Sterling Judo Club holds promotions ceremony

Sterling Judo Club holds promotions ceremony

The following club members were recognized at the club’s annual awards ceremony May 14.

Name Judo Rank

Jordan Audette Yellow I

Gage Egdorf White I

Charles Fairbanks Yellow II

Cooper Gossard White II

Linnaea Gossard White II

Kaleisha Hart Orange II

Logan Hart Orange I

Walter Haybeck Orange I

Blaine Hayes Orange II

John Holland Orange I

Kianna Holland Orange II

Tannan Holland Orange II

Peyton Lawton Orange II

Rollin Madden Yellow I

Jacob McConnell Green I

Nicholas McConnell Green I

Sarah McConnell Orange I

Jordan Merrill Orange II

Kylie Ness Yellow I

Giovanni Rigutto Yellow II

Luca Rigutto Yellow II

Peyton Williams Yellow I

Senior Members

Michael Audette White

Brain Burns Gokyu — Green

Alex Coxwell Yonkyu — Blue

Bob Ermold

Nikyu — 2nd degree Brown

Clayton Holland

Nikyu — 2nd degree Brown

Jacob Lautaret White

Paul McConnell

Nikyu — 2nd degree Brown

Robert Merrill Yonkyu — Blue

Maryann Rogers

Nikyu — 2nd degree Brown

Sensei Kati Gibler

Nidan — 2nd degree Black Belt

Sensei Bob Brink

Shichidan — 7th degree Red and White Belt

Sterling Judo Club is a registered US Judo Federation club. The club was started in Sterling in 2012. Promotions in judo rank are based on practice, learning judo techniques (including throws, holds, and for the older students, chokes and arm bars), technique and competition terminology, history, and class etiquette, including respect for one another and for the teachers. Improving one’s self discipline is an important goal of this program.

This junior judo color belt system, although some programs may prefer some variance, depending on the sensei’s preference: White Belt I and II; Yellow Belt I and II; Orange Belt I and II; Green Belt I and II; Blue Belt I and II; Purple Belt I and II.

This is the senior judo color belt system: White Belt; Green Belt; Blue Belt; Brown Belt I — Sankyu; Brown Belt II — Nikyu; Brown Belt III — Ikkyu; Black Belt 1st Degree-5th Degree (shodan-godan); Red-White Belt 6th-8th Degree (rokudan-hachidan); Red Belt 9th and 10th Degree (kudan-judan).

The photo shows most of our current active members as each one received their most recent judo promotion certificate during a celebration and awards dinner May 24. New belts are awarded as earned, but each new rank certificate is presented at the conclusion of the program’s current training season (Sept. 2014-May 2015).

The club hopes to recruit new junior and senior members to join with the returning students when practice resumes at Sterling Elementary School in mid September. The club’s director of self-defense, Sensei Kati Gibler, is making plans to offer her fourth self-defense class in late September. More information, when it becomes available, will be available on the club’s web site on Facebook or by contacting any current member or Sensei Bob Brink at 242-9330 or email to obobo1a@gmail.com.

More in Life

A clipping from a Homer Death Cafe poster.
Homer group tackles death and dying through open conversations

The local group mirrors a growing worldwide trend of “Death Cafes.”

Peonies bloom on Friday, July 4, 2024, in the garden beside Cosmic Kitchen on Pioneer Avenue in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting
Homer chamber hosts 6th annual Peony Celebration

The weeks-long festival features art exhibits, events, flower sales, guided farm tours and more.

These fudgy brownies are a classic, decadent treat. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Dessert for a thoughtful reader

These classic fudgy brownies are dense and decadent.

Volunteers scoop up ducks at the finish line during the annual Anchor River Duck Races on Saturday, July 5, in Anchor Point.
Locals win at 4th annual Anchor River duck races

The event is part of the Anchor Point VFW’s Fourth of July celebrations.

Photo courtesy of the Melchior Family Collection
Between 1879 and 1892, Stephan Melchior (far left, middle row) performed his mandatory Prussian military service. He was a member of the Eighth Rhineland Infantry Regiment No. 70 in Trier, Germany.
Steve Melchior: Treasured peninsula pioneer with a sketchy past — Part 1

Did anyone in Alaska know the real Steve Melchior? That is difficult to say.

File
Minister’s Message: ‘Be still and I will fight for you’

Letting go of control and embracing faith and silence can encourage us in peace and divine trust.

"Octopus" is an acrylic painting by new co-op member Heather Mann on display at Ptarmigan Arts in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by Ptarmigan Arts
July First Friday in Homer

Homer’s galleries and public art spaces celebrate with new and ongoing exhibits.

Frank Rowley and his youngest child, Raymond, stand in knee-deep snow in front of the protective fence around the main substation for Mountain View Light & Power in Anchorage in 1948 or ’49. This photo was taken a year or two before Rowley moved to Kenai to begin supplying electrical power to the central peninsula. (Photo courtesy of the Rowley Family)
Let there be light: The electrifying Frank Rowley — Part 2

In July 1946, the soft-spoken Rowley was involved in an incident that for several consecutive days made the front page of the Anchorage Daily Times.

This nostalgic sauce is so shockingly simple, you’ll never buy a bottle again. Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion
America’s favorite culinary representative

The original recipe for ranch dressing was invented and perfected in Alaska, out in the bush in 1949.

Graphics show the nine finalists in three age groups for the Soldotna “I Voted” sticker design contest. (Provided by City of Soldotna)
Soldotna announces finalists for ‘I Voted’ sticker contest

Public voting will be open until July 20 to determine the winners.

Homer’s Cosmic Creature Club performs at the 2024 Concert on the Lawn at Karen Hornaday Park. (Emilie Springer/Homer News file)
July events to provide entertainment and fun on lower Kenai Peninsula

Events include the Highland Games, Concert on the Lawn, local art camps and the Ninilchik Rodeo.