochin, Kanku Kanku Sho) Sho)

8/24/2025

Our students had a blast at this Sunday’s practice at MIT! We kicked things off with kihon to sharpen our basics, then moved on to reviewing the four advanced kata we learned throughout the summer: Gojushiho Sho, Gankaku, Sochin, and Kanku Sho. Sensei Vazrik encouraged everyone to focus on accurately recalling the choreography of all four kata. It was inspiring to see students proudly showcase the progress they had made. To add some lighthearted fun, we voted on our favorite and least favorite kata, sparking plenty of laughs and friendly debates. We wrapped up the session with spirited group training on kizami zuki and double kizami zuki, leaving everyone energized and motivated. A Sunday well spent with sweat, smiles, and a strong karate spirit to wrap up the series of our summer trainings. What a way to start the new school year!

Fudo Dachi Tabata Sensei’s Favorite Stance

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Vazrik Sensei’s Sensei’s 36th Birthday Fundraiser 07/19/2025

As we have done every year, we did a Karate birthday fundraiser for Vazrik Sensei’s 36th birthday in July. We collected donations so that we can buy uniforms and donate them to young students around the world. We decided this year to donate Tokaido kids uniforms with donations in multiples of $36 to match Vazrik’s birthday ($36 for 1 uniform, $72 for 2 uniforms ...). Vazrik Sensei himself donated 10 uniforms ($360), and with the help of Karate students around the world, we were able to fundraise a total of 80 uniforms ($2,880) to deliver new Karate uniforms to students around the world. Thank you to all of the donors who helped be a part of this altruism project. We are grateful that several of our donors gave 10 uniforms themselves to this altruism project. A big thank you to the following members of our Karate community who contributed! 1. Bruce Hou 2. Iyit Benusia 3. Amandine Fromont 4. Merle Kartscher 5. Allison Prisloe 6. Athena Zheng 7. Émile Zounon 8. Peiqi Chen 9. Varak Mouradian 10. Rosabelli Coelho 11. Angel Chan 12. Jules Van 13. Ewa Sitarska 14. Marco de Paula 15. Paul Ferrer 16. Savannah Wu 17. Steven Chen 18. Henry Wong 19. Roukaya El Houda 20. Thais Ligo 21. Zeng Wing Tan 22. Roberta Visconti 23. Suzana Costa 24. Renata Costa 25. Marelyn Gonzalez 26. Fromont Family (Bruno, Pascale, and Émeline)

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Karateka-Sailors Academy Celebrates a Successful Summer of Sailing This summer, the Karateka-Sailors academy, Chiloyan-Gibber, returned to MIT, offering university students an unforgettable opportunity to master the art of sailing. The program welcomed participants from various colleges, providing a unique environment where they could either learn the fundamentals or advance their skills on the water. The academy is thoughtfully structured to accommodate all experience levels. Beginners took their first steps, learning the basics of sailing, while more experienced students pursued a next-level license. This certification empowers them to captain a variety of boats, including the Laser, the 420, and the legendary Lynx Catboats. The program draws its unique name, Chiloyan-Gibber, from its two dedicated instructors, Vazrik and Eric. They are celebrated for their altruism and their innovative teaching methodology, which interestingly blends principles from both karate and sailing to create a dynamic learning experience. This year’s success was marked by the achievements of its students. A heartfelt congratulations goes out to Sage and Marelyn from Wellesley College, who successfully learned to sail for the very first time. We also celebrate Peiqi from Boston University, who advanced her skills by mastering the techniques of racing the 420 dinghy. The Chiloyan-Gibber academy continues to be a highlight of the summer, fostering a new generation of confident and skilled sailors.

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JUKF VISITS BOSTON 2022

MHKH VISITS JAPAN 2022

MHKH VISITS OXFORD 2023

JUKF VISITS BOSTON 2023

MHKH VISITS JAPAN 2023

JUKF VISITS BOSTON 2024

MHKH VISITS JAPAN 2024

CONNECT WITH US Vazrik Chiloyan vazrik@mit.edu

Anselmo Cassiano Alves anselmoc@mit.edu

Amandine Fromont afromont@wellesley.edu

Iyit Benusia ibenusia@lesley.edu

Nikita Patil patilnp@utexas.edu