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NEWS
AND NOTICES - 2011
On
October 22nd,
seven Sandalwood members attended the Western Canadian Martial Arts
Championships in Burnaby and participated as
competitors, judges and volunteers. Our
five competiing members attained the following standings:
Division Grand Champion Sophia Dunn-Krahn, Junior Under Belt, Korean Forms First Place Sophia
Dunn-Krahn, M/F, 11-12,
Green-Red, Korean Forms
Cordel Guilhamoulie, M/F, 15-17, Green-Red, Korean Forms Second Place Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, M/F, 18+, Green-Brown, Point Sparring, 132+ Chris Nesmith, M, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, 152-178 Third Place Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, F, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, 132- Sandalwood was pleased to support the 2011 Run for the Cure, as part of the national team Sock Monkey and the Pink Ninjas, on October 2nd with 17 members of the Sandalwood family participating. 
Sandalwood members had a very enjoyable day competing and volunteering at the Coastal Open Martial Arts Championship, on September 24th, in Port Alberni. We are grateful to Sensei Manhas for hosting another successful event. Congratulatons to all our members who performed very well throughout the competiton as well as the following for acheiving medal standings: First
Place
Garrett McDonald, M, 15-17, White-Yellow,
Point Sparring (awarded)Garrett McDonald, M, 15-17, Orange-Green, Point Sparring Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 18+, Blue-Brown, Point Sparring Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 32+, Under Black, Point Sparring Chris Nesmith, M, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, 175+ Second Place Sophia Dunn-Krahn, M/F, 11-13, Green-Brown, Forms Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, F, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring Third Place Laura Deeth, F, 18+, Black Belt, Forms On April 16th, several Sandalwood members attended the BC Open Martial Arts Championships in Surrey, hosted by Bill and Terry Hunter. Our competitors neted a number of medals including two Grand Championships.   Cordel Guilhamoulie -
Korean Under Belt Patterns
Rebeca Dunn-Krahn
Under Belt Sparring
Congratulations to Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, for earning a Bronze medal, in the Female's, 18+, SKIL sparring at the 2011 Tigerbalm Internationals on March 20th in Vancouver! Rebeca was Sandalwood's sole competitor at the event which was also attended by 4 other members who spent the daty working as judges and volunteers. Sandalwood member Josef Turner will be participating in seven performances of the Oak Bay High, Musical Theater presentation of Thoroughly Modern Millie between February 28th and March 5th. Please click here for more information about show times and ticket availabiity. NEWS AND NOTICES - 2010 Congratulations
to Brooke Turner for her excellent performance at the December 19th
Vancouver Island's Got Talent
show! To see her performance, click on the following YouTube
link.
Taekwon-Do Teddy, Sandalwood's bear in the Queen Alexandra Foundation for Childre 2010 Bear Wear fundraiser now has a giving page to help raise a bit more for QA. Anyone interested in contributing can do so via Taekwon-Do Teddy's Giving Page Congratulations to Brooke Turner for making it to the Vancouver Island's Got Talent finals! Her performance from November 28th can be seen on YouTube. Brooke will be performing at Vancouver Island's Got Talent shows on December 19th and January 21st. For further information visit the Vancouver Island's Got Talent Site. Cia and Ethan Rolfe are performing in upcoming presentations of It's A Wonderful Life at Claremount Secondary School's Ride Playhouse on December 8th and 11th. Further information is available at the Claremount Secondary School Site On November 1st fifty Sandalwood members attended a celebration potluck dinner in honour of Sandalwood's 9th anniversary. We are grateful to all who attended and brought along such a wonderful assortment of sumptuous dishes for all to share. Jane Bowers, Manager of Special Events and Research at the Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children, attended and gave a presentation about the QA 2010 Bear Wear fundraiser at which Sandalwood is pleased to be a sponsor again this year. During the evening, it was also announced that the 2010 issue of the Dr. Sandra Martin - Sandalwood Martial Arts Bursary was being made posthumously to Kelly LeBlanc in recognition of his dedication to martial arts, the inspiration and support he provided his students and colleagues, and in recognition of his community support during his all too short life. This year's award will be tripled so that one bursary sum could be issued to each of Kelly's three children in their father's name. On October 23rd eight Sandalwood members attended the Western Canadian Martial Arts Championship, hosted by Bill and Terry Hunter, in Burnaby. Our members enjoyed participating as volunteers, judges and competitors. Congratulation to our competitors who attained the following standings: First
Place
Cordell Guilhamoulie, M, 13-14, Green-Red, Korean FormsLaura Deeth, F, 18+, Black Belt, Korean Forms Second Place Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, F, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, 131- Third Place Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 32+, Green-Brown, Point Sparring, 132+ Chris Nesmith, M, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, 152-173 Congratulations also to Sander van Driesum, for an excellent performance against some strong and talented sparring opposition! On October 2nd Sandalwood hosted a Grandmaster Hwang seminar. As was the case on five previous occasions, the seminar was an enjoyable, knowledge filled and inspirational. We are greatful to Grandmaster Hwang for travelling across the continent once again to spend some time with us.  On September 25th a dozen Sandalwood members were pleased to attend the Coastal Martial Arts Open, hosted by Sukwinder Manhas, in Port Alberni. Our members enjoyed participating as volunteers, judges and competitors. Congratulation to our competitors who attained the following standings: First
Place
Gord
Watson, M, 35+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, all weights (awarded)
Second Place Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 18+, Blue-Brown, Point Sparring Bruce Cook, M, 32+, Under Black, Point Sparring Rob Matson, M/F, 45+, Black Belt, Open Hand Forms Third Place Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 32+, Under Black, Point Sparring Bruce Cook, M, 18+, Blue-Brown, Point Sparring Gord Watson, M, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, 175+ On August 21st eight Sandalwood members enjoyed a joint training session at Coastal Martial Arts in Port Alberni. As is always the case on our joint sessions, Sensei Manhas and his students were wonderful hosts and Sandalwood members had a marvelous time! On August 1st eight Sandalwood members (Sandy Girard, Albert Labossiere, Natalie Labossiere, Devon O'Brien, Cia Rolfe, Jay Rolfe, Sheila Smith and Gord Watson) volunteered at the annual Symphony Splash with ~ 40,000 people in attendance! On March 29th seven Sandalwood members had a fun day attending the Tigerbalm Internationals in North Vancouver to serve as officials and volunteers. Congratulations to Sandalwood's sole competitor at the event, Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, for earning second place (and coming within a split second of gold) in Women's, 18+, Green-Blue, Point Sparring! On February 27th Sandalwood had the pleasure of hosting a joint training session with over a dozen Coastal Martial Arts members. We thank Sensei Manhas and all our CMA friends for coming to play and for reminding us what quality sparring is all about. On January 7th we bid farewell to our friend, Rani Martel, who is leaving to spent the next thirty months at the Bahá’í World Centre, in Haifa, Israel. We wish her a safe journey filled with a richness of happy and rewarding experiences. Though Rani will be greatly missed at Sandalwood she enriched many of our lives during her time among us so our saddness at her leaving will be tempered by the joy her presence has brought us as we await her safe return. News and Notices - 2009 Sandalwood is proud to be sponsoring a bear in the 2009 Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children's Bear Ware fundraiser.  Taekwon-Do Teddy and some of what comes with him Please visit the Hotel Grand Pacific lobby, to see Taekwon-Do Teddy and the other bears, and to bid in the silent auction; or visit our Giving Page to make adonation toward this most worthy cause. On October 24th several Sandalwood members attended the Western Canadian Martial Arts Championship, hosted by Bill and Terry Hunter in Burnaby, B.C. We commend all of Sandalwood's competitors and congratulate our members who attained the following medal standings: First Place Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 18+, Green-Brown, Point Sparring, 132+ Second Place Bruce Cook, M, 35+, Under Black, Point Sparring Third Place Sophia Dunn-Krahn, F, 9-10+, Green-Brown, Point Sparring Bruce Cook, M, 18+, Green-Brown, Point Sparring, 174+ Rick LeBlanc, M, 18+, Black Belt, Korean Forms Rick LeBlanc, M, 18+, All Ranks, SKIL Continuous Sparring, 153-173 On October 4th thirteen Sandalwood members ran in the CIBC annual Run For The Cure and raised over $1,000 for cancer research! Contatulations to all who participaced with a special thanks to Connie Warrender for organizing our team! On September 26th a number of Sandalwood members attended the Coastal Martial Arts Open, hosted by Mr. Sukwinder Manhas in Port Alberni, B.C. We commend all of Sandalwood's competitors and congratulate our members who attained the following medal standings: First Place Rebeca
Dunn-Krahn, F, 32+, Under Black, Point Sparring
Rob Matson, M, 45+, Black Belt, Point Sparring (awarded) Chris Nesmith, M, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, 175- Second Place Bruce Cook, M, 32+, Under Black, Point Sparring Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 18+, Blue-Brown, Point Sparring Gord Watson, M, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, 175+ Gord Watson, M, 35+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, all weights Third Place Sander van Driesum, M/F, 11-13, White-Orange, Under Belt Forms Sander van Driesum, M, 11-12, Orange-Green, Point Sparring Bruce Cook, M, 18+, Blue-Brown, Point Sparring Rob Matson, M, 35+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, all weights On September 15th Sandalwood members hosted a dinner in celebration of Mr. Labossiere's promotion. Over fifty Sandalwood members and friends attend what was a very enjoyable social evening. On September 8th Mr. Labossiere successfully tested for 3rd Degree Black Belt. The test was conducted by Grandmaster Hwang in Manchester Connecticut. David Labossiere presented the new belt on September 14th in Victoria.   On August 23rd eight Sandalwood members attended an inter-club training session at Coastal Martial Arts in Port Alberni. We thank Sensei Manhas for hosting the session and all of Coastal's members present for making it such an enjoyable afternoon. On August 2nd ten Sandalwood members volunteered as security personnel at the Symphony Splash. This was the third year Sandalwood members have volunteered at the event.
 On June 19th and 20th Sandalwood hosted Grand Master Hwang during which time he presented two seminars and presided over a black belt test for four of our members. Congratulations to Laruissa Barnes-Roberts and Laura Deeth on their promotion to 1st Degree Black Belt as well as Rick LeBlanc and Gord Watson on their promotion to 2nd Degree Black Belt.  Self-defense Seminar participants  Rick LeBlanc, Laruissa Barnes-Roberts, GM Hwang, Laura Deeth, Gord Watson and Albert Labossiere Sandalwood takes great delight in congratulating Sandy Martin, one of our co-founders, who today graduated from the University of British Columbia Medical program and became Dr. Sandra Martin! Sandy, has overcome a plethora of obstacles but today realized her longstanding dream of being a medical doctor. Our school and our world has been, and will continue to be, enhanced by benefit of her presence. 20-May-09 On May 10th some Sandalwood members enjoyed and excellent Commando Krav Maga seminar hosted by Mr. Ahmed at Richmond Martial Arts.   Sandalwood's Dunn-Krahn mother and daughter team had a great day at the BC Open Championship in White Rock on April 25th coming away with four medals! We congratulate them for attaining the following standing:
First Place
Sophia Dunn-Drahn, M/F, 9-10, Novice, SKIL Korean Forms Sophia Dunn-Krahn, F, 9-10, Novice, SKIL Under Belt Point Fighting Second Place Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 18+, Advanced, SKIL Under Belt Point Fighting Third Place Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, M/F, 18+, Advanced, SKIL Korean Forms* * the division included black-stripes, red belts, red-stripes and red belts all or whome our ranked Rebeca! On April 17th through 19th Mr. Labossiere enjoyed attending and participating in the 2009 Korean Martial Arts Festival in Crestview Florida, hosted by Gordon Martial Arts.  On Thursday April 9th, Sandalwood held its first classes at the Interurban location, at 305 Hector Road. We welcome all members of the Island Martial Arts group into the Sandalwood family and look forward to working together. Sandalwood members are welcome to train at either location.  Back: Albert L., Ronalea R., Connie W., Steven G., Jay R., Bruce C., Bob W., Kate C., Margaret R. Front: Cameron G., Keely C., Ethan R., Kayleen R., James R. Congratulations to Rick Le Blanc for earning 1st place standing in the Black Belt, Korean Hard Style Forms, 18+ division at the Tiger Balm Internationals in Vancouver on March 21st. On March 10th Sandalwood presented The Queen Alexandra Foundation For Children a cheque for $5,407.13 that Sandalwood members had raised by hosting the Island Open Championship on February 28th.   On February 28th Sandalwood members, with the help of many friends from inside and outside the martial arts community, hosted the Fourth Island Open Championship. The event attracted over 250 competitors and will have raised over $5,000 for the Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children. We are grateful to all volunteers, officials, instructors, coaches, participants, sponsors and supporters who made the event possible and successful. Sandalwood members competing at the event attained the following standings: First Place Sophia Dunn-Krahn M/F, 10-11, Green-Blue, Korean Traditional Forms Josef Turner M/F, 12-13, Green-Blue, Korean Traditional Forms Second Place Seung Choi, M/F, 9-, White-Yellow, Korean Traditional Forms Sander van Driesum, M/F, 10-13, White-Yellow, Korean Traditional Forms Sander van Driesum, M, 10-13, White-Yellow, SKIL Point Fighting Josef Turner M, 12-13, Orange-Green, SKIL Point Fighting Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, M/F, 18+, Green-Blue, Korean Traditional Forms Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 32+, Under Black, SKIL Point Fighting Laura Deeth, 18+, Red-under Black, Korean Traditional Forms Greg Elworthy, M/F, 18+, Black Belt, Korean Traditional Forms Third Place Sun-Eui Choi, M/F, 10-13, White-Yellow, Korean Traditional Forms David Seale, M, 18+, White-Orange, SKIL Point Fighting Sophia Dunn-Krahn, F, 8-10, White-Orange, SKIL Point Fighting Chris Nesmith, M, 18+, Black Belt, 175+, SKIL Point
Fighting
Gord Watson, M, 35+, Black Belt, SKIL Point Fighting News and Notices - 2008 On October 24th and 25th Sandalwood had the distinct honour and privilege of holding a black belt training seminar taught by Grand Master Hwang and Ms. Jade Hwang. We are immensely grateful for this marvellous opportunity and we sincerely thank Grand Master Hwang and Ms. Hwang for being so generous with their time and their knowledge.  On October 18th a number of Sandalwood members attended the Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships, hosted by Bill & Terry Hunter in Burnaby. We compliment Sandalwood's competitors for attaining the following standings: Sophia Dunn-Krahn, M/F, 9-10, White-Orange, SKIL, Junior Korean Forms Andrea Murdoch, M/F, 18+, White-Orange, SKIL, Adult Korean Forms Andrea Murdoch, F, 18+, White-Orange, Adult Underbelt Point Fighting, 132- (awarded) Andrea Murdoch, F, 18+, White-Orange, Adult Underbelt Point Fighting, 132+ Laura Deeth, M/F, 18+, Green-Red, SKIL, Adult Korean Forms Gord Watson, M/F, 35+, SKIL, Adult Blackbelt, Korean Forms Second Place Sander van Driesum, M/F, 9-10, White-Orange, SKIL, Junior Korean Forms Sander van Driesum, M, 9-10, White-Orange, Junior Underbelt Point Fighting Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, M/F, 18+, Green-Red, SKIL, Adult Korean Forms Third Place Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, M/F, 18+, Green-Red, SKIL, Adult Korean Forms Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 18+, Green-Brown, Adult Underbelt Point Fighting, 132+ Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, F, 18+, Green-Brown, Adult Underbelt Point Fighting, 132- On September 27th a contingent of Sandalwood members attended the Coastal Martial Arts Open, hosted by Mr. Sukwinder Manhas in Port Alberni, B.C. As always Mr. Manhas hosted an excellent event and our members has a wonderful time. We commend Sandalwood's competitiors for attaing the following standings in the face of strong competiton: First Place
Sander van Driesum, M/F, 8-10, White-Orange, Point Sparring Second Place Sean Miller, M, 18+, White-Orange, Underbelt Forms Sean Miller, M, 32+, Under Black, Point Sparring Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 18+, Orange-Green, Point Sparring Greg Elworthy, M, 18+, Black Belt Forms Chris Nesmith, M, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, 175- Gord Watson, M, 35+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, all weights Third Place Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 18+, Green-Blue, Underbelt Forms Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, F, 18+, Red-Brown, Underbelt Forms Gord Watson, M/F, 35+, Black Belt, Empty Hand Forms Gord Watson, M, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring, 175+ On August 3rd Sandalwood members enjoyed volunteering for security duties at the Victoria Symphony Splash which was once again a magnificent event.  Devon O'Brien, Natalie Labossiere, Albert Labossiere, Greg Elworthy, Gord Watson, Laura Deeth Missing from picture: Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, Shawn Miller, Sheila Smith On June 22nd Sandalwood had the pleasure of hosting a joint training session with several members of Coastal Martial Arts. Our members had a wonderful time and are grateful to Sensei Manhas and his students for their friendship and for sharing their sparring excellence.  On June 7th Sandalwood had the honour and privilege of holding a seminar taught by Grandmaster Hwang.  After the seminar Grandmaster Hwang tested
and promoted Brenna
Carradine, Devon O'Brien, Chris
Nesmith,
Rob Matson, Daryl Chase and Lizzy
Hoffman
to 1st
Degree
Black Belt.
On May 2nd and 3rd Mr. Labossiere and Mr. Watson enjoyed the honour of attending a seminar hosted by Mr. Peter Clair, taught by Grandmaster Park Jong Soo and attended by Grandmasters Han Sam Soo, Kim Jong Chan and Lee Joon Jae. We thank Mr. Clair for inviting us to the event, the Grandmasters for sharing their time and knowledge and members of Legacy Taekwon-Do for their hospitality throughout the event.    A. Labossiere, Grandmaster Park, Grandmaster Soo, Grandmaster Han, Grandmaster Lee and G.Watson On April 26th several Sandalwood members
attended the Battle at the Rock in White Rock, B.C., hosted by Mr. Joe
Robertson, to compete and
volunteer. We congratulate our three competitors for acheiving
the following standings:
First Place Sophia Dunn-Krahn, M/F, 7-8, White-Orange, SKIL Junior Korean Forms Chris Nesmith, M/F, 18+, Green-Red, SKIL Adult Korean Forms Second Place Chris Nesmith, M, 18+, Green-Brown, SKIL Point Fighting, 174+ Third Place Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, M/F, 18+, Green-Red, SKIL Adult Korean Forms Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 18+, Green-Brown, SKIL Point Fighting, 132+   On February 23rd Sandalwood hosted the third annual Island Open Championship with over 200 participants and 600 spectators in attendance. We are very grateful to all those who worked as officials and volunteers. We are also very thankful to numerous instructors for turning out their students to the competition and to the numerous local businesses who provided financial assistance or sponshorship. Congratulations to Sandalwood's students for acheiving the following standings at the event:
First
Place Second Place Third Place Fourth Place * First time competitors!
News and
Notices - 2007
On November 17th Sandalwood hosted a sparring skills seminar featuring Sensei Sukwinder Manhas. The event was attended by about 60 participants. We are grateful to Sensei Manhas for his excellent presentations, for his ongoing support and for his unfailing friendship. We are also grateful to all who participated and to Goldstream Avenue Tae Kwon Do Academy, Coastal Martial Arts, OMAC Martial Arts, Island Martial Arts and Sidekicks Martial Arts Systems for their support. On November 10th Mr. Labossiere distinct honour and pleasure of attending a seminar, featuring Grandmasters Rhee Ki Ha and Hwang Kwang Sung, held in Crestview, Florida. The event, hosted by Mr. Thomas Gordon and members of Gordon Martial Arts, was the first time that the two grandmasters held a joint seminar in North America. Grandmaster Rhee was the first grandmaster promoted by General Choi and one of a few Taekwon-Do's pioneers whose roots reach back to the earliest days of Taekwon-Do.     On October 27th Mr. Labossiere attended the BC Taekwondo Association's annual general meeting during which his appointment, as the association's Zone 6 area representative, was renewed for another term and he was also elected as the association's Vice President. On October 20th a number of Sandalwood members attended the Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships in Burnaby. We thank Bill and Terry Hunter for inviting us and for once again hosting a very successful event. We congratulate our students for attaining the following standings: First Place Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, M/F, 18+, Green-Red, SKIL Korean Forms Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, F, 18+, Green-Brown, Point Fighting Grant Bedingfield, M/F, 11-13, Black Belt, SKIL Korean Forms Gord Watson, M/F, 35+, Black Belt, SKIL Korean Forms Second Place Niilo Van Steinburg, M, 18+, SKIL Continuous Sparring, 185+ Third Place Niilo Van Steinburg, M, 18+, Black Belt, SKIL Korean Forms On November 17th Sandalwood will be hosting a Sparring Skills Seminar Featuring Sensei Sukwinder Manhas. On October 9th Sandalwood enjoyed a visit from our good friend Sensie Sukwinder Manhas who dropped by to acknowledge Sandalwood's ongoing support of the Coastal Martial Arts Open. It is always a pleasure to have Sensei Manhas visit us and we look forward to many more collaborations with him and all Coastal Martial Arts members.  On September 22nd numerous Sandalwood members attended the Coastal Martial Arts Open, hosted by Mr. Sukwinder Manhas in Port Alberni, B.C. One again Mr. Manhas provided excellent competition in an event pervaded by camaraderie, friendship, and fair play. Those who stayed until the end of the event were treated to some point sparring moments that epitomize the beauty, finesse and phenomenal skill achievable by point sparring practitioners and witnessed intense competition that maintained the highest level of collegiality and good sportsmanship. We commend Sandalwood's competitiors for attaing the following standings in the face of strong competiton: First Place Brenna Carradine, F, 14-17, Green-Brown, Point Sparring Laura Deeth, F, 18+, Green-Brown, Forms Second Place Tana Morgan, F, 18+, White-Orange, Forms Laura Deeth, F, 18+, Orange-Green, Point Sparring Brenna Carradine, M/F, 14-17, Green-Brown, Forms Daryl Chase, M, 15-17, Blue-Brown, Point Sparring Third Place Laurissa
Barrnes-Roberts, F, 18+,
Green-Brown, Forms
On Autust 7th, Mr. Nikolic left Victoria
and relocated to Sackville, New Brunswick where he will attend Mont
Allison University on a fellowship for the coming year. We
congratulate him on his accomplishments, wish
him will, will miss him immensly and look forward to seeing him
again. Rob Matson, M, 32+, Under Black, Point Sparring Gord Watson, M/F, 35+, Black Belt, Open Hand Forms Gord Watson, M, 18+, Black Belt, Point Sparring Fourth Place Andrea Murdoch, F, 18+, White-Orange, Forms Daryl Chase, M/F, 14-17, Green-Brown, Forms Breandan Mc Ghee, M/F, 11-13, Green-Brown, Forms Laurissa Barrnes-Roberts, F, 18+, Blue-Brown, Point Sparring Chris Nesmith, M, 18+, Blue-Brown, Point Sparring Gord Watson, M, 35+, Black Belt, Point Sparring On August 4th six Sandalwood
members
volunteered, as production staff and security staff, at the Victoria Symphony's
Symphony
Splash. It was our pleasure to participate in such a fabulous event and to help support the
symphony.
 Niilo Van Steinburg, Sandy Martin, Natalie Labossiere, Devon O'Brien, Gord Watson, Albert Labossiere We are pleased to announce that on June 23rd, Grant Bedingfield, Greg Elworthy, Nikki Fraser, Natalie Labossiere, Milo Nikolic and Gord Watson all successfully tested for 1st Degree Black Belt. Also, Niilo Van Steinburg successfully tested for promotion to 2nd Degree Black Belt. The test was conducted by Grandmaster Hwang, Kwang Sung K-9-1 president of the Unified International Taekwon-Do Federation. We commend all the testing candidates for their excellent efforts and for performances of which they can all be proud! Earlier in the day Sandalwood hosted a seminar taught by Grandmaster Hwang. Photographed below are the attendees: On June 11th, Sandalwood's 2007-8 black belt testing candidates presented the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada with a cheque for $5,067.14 which was raised through several of the group's fundraising initiatives. The group significantly exceeded their goal and is to be commended for the perseverance that they demonstrated through various phases of their projects. Lydia Baran received the cheque on the behalf of the Foundation.  Left to Right: Albert Labossiere, Lydia Barans, Natalie Labossiere, Gord Watson, Rob Matson, Milo Nikolic, Greg Elworthy, Chris Nesmith, Daryl Chase, Lizzy Hoffman, and Sandy Martin Missing from the photo are: Grant Bedingfield, Nikki Fraser and Devon O'Brien Please click here for detailed information about this project. On May 5th, four Sandalwood members competed at the Lower Mainland ITF Tournament; each achieved medal standings and had nothing short of a fabulous day. We thank Mr. Reinelt and Mr. Johnson for organizing the event and for inviting us to attend. We commend our students for attaining the following standings in the face of strong competition: First Place
Grant
Bedingfield, M, 13-14 years, Black Stripe, PatternsNikki Fraser, F, 13-16 years, Blue-Red, Patterns Niilo Van Steinburg, Senior, 1st Dan Black Belt, Patterns Niilo Van Steinburg, M, 1st Dan Black Belt, Sparring Second Place Greg Elworthy, M, 18+, Red Belt - Black Stripe, Patterns Third Place Nikki Fraser, F, Black Stripe, Sparring** Fourth Place Greg Elworthy, M, 1st Dan Black Belt, Sparring* * Greg is a
recently promoted Black Stripe, therefore he was sparring up a division.
** The division also included a Black Belt who won First Place  On March 22nd Sandalwood presented The Queen Alexandra Foundation For Children a cheque for $3,354.16 which was raised when Sandalwood members hosted the Island Open Championship on February 24th, 2007. Ms. Jane Bowers received the cheque on the behalf of the foundation. On February 24th hosted the second
annual Island Open
Championship with over 210 competitors and 600 spectators in
attendance. We are very grateful to all those who worked as
officials, in numerous volunteer categories, or who in any way helped
the event run in smoothly and in a timely fashion. We are also
thankful to numerous instructors for turning out their students to the
competition and to numerous local businesses who helped with financial
assistance or sponshorship.
Sandalwood students acheived the following
standings at the event:
First Place
Andrew Meijer, M, 9-11, White-Yellow, Korean Forms Lizzy Hoffman, M/F, 15-17, Green-Blue, Korean Forms Breandan Mc Ghee, M/F, 12-14, Green-Blue, Korean Forms Greg Elworthy, M/F, 18+, Red under Black Belt, Korean Forms Nikki Fraser, M/F, 12-14, Red under Black Belt, Korean Forms Nikki Fraser, F, 11-13, Blue-Brown, SKIL Point Sparring Anthony Do Souto, M/F, 13+, Black Belt, Korean Forms Liam Begley, M, 18+, All Ranks, SKIL Continuous Sparring, 185- (awarded) Second Place Tana Morgan, M/F, 18+, White-Yellow, Korean Forms Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, M/F, 18+, Green-Blue, Korean Forms Rob Matson, M, 35+, under Black Black, SKIL Point Sparring, 175+ Chris Nesmith, M, 18+, All Ranks, SKIL Continuous Sparring, 175- Grant Bedingfield, M/F, 12-14, Red under Black Belt, Korean Forms Third Place Laura Deeth, M/F, 18+, White-Yellow, Korean Forms Laura Deeth, F, 18+, All Ranks, SKIL Continuous Sparring Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, M/F, 18+, Green-Blue, Korean Forms Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, 18+, White-Orange, SKIL Point Sparring Taylor Matson, M/F, 9-11, Red under Black Belt, Korean Forms Greg Elworthy, M, 18+, All Ranks, SKIL Continuous Sparring, 185+ Greg Elworthy, M, 18+, Blue-Brown, SKIL Point Sparring Check back soon for photos
Sandalwood will be hosting the second
annual Island Open
Championship, on February 24th. As in 2006,
net proceeds will be donated to The Queen Alexandra Foundation For
Children. We invite anyone interested in helping us with the
event to contact Albert at islandopen@shaw.ca
News and
Notices - 2006
On
December 12th Mr. Labossiere
was honoured with a President's
Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his work over the
past 30 years at the University
of Victoria. The Univeristy's President
and Vice-chancellor, Dr. David
Turpin, presented the award.
On
December 2nd eight Sandalwood
members
attended the Warrior Cup Invitational sparring competition hosted by
Bill
and Terry Hunter in New Westminster. We thank the Hunters for
hosting such a challenging, inspiring and entertaining event.
On
November 26th eleven
Sandalwood members attended an enjoyable Tai Chi seminar hosted by
Island Martial Arts and taught by Mr. Wayne Brown. We compliment
Mr. Brown on his excellent presentation and we thank Island Martial
Arts for their hospitality and for pushing some of us up the
snow-covered
hill. :)
On
November 1st Sandalwood celebrated its 5th anniversary. Nearly
a hundred students, family members, friends and colleagues attended the
celebration. Guests included members of Coastal Martial Arts,
Island Martial Arts and Sidekicks Martial Arts Systems as well as
numerous others who have often
helped Sandalwood through
their
participation, generosity and kindness.
We are grateful for the warm sentiments we received from those in attendance and from those who were unfortunately unable to attend. On October 21st a number of Sandalwood members attended the Western Canadian Martial Arts Championships in Burnaby, B.C. and attained the following standings: First
Place
Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, M/F, 18+, White-Orange Belt, Korean Forms Brenna Carradine, M/F, 11-12, Green-Red Belt, Korean Forms Greg Elworthy, M/F, 15-17, Green-Brown Belt, Korean Form* Gord Watson, M/F, 35+, All Ranks, Korean Forms Nikki Fraser, M/F, 13-14, Green-Red Belt, Korean Forms Niilo Van Steinburg, 18+, Black Belt, Korean Forms Second Place Laura Deeth, M/F, White-Orange Belt, Korean Forms Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, F, 18+, White-Orange Belt, Point Sparring Third Place Gord Watson, M, 35+, Under Black, Point Sparring Niilo Van Steinburg, M(186+), 18+, All Ranks, SKIL Continuous Sparring We
congratulate Bill and Terry Hunter for
once again hosting a high caliber and enjoyable even. We thank all the
Sandalwood members who participated and who helped make our attendance
possible.
* Greg also came within 0.1 point of winning the Junior Korean's Forms Grand Championship! On September 23rd over twenty Sandalwood members attended the Coastal Martial Arts Open, hosted by Mr. Sukwinder Manhas in Port Alberni, B.C. We thank Mr. Sukwinder Manhas and Coastal Martial Arts members for their gracious hospitality and we congratulate all involved for successfully hosting another terrific competition. Sandalwood competitors achieved the following standings: First
Place
Laura Deeth, F, 18+, White-Orange Belt, Forms Breandan Mc Ghee, M/F, 11-13, White-Orange Belt, Forms Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 18+, White-Yellow Belt, Point Fighting (awarded) Brenna Carradine, F, 11-13, Green-Brown Belt, Point Fighting Second Place Laurissa Barnes-Roberts, F, 18+, White-Orange Belt, Forms Norm MacDonell, M, 18+, Orange-Green Belt, Point Fighting Brenna Carradine, M/F, 11-13, Green-Brown Belt, Forms Rob Matson, M, 18+, Blue-Brown Belt, Point Fighting Nikki Fraser, M/F, 11-13, Green-Brown Belt, Forms Third Place Tana Morgan, F, 18+, White-Orange Belt, Forms
* fighting "up" in a
combined division at her first
competition!Rebeca Dunn-Krahn, F, 18+, Orange-Green Belt, Point Fighting* Thiago Silva, M, 18+, White-Orange Belt, Forms Gord Watson, M, 35+, Empty Hand Forms Gord Watson, M, 32+, Under Black, Point Fighting We
also commend all of Sandalwood's other
competitors for their high caliber performances and their excellent
individual efforts. Special thanks to Gord Watson, Niilo Van
Steinburg, Natalie Labossiere and Joanne Watson for their valuable
contributions
in preparation for and at the event.
On August 18th and 19th seven Sandalwood members competed in the World Martial Arts Games held in Victoria, B.C. and achieved the following standings: First
Place
Brenna Carradine, Women's Continuous Sparring, Underbelt, 10-13 Years Brenna Carradine, Women's Point Sparring, Underbelt, 10-13 Years Gord Watson, Korean Patterns, Men's Advanced, 18-35 Years Gord Watson, Men's Continuous Sparring, Underbelt, 18-35 Years, under 90 Kg. Gord Watson, Men's Point Sparring, Underbelt, 18-35 Years, under 90 Kg. Jens Weber, Men's, Continuous Sparring, Underbelt, 18-35 Years, under 65 Kg. Jens Weber, Men's, Point Sparring, Underbelt, 18-35 Years, under 65 Kg. Second Place Daryl Chase, Korean Patterns, Men's Advanced, 14-17 Years Nikki Fraser, Korean Patterns, Women's Advanced, 14-17 Years Nikki Fraser, Women's Continuous Sparring, Underbelt, 10-13 Years Nikki Fraser, Women's Point Sparring, Underbelt, 10-13 Years Jens Weber, Korean Patterns, Men's Advanced, 18-35 Years Third Place Daryl
Chase, Men's Point Sparring, Underbelt, 14-17 Years,
lightweight
We
congratulate all of Sandalwood's World Martial Arts Games
competitors for their terrific
efforts at the
competition and during the grueling pre-competition training
sessions. We
commend Liam Carradine and Breandan Mc Ghee for their courageous
efforts throughout, particularly in view of their junior years, their
limited
competition experience and the scope of such an event. We also
congratulate Niilo Van Steinburg for being Team Canada's, Korean Patterns
Assistant Coach and for the
excellent support that he gave
Team Canada members throughout the competition.
Sandalwood wishes Tammy Ledon a sincere fairwell as she departs Victoria and returns to her family in Mexico. On April 1st
eleven Sandalwood members
enjoyed attending the Lower Mainland ITF
Taekwon-Do Friendship Tournament in Vancouver. We thank Mr.
Johnson and
Mr. Reinelt for hosting the event, and we congratulate our members for
attaining the following standings:
First Place Second Place Third Place Fourth Place  On
March 21st Sandalwood
presented The Queen Alexandra Foundation
For Children a cheque for $3,000 which was raised when Sandalwood
members
hosted the Island Open Championship on February 25th, 2006.
Ms. Jane Bowers received the cheque on
the behalf of the foundation.
On February 25th numerous Sandalwood members attended the Island Open Championship, in Sidney, B.C. and we congratulate them for attaining the following medal standings: First Place Second Place Third Place Sandalwood is sincerely grateful to all students, parents, family members, colleagues and friends who volunteered and gave great amounts of their time, during the extensive preparation, and on the day of the event. The Island Open Championship's impressive success is a true testimonial to the terrific collaboration and the generosity that is typical of the Sandalwood Martial Arts family. On February 4th Sandalwood hosted a joint training session with members from Coastal Martial Arts and Sidekicks Martial Arts Systems. We are grateful to Mr. Manhas, Mr. Lionas and their students for honouring us with their visit. Several Sandalwood members also attended a Judge and Referee clinic, taught by Mr. Manhas, and hosted by the Island Open Championship organizing committee. On February 2nd several Sandalwood members performed a demonstration class for the members of the Boys and Girls Club of Victoria , Rite of Me program. We thank the group leaders for the invitation and we commend those in attendance for their excellent participation. On January 24th, a number of Sandalwood members attended a joint training and sparring session at OMAC dojo in Victoria. We thank Sensei Marchtaler for his hospitality and we are grateful to Mr. Dort for hosting the very enjoyable session. News and
Notices - 2005
On November 12th, Sandalwood members attended the Kel-West Taekwon-Do Championship in Kelowna. We thank Mr. Rus Smith for hosting the event and for inviting us. We commend our members for their outstanding performances, in a virtual sweep of their divisions, and congratulate them for attaining the following medal standings: 1st
Place
Brenna Carradine, Patterns, F, 11-12 years, Green - Blue Daryl Chase, Patterns, M, 14-15 years, Blue - Red Nikki Fraser, Patterns, M/F, 12-13 years, Red - Black Stripe Nikki Fraser, Sparring, F, 13-15 years, Blue - Red Daryl Chase, Sparring, M, 15-17 years, Blue - Red 2nd Place 3rd Place We are
particularly grateful to the Elworthy
family for lending us their van for use on the trip.
On October 22nd, Mr. Labossiere attended the annual general meeting of Taekwondo BC and was elected as one its directors. On October 22nd, Sandalwood members attended the Western Canadian Martial Arts Challenge in Burnaby. We compliment Bill and Terry Hunter for hosting the incredibly successful event. We commend our members for their excellent performances and we congratulate them for attaining the following medal standings: 1st Place We offer Gord
Watson a special acknowledgement for his spontaneous, memorable and
original
performance of Yul Joong San! On September 24th, a number of Sandalwood's members enjoyed a magnificent day at the Costal Martial Arts Open competition in Port Alberni. We compliment Mr. Manhas for hosting such an excellent event; we thank him for inviting us, and for his gracious hospitality. We were impressed by the friendly tone of the event, the caliber of the competition, the emphasis on control during sparring and by the number of notable martial artists, from throughout the Pacific Northwest region, who attended, participated and assisted at the event. Congratulations
to our members for attaining
the following medal standings:
2nd Place: 3rd Place: We thank all Sandalwood members who attended and are particularly grateful to Gord Watson for his help in preparation for the event. On July 16th a number of Sandalwood members had the great pleasure of attending a seminar in Port Coquitlam, hosted by the ITF of BC and taught by Master Tran. Sandalwood is grateful to Mr. Lipscombe for organizing the event, to Master Tran for sharing his knowledge, and to members of the ITF of BC for their gracious hospitality. On June 11th Sandalwood had the distinct honour and pleasure of hosting a seminar taught by Grandmaster Hwang, Kwang Sung. The event was attended by over 40 participants, including over 20 black belts, from the United States and from throughout British Columbia. We thank Grandmaster Hwang for giving us his time and we are grateful to all those who participated. We are also thankful to all those in the Sandalwood family who helped prepare for the event. Following the seminar Niilo Van Steinburg successfully tested for his 1st degree black belt and Albert Labossiere successfully tested for his 2nd degree. On May 14th, a number of Sandalwood members had the pleasure of attending a joint training and sparring session at Sidekicks Martial Arts Systems in Colwood. Also in attendance ere several members from Coastal Martial Arts in Port Alberni. Sandalwood members found the session very valuable and extremely enjoyable. We are grateful to Mr. Dave Lionas for hosting the session and for all the members of his school who made our stay so pleasant. On April 16th, Sandalwood members attended two competitions: The Fireball Challenge in Burnaby, hosted by Bill and Terry Hunter, and The Coquihalla Invitational Championship in Merritt, hosted by Mr. Nedokus and Coquihilla Taekwon-Do. Standings earned were as follows: The Coquihalla Invitational Championship The
Fireball Challenge
Liam Carradine, 2nd Place, Point Fighting, Male, 8-10, White-Yellow Brenna Carradine, 1st Place, Point Fighting, Female, 11-13, Blue-Brown* Sandra Martin, 1st place, Continuous Fighting, Female, All Ranks, 18+, All weights Sandra Martin, 2nd Place, Point Fighting, Female, Blackbelts, 18+, 132+ lbs. Sandra Martin, 2nd Place, Patterns, Female, Blackbelts, Empty Hand * Brenna is a Green Belt but
sparred a division up due to a lack of competitors in her division.
We commend our members for their excellent performance and congratulate to each of them for their participation, their conduct and their achievements! On April 2nd, a
number of Sandalwood members had the honour and pleasure of attending a
joint
training session hosted by Sensei Sukwinder Manhas, of Coastal Martial
Arts, in
Port Alberni. We sincerely thank Sensei Manhas, and his students,
for
their gracious hospitality. Our members had a very enjoyable time
and
eagerly await our next joint training session. On March 30th, Sandalwood
hosted a social day, attend by the majority of
our members. We thank all who attended and offer a special thanks
to the Nikolics and Matsons for their contributions.
Click
here
to
see a group
picture from that class On February 26th, Sandalwood hosted a Sparring Skills Seminar taught by Mr. Bill Hunter, Sensei at the Tashu Shotokan Karate dojo in New Westminster, B.C. Over 70 participants from various regional schools were in attendance. Throughout the day, participants were treated to an extensive assortment of drills, sparring techniques and strategies. Mr. Hunter’s pleasant presentation style, and his wealth of sparring knowledge, left participants enriched in body, mind and spirit. We are very grateful to Mr. Hunter for again honouring us with his presence and for providing us with excellent, inspiring and entertaining training. We thank all the instructors and students who attended and made the event a resounding success. We are grateful to Coastal Martial Arts, Island Kung-Fu, Kung Fu Academy, Westshore Karate, Sidekicks Martial Arts Systems and OMAC Martial Arts for their strong support. We are very thankful to Mr. Sukwinder Manhas, of Coastal Martial Arts, to Mr. Dave Lionas, of Sidekicks Martial Arts Systems and to Mr. Don Randall for their kindness and support. We
wish to thank the Sandalwood students who participated and we are
particularly appreciative of those who helped before and after the
event. We also thank and commend Gord Watson for his help and
perseverance while preparing for the event. On January 22nd several Sandalwood members attended a Sparring and Self Defense Seminar at Team Taekwon-Do in Vancouver, hosted by Mr. Johnson, and taught by Mr. Ottesen, Chief Instructor of Freedom Taekwon-Do in Prince George. We are thankful to Mr. Johnson, for hosting and inviting us to such an excellent event. We thank Mr. Ottesen for sharing his abundant knowledge and we commend him for presenting it in a very an inspiring, entertaining and efficient manner. We are also grateful to many of the others in attendance for their warmth and hospitality. Sandalwood is very pleased to again be hosting a Tournament Sparring Skills Seminar, taught by Mr. Bill Hunter. The seminar, that will be held on February 26th, at our regular training location in the Cadboro Bay United Church Gymnasium, will include a rich assortment of sparring exercises and drills aimed at improving Point Sparring skills and strategies. Participants will enjoy a high degree of hands-on practice and sparring activity. Our 2004 Sparring Skills Seminar, also taught by Mr. Hunter, received outstanding positive reviews without exception. When: ~ Morning Session: 9:00 AM - noon: ages 8 to 13 years ~ Afternoon Session: 1:00 AM - 4:00 PM: ages 14 years and older~ Registration check-in will be available half an hour prior to each session Where: ~ Cadboro bay united church gymnasium, 2625 Arbutus Road, Saanich Cost: ~ $40 per session, for registrations received between February 4th & 25th ~ pre-registration only; new registrations will not be accepted at the door ~ cheques may be post-dated to February 18th ~ Space is limited. Last year’s event sold out, so please register early Please refer any questions to Gord Watson at 250-418-8585, or e-mail sandalwood@shaw.ca A Bit About Mr. Hunter News and
Notices - 2004
On
December 10th,
Sandalwood members had the
pleasure of performing a demonstration at the Frank Hobbs Elementary
School Winterfest. The presentation, that illustrated a variety
of our curriculum elements, included
a broad cross section of our
students; we are pleased with their excellent performance and we thank
them for participating. We offer a special note of thanks to
Niilo Van Steinburg for his valuable assistance during the preparation
and the performance of the demonstration. We
are also grateful to the Winterfest organizers for inviting us to their
event.
On December 10th Mr. Labossiere enjoyed the honour of representing BC Taekwondo at the Fifteenth Year Celebration of the Aboriginal Sports and Recreation of BC. Representatives from numerous local and regional sports organizations also attended the gathering. On
October 28th,
Natalie Labossiere was
granted Assistant Instructor status. We congratulate her on
her perseverance and
welcome her to our instructor's ranks.
On October
21st, Mr.
Sukwinder Manhas, owner of Coastal
Martial
Arts in
Port Alberni, honoured Sandalwood with a visit. Mr. Manhas
presented
Sandalwood with an Appreciation Award for our participation in the
Coastal
Martial Arts Open that was held in late September. Mr. Manhas
also
presented Niilo Van Steinburg a Coastal Martial Arts Open Gold Medal,
in recognition of Niilo's
stellar performance in
the Men, 18+, Blue/Brown
Belts Point
Sparring
and as an
acknowledgement of Niilo's exemplary
sportsmanship. We are profoundly
grateful to Mr. Manhas for his visit, his gracious consideration and
his
ongoing collaboration and friendship.
On
October 16th
Mr. Labossiere attended the BC Taekwondo Association
Annual General Meeting, in Langley BC. Also on that day,
Mr. Van Steinburg and Greg Elworthy attended the Western Canadian
Challenge in Burnaby BC.
Congratulations to Greg for winning 3rd place in the Male, 14-17, Yellow-Green Patterns division. We are grateful to Bill & Terry Hunter for hosting the high calibre and very successful event. A number of
Sandalwood members enjoyed a fabulous day at the Costal Martial Arts
Open
competition in Port Alberni on September 25th. We offer
our sincere
compliments to Mr. Manhas for hosting such an excellent event, we thank
him for
inviting us, and for his gracious hospitality.
Congratulations to our members for attaining the following medal standings: 2nd Place:
Christina Hayes, Patterns, M/F, 8-10 years, White/Orange Belts Christina Hayes, Point Sparring, M/F, 8-10 years, White/Orange Belts Brenna Carradine, Patterns, M/F, 11-13 years, White/Orange Belts Brenna Carradine, Point Sparring, Girls, 11-13 years, White/Orange Belts Gord Watson, Patterns, Men, 18+, White/Yellow Belt Gord Watson, Point Sparring, Men, 18+, White/Yellow Belt Niilo Van Steinburg, Point Sparring, Men, 18+, Blue/Brown Belts 3rd Place: Kaitlin Kennedy, Patterns, M/F, 8-10 years, White/Orange Belts Greg Elworthy, Point Sparring, M, 15-17 years, Orange/Green Belts Milo Nikolic, Patterns, Men, 18+, White/Orange Belts Milo Nikolic, Point Sparring, Men, 18+, White/Yellow Belts Rob Matson, Point Sparring, Men, 35+, Under Black Belts Niilo Van Steinburg, Patterns, Men, 18+, Green/Brown Belts Congratulations
also to Daryl Chase, and Taylor Matson for their excellent efforts and
to the
other Sandalwood members who attended and supported the event.
We
offer Niilo Van Steinburg a special commendation for his superb
demonstration of athletic and technical excellence, but more
importantly, for
exceptional sportsmanship during his final sparring match.
Niilo's
technical prowess, and his courteous conduct are an inspiration to all,
and we
are proud to have him represent Sandalwood. Sandalwood
is very pleased to announce that
Mr. Labossiere has been appointed as a Zone Representative for
the BC Taekwondo
Association. Mr. Labossiere represents Zone 6
which includes
Vancouver Island and some of the South Central coastal region.
On
August 19th,
Mr. Labossiere, David
Labossiere and Greg Elworthy attended a day-long Ju-Jitsu seminar that
was taught by Mr.
Royce Gracie
at Dragon Martial Arts in Port Alberni, B. C. We thank Mr. Gracie for his excellent
instruction and Mr. Lee for hosting the event. Click here to see some pictures from the
seminar
Ms. Martin and
Mr. Van Steinburg attended Grandmaster Hwang's 32nd Annual
Taekwon-Do
camp,
which, this year was held at Coldbrook Campground in Barre
Massachusetts, USA
from July 12th through July 18th. The week long training session drew
over 120
members from throughout North America. We are grateful to
Grandmaster
Hwang for hosting the event and for helping us overcome a logistics
snag, to
Ms. Bentley for her gracious hospitality and to all the UITF members
who helped
make the week enjoyable.
On July 16th Mr. Labossiere and David Labossiere had an enjoyable visit with Mr. Thomas Gordon, owner and head instructor, of Gordon Martial Arts in Crestview, Florida. We thank Mr. Gordon and his family for their kindness and hospitality during that visit. On July 12th Mr. Labossiere enjoyed a brief but pleasant visit with Mr. Monty Hendrix, owner and head instructor, of Hendrix Martial Arts in Greenbsoro, North Carolina. Mr. Hendrix's kindness and generosity are appreciated. On June 12th Ms. Martin and Mr. Labossiere had the pleasure of attending a Hapkido Seminar in Kelowna B.C. The event was, hosted by Mr. Rus Smith of Kel-West Taekwon-Do and Hapkido, and taught by Master Jung of the World Hapkido Association. We thank Master Jung for willingly sharing his knowldege and we are grateful to Mr. Smith for his very gracious hospitality. Several Sandalwood members had an excellent day at the ITF of B.C., 2004 Championship, on June 5th, in Burnaby. Congratulations to our members for attaining the following standings: 1st Place: 3rd Place: * Mr. Watson, who very
recently joined Sandalwood, previously trained under Mr. Rasmussen, at
Horangi
Taekwon-Do, in Grand Prairie, Alberta. Click here to
see some
pictures from the competition On
May 27th, over 20
members of Sandalwood Martial Arts participated in a
demonstration at the Quadra-Hillside Community Health Festival, which
was
jointly hosted by the Quadra Arts Centre & the Quadra School
PAC.
Despite it being a rainy day the festival was very well attended and
Sandalwood
members enjoyed performing to a sizeable and receptive crowd.
On April 17th, several
Sandalwood members competed at the
Fireball Challenge in Burnaby, B.C. We commend each of our
members who
competed and we thank them all for having represented Sandalwood in a
manner of
which we can all be proud. We compliment Bill & Terry Hunter
for
hosting a very successfuy, enjoyable, and high caliber event. We
ongratulate
our following members for attaining medal standings:
1st
Place: 2nd
Place: Click
here to see some
pictures from the competition On March 20th & 21st, several Sandalwood members competed at the Tiger Balm Internationals. We are very pleased with the quality effort put on by our members and congratulate them for attaining the following medal standings: 1st
Place:
Dustin Silvey, NBL Black Belt
Sparring,
Men's, Middle Weight
Brenna Carradine, Junior Hard Style Forms, Traditional, M/F, 10-13, White - Yellow Belt 2nd Place: Niilo Van
Steinburg, Olympic Style
Sparring, M, 18+, Blue - Red Belt
Niilo Van Steinburg, SKIL Hard Style Forms, Traditional, M, 18+, Blue - Red/Brown Belt 3rd Place: 4th Place:
Chris Nesmith, SKIL Hard Style Forms, Traditional, M/F, 14-17 Niilo Van Steinburg, SKIL Sparring, M, 18+ Click here to see a few pictures form the competition On
March 14th, Ms. Martin,
Mr. Labossiere and Mr. Van Steinburg enjoyed a
pleasant
visit and informative training session, in Port Coquitlam, with Mr. Hal
Lipscombe and his senior students. We are very grateful to Mr.
Lipscombe
and his students for their gracious hospitality and for being so
generous with
their time and knowledge
Sidekicks
vs Sandalwood Friendship
"Challenge" February 29th, 2004 There were
only a few casualties and a couple of
mortalities, but all in all we had a great time. Thank you to
Dave and
Derek Lionas and all of Sidekicks for their warm hospitality.
Congratulations. BUT!...
Don't rest too easy, as next time it is on our home turf and remember that we don't take prisoners!  It
is with heavy hearts that we announce that on February 7th, 2004, Pam
Sainsbury
succumbed after a long battle with cancer. A donation was made in
her
name to the "Pam's Friends" foundation on behalf of Sandalwood
Instructors,
Students and Parents. Although Pam has passed on, her fight for
patient
advocacy and the right to chose the course of their treatment will
continue
through the foundation. Our thoughts and prayers are with her
family,
friends and associates.
On Saturday January 31st,
Sandalwood hosted
a Sparring
Skills Seminar taught by Mr. Bill Hunter, Sensei at the Tashu
Shotokan Karate dojo in New Westminster,
B.C. In attendance
of the sold out event were some 50 members of various regional schools
including Sidekicks
Martial Arts Systems, Coastal Martial
Arts, OMAC
Martial Arts, Westshore
Karate
Inc. and Sandalwood.
Throughout
the day long event, participants were treated to an extensive
assortment of
drills as well as offensive and defensive sparring techniques and
strategies. Mr. Hunter’s amazing arsenal of sparring skills, and
his rich
wealth of knowledge, left participants enriched in body, mind and
spirit. We
are very grateful to Mr. Hunter for honourning us with his presence and
for
providing us with excellent and inspiring training. We
are very thankful to the instructors and students from each
participating
school for their help in making the event a resounding success.
We also
wish to thank all the Sandalwood students who participated and we are
particularly appreciative of those who helped before and after the
event.
Thank you also to Lesley Jacobson for helping out at lunch time. Please note that our Sparring Skills Seminar is now fully booked, but a waiting list is being kept in the event of any last minute cancellations. We thank all registrants for their support. January 27th, 2004 Between January 19th and 23rd Mr. Labossiere had the privilege and pleasure of visiting KATU schools in the Eastern United States. Mr. Labossiere is very grateful for the superb hospitality of: ~ Mr. King of Hwang’s Taekwon-Do in Stratham, New Hampshire, ~ Mr. Hewes of Flying Dragon Taekwon-Do in Smyrna, Delaware, ~ Mrs. Golino of Eastern Taekwon-Do in Monroe, Connecticut, ~ Mr. Oulundsen of Oulundsen’s Taekwon-Do in South Windsor, Connecticut, and ~ Mr. Zandri of Zandir Martial Arts in Brookfield, Connecticut. The visits left Mr. Labossiere with a deeper understanding of numerous Taekwon-Do techniques, provided a plethora of new instructional drills and firmly consolidated his belief that commercial viability need not come at the expense of martial art standards or techniques. Mr. Labossiere is grateful for the kindness of Jodie and Matthew Bentley who again opened their home to him during his stay in Connecticut. Mr. Labossiere was also touched by the kindness of Mr. Matt Jones, Sensei and owner of the Matt Jones Sports Karate Institute, who's gracious gift of a black belt relieved a problem Mr. Labossiere had precipitated by a moment of forgetfulness. Sandalwood Martial Arts is pleased, and honoured, to be hosting a Sparring Skills Seminar, to be taught by Sensei Bill Hunter, on January 31th, 2004, at our regular training location in the Cadboro Bay United Church Gymnasium. Sensei Hunter, who began his karate training in 1971, is the head instructor of the highly respected Tashu Shotokan Karate dojo, in New Westminster, B. C.,he is the longstanding National Black Belt League’s commissioner for the Pacific Northwest region and he annually hosts The Fireball Challenge and The Western Canadian Championships, two very successful regional martial arts competitions. Moreover, Mr. Hunter not only has an exceptional record at competitive sparring but he also has an impressive history at producing and coaching top-flight competitors at the local, regional and international levels. Mr. Hunter’s martial arts talents, and numerous accomplishments, are only eclipsed by his fine personal qualities. Spaces are limited and are available by pre-registration only. For more information please email us at sandalwood@shaw.ca or call Albert at 595-1088. News and Notices
- 2003
Congratulations to Nikki Fraser who won 1st place in Patterns and 2nd place in Sparring, for Green Belts, age 10-12, at the 2003 British Columbia Provincial Taekwon-Do Championships, hosted by the ITF of BC, in Kamloops on October 25th. Nikki's performances were exemplary demonstrations of skill, effort and good sportsmanship! We thank Mr. Hal Lipscombe, president of the ITF of BC, and Mr. Gill, of Thompson Valley Taekwon-Do, for hosting a successful competition and for inviting us. Also, we are grateful to Mr. Rod Johnson, of Champlain Heights Taekwon-Do, and to numerous others in attendance for making us feel very welcome at the event. Congratulations to Greg
Elworthy who won 1st place in Male's, 13-14, White & Yellow, Point
Fighting
at The Western Canadian Martial Arts
Challenge in Burnaby on October 18.
A
very good demonstration of skill and sportsmanship!
Congratulations also to Dustin Silvey for a 2nd in Adult Black Belt Soft Style Forms and a 2nd in Adult Black Belt point fighting. We thank Bill and Terry Hunter for hosting the competition and we congratulate them on its resounding success. Congratulations to Spencer Jacobson and David Labossiere on being awarded Junior Instructor status at Sandalwood. On September 19th & 20th,
Mr.
Labossiere and David Labossiere attended, and very much enjoyed, a
Combat
Hapkido seminar hosted by Self
Defence Canada
in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Over eighty participants attended the
seminar
taught by Grandmaster Pellegrini the founder of the International Combat Hapkido Federation.
We are pleased to have Ms.
Martin back with us after an eight month University related work term,
at the
National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
We are pleased to have raised over $500 toward the fund in aid of Pam Sainsbury in her fight against cancer. Sandalwood students and their parents held a car wash, on July 26th to raise the money. Sandalwood is very grateful to the Royal Oak Co-op for their gracious generosity with water and space, to the Royal Oak Country Grocer for their assistance, to Natasha and Melanie of 100.3 the Q for their excellent support, to Rainier Jansen for donating refreshments, to our students and their parents who worked long hours in the hot sun washing cars, to all those who let us wash their cars and rewarded us with generous donations and to Sensei Ken Marchtaler, of OMAC Martial Arts, for inviting us to participate in this notable endeavour. We offer Pam and the Sainsbury family our sincere best wishes. On June 27th Sandalwood bid farewell to Ms. Nick Wawroschek who will soon be returning to her home in Aachen, Germany. Ms. Wawroschek has trained with us since February 2003 and has been a delight to have in our club. Nick’s pleasant nature, strong work ethic, excellent sense of protocol and notable skill will all be missed. We hope her future holds much happiness and success and we offer her a perpetual welcome to return to Sandalwood at anytime. We wish Nick, and her mother Ursula, a safe and enjoyable journey home. Sandalwood wishes to thank all our students who participated in the 41st Annual Oak Bay Tea Party Parade, on June 7th, and congratulates them for their excellent performance. Special thanks go out to; Lesley Jacboson for the use of her van and for all of her valuable assistance; to Rob Matson for his very generous contribution of candy; to Paul Elworthy and Rainier Jansen for carrying our banner; to Natalie Labossiere for preparing decorations and parade handouts; to Don Knight for his video taping services; and to Robin Hayes for her valuable assistance by dispensing water, breaking boards and parade handouts. On May 25th, Ms. Martin and Mr. Labossiere enjoyed a very pleasant visit and training session, in Port Coquitlam, with Mr. Hal Lipscombe and a number of his students. We sincerely thank Mr. Lipscombe and his students for their warmth and gracious hospitality. Sandalwood is grateful to all our members who competed and participated in the Island Challenge Competition, in Victoria, on May 24th We are pleased that over 60% of our students competed! We congratulate the following students for attaining medal standings: 1st Place:
Christina Hayes, Korean
Traditional Forms, Novice
Natalie Labossiere, Korean Traditional Forms, Women’s Advanced Nick Wawroschek, Continuous Fighting, Women’s Intermediate 2nd Place:
Nikki Fraser, Korean
Traditional Forms, Advanced
Christopher Nesmith, Korean Traditional Forms, Advanced Christopher Nesmith, Point Fighting, Advanced Nick Wawroschek, Korean Traditional Forms, Intermediate 3rd Place:
Greg Elworthy, Korean
Traditional Forms, Novice
Greg Elworthy, Point Fighting, Novice Lizzy Hoffman, Korean Traditional Forms, Novice Martin Hoffman, Continuous Fighting, Advanced Martin Hoffman, Point Fighting, Advanced Nick Wawroschek, Point Fighting Intermediate Congratulations to Mr. Silvey
for winning 1st Place in Adult Black Belt
Soft Style Forms, Men's Black Belt Point Fighting and in the Adult
Black Belt Point Fighting Grand Championship!
Also, we commend Daryl
Chase,
Spencer Jacobson, Tigh Jansen, Kaitlin Kennedy, David Labossiere and
Dominique
Rochefort for their excellent efforts and
notable
performances in the face of strong competition.
We thank and congratulate all those involved in making the Island Challenge a huge success. On June 7th, 2003 Sandalwood will be participating in the 41th Annual Oak Bay Tea Party Parade. Sandalwood is
pleased
to be among the Greater Victoria martial arts schools hosting the
ISLAND CHALLENGE, Martial Artists for Kids, competition
being held in Victoria on May 24th,
2003. The
non-partisan open competition will be held in the St. Margaret's School
Gymnasium
and ALL net proceeds generated will be donated to Big Brothers Big
Sisters
of Victoria. We encourage regional martial artists to participate in
this event, and to support it in any way that they can, in order to
assist
Big Brothers Big Sisters in their efforts to help children.
On April 23rd, Sandalwood had the privilege of a visit from Mr. Hal Lipscombe, President of the ITF of B.C. Mr. Lipscombe further honoured us by teaching a class, during which he inspired us with his knowledge and technical abilities. We are sincerely grateful to Mr. Lipscombe, for the time and wisdom that he so graciously shared with us, and we look forward to his return. We would like to congratulate Dustin Silvey for winning in both Forms and Point Fighting Divisions at The Fireball Challenge, in Burnaby, on April 12th! The event was well attended and offered an excellent caliber of competition thus making Dustin's wins notable. Way to go Dustin! We are pleased to
have Ms. Martin back at Sandalwood during her "defrost from Winnipeg
and Tiger Balm week". While at Tiger Balm we enjoyed the company
of our martial art friends and of new acquaintances.
Congratulations to Dustin Silvey and his students who did exceptionally
well in their events. Ms. Martin earned a Silver Medal when she
presented Eui-Am in the Korean Black Belt patterns division. It
was the first time she performed Eui-Am competitively. We are now
looking forward to attending Mr. Hunter's Fireball Challenge on April
12th.
We would like to congratulate Ms. Martin who recently began a work term, at the prestigious National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, as part of her studies toward a Degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology. We wish Ms. Matin a very enjoyable stay in Winnipeg and we look forward to her return to Sandalwood. News and Notices - 2002
Mr. Labossiere enjoyed an excellent visit with many of his KATU friends, while attending the KATU Seminar and Awards Banquet hosted by Grandmaster Hwang, in Manchester, Connecticut on December 14th. It was a great opportunity to revisit acquaintances, to make new friends and to get insights into developments in the ITF world. Both the seminar and banquet were well attended and each was an exemplary credit to Grandmaster Hwang and his fine organization. Congratulations to Grandmaster Hwang and all of KATU! During his trip Mr. Labossiere also enjoyed a very pleasant visit to Mr. Mann's school in Newington, Ct. and is grateful to Mr. Mann for his hospitality. Mr. Labossiere is also very grateful to Ms. Bentley for the notable generosity she extended him during his stay. We would like to thank all the students, parents and family members who attended our pre Christmas dinner on December 7th. It was very satisfying to see such a high level of attendance and we appreciate hearing from the few who weren't able to attend due to prior commitments. We wish you all the very best during the coming festive season and throughout the New Year. We are very pleased to announce that on Thursday November 28th, Susan Moore successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis in Biochemistry and Microbiology, at the University of Victoria. Congratulations, Dr. Moore! :) The November 9th & 10th sparring and self defense seminar was a real hit! A huge thank you to Island Martial Arts for bringing your crew. A bit thanks goes out to Mr. Dave Lionas and Sidekicks Martial Arts for lending us your kick shields. Way to go all Sandalwood students that attended, for proving that you could make it through the grueling Saturday class. Ian you were outstanding! We hope to do it again in about a year so keep in touch. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SANDALWOOD
November 1st marked the first year anniversary of
Taekwon-Do classes at Sandalwood. During the past year our school
has grown in size and substance while we have pursued our goal of
offering a quality, affordable and family oriented Taekwon-Do
program to the Greater Victoria community. We thank our
founding students and families, and those who have since joined us, for
their endorsement and support. Also, we're very grateful for the
tremendous and unfailing support
of the marvelous martial artists who have helped us in this endeavour.
We are particularly thankful to Grand Master Hwang and Mrs.
Michelle Golino of KATU, Mrs. Colleen Pearce and the Cadboro Bay United
Church, Mr. Ian Kralt of Avatar Self Defense, NIPPON KETSUGO
RYU JUJITSU founder Professor Larry Hilton and the WORLD
BUDO ALLIANCE founder Kyoshi Dave Degrouchie for their gracious
encouragement, support and understanding. Likewise, we are
grateful to numerous others, both in and outside of the martial arts
community, for their inspiration and encouragement. The challenges that we have overcome during the past year have ultimately strengthened us and rendered us even better prepared to meet those challenges that lay ahead. We invite you to join our ranks and to experience an environment where you, and your martial art journey, are held in the highest regard and priority. Sandalwood Martial Arts would like to congratulate Ms. Martin for graduating, and receiving an Associate Degree in Chemistry from Victoria's Camosun College, on October 19th. Ms. Martin is now pursuing a Biochemistry and Microbiology degree at the University of Victoria. Sandalwood Martial Arts would like to congratulate our good friends at Sidekicks Martial Arts Systems on the occasion of their recent relocation into an excellent new facility in Colwood. We wish you great success in your new dojang and we look forward to our future collaborations. Sandalwood Instructors have recently enjoyed a number of visits to the Island Martial Arts school at the Shawnigan Lake Community Centre. We would like to congratulate Mr. Collins and Mr. Attridge for their fine work in developing a Taekwon-Do program for that community. We are happy to announce that effective October 3rd, we will operate two class modules simultaneously on Thursdays. Mr. Dustin Silvey will teach Point Stop Sparring skills, open to Green Belts and up (Yellow Belts and Green Stripe by invitation). Mr. Silvey practices Taekwon-Do and Kung Fu and is an accomplished Point Stop Sparring competitor in the NBL circuit. This is a terrific opportunity for those interested in Point Stop Sparring. We are thankful to Dustin for sharing his sparring expertise with us. Also, during the same time slot, we will be offering a Techniques class intended for those up to Green Stripe, but open to all ranks in the case any higher ranked students who do not wish to take the Point Stop Sparring skills class. November 1st will mark our one year anniversary and of course we will be celebrating. On November 9th & 10th we will be hosting a sparring and self defense seminar with a guest instructor. As well, on the Saturday we will be having a celebration dinner, everyone welcome. More details will be posted as they become
available.
We have a new demonstrations page up.
Click
here
to view it.
We are back from KATU Camp and we are happy
to say that we survived! We met many wonderful and talented
people. A big thank you goes out to Mrs. Golino for encouraging
us to "get there". We would also like to thank Grandmaster Hwang
and all the instructors for their awesome instruction and unlimited
patience. To our out of town guests, please sign the guestbook
and visit
again as we will be posting some pictures. For our students,
get ready as we've picked up lots of "fun" new drills for
upcoming classes. Hee hee hee.... :)
Sandalwood members will be attending the Western Canadian Championship in Vancouver , that will be hosted by Mr. Bill Hunter, on October 19th, 2002. We are hoping that a number of our colour belts will attend and participate in a competition. Ms. Martin and Mr. Labossiere will be away between July 12th and 24th. During that time they will attend Grand Master Hwang's KATU Summer Training Camp in Barre, Massachusetts USA. The camp, in its 30th year, is put on by Grand Master Hwang and provides KATU members a marvelous opportunity to directly train with their distinguished leader. Sandalwood's classes will be suspended during that period. A huge thank you goes out to Natalie Labossiere for all of
the sewing work she did preparing our new doboks for the camp. Congratulations, to Spencer Jacobson and Michael Valentine, for participating in a talent show during their year end General Assembly at Rogers School. Congratulations to Jesse Brace and Nicole Wallage who participated in demonstrations that were conducted during their respective physical education classes at Campus View School. We would like to thank Campus View School staff for their excellent cooperation. On June 20th Sandalwood Martial Arts had a great time putting on a demonstration at the Frank Hobbs School Multi-cultural Fair. We would like to thank the Fair's organizers for their warm reception and all our students who attended and participated. On June 12th Sandalwood Martial Arts had the pleasure of putting on a demonstration at the Margaret Jenkins Spring Fair. We would like to thank all our students who attended and participated. A number of Sandalwood members had the pleasure of attending the 23rd Annual West Coast Can-Am Championships, in Vancouver, on June 7th & 8th. David Labossiere, Spencer Jacobson and Tigh Jansen won Third Place in NBL Black Belt Team Patterns, Tigh Jansen won Second Place in NBL Traditional Korean Patterns (M/F, 17-) and Ms. Martin won Second Place in NBL Traditional Korean Patterns (M/F, 18+). Great job, congratulations to all the Sandalwood members who competed. Also, congratulations to David Labossiere who won Third Place in NBL Black Belt Point Fighting (11-). We would like to thank Mr. Ken Low, the tournament organizer, for putting on a good competition and for the the warm reception he gave us. We would like to thank Lesley Jacobson for the use of her van for the trip to the competition. On June 1st Sandalwood had the pleasure of participating in our first parade, the 40th Oak Bay Tea Party Parade. We would like to thank the Parade’s organization committee for putting on a fine parade and making us feel welcome. Also we would like to thank Lesley Jacobson for the use of her van, the volunteers that helped out and all Sandalwood students that attended. On May 30th Sandalwood Martial Arts had a great time participating in the Rogers School Fun Fair. We would like to thank Spencer Jacobson for making the arrangements for our involvement in the Fair, the Fair organizers and to all our students that attended. Click here for pictures of this event During the month of April, Sandalwood instructors had the pleasure of teaching a series of gym classes for the grade 6 and 7 students at Rogers School. We would like to thank all the students that took part, the teachers who entrusted their students to us, and Spencer Jacobson for making the initial arrangements. We are proud to announce that Ms. Martin was recognized as the "Home Town Hero" by 100.3 the Q radio station for the week of March 1st-8th. This award is presented to people who volunteer their time to local community sport activities. Sandy was interviewed and featured on the Q just before the Friday 7:30 am news. We would like to thank Kyoshi Dave Degrouchie and the World Budo Alliance for awarding Sandalwood a WBA school charter. The WBA is a growing international Martial Arts association, and we are proud Western Canadian members. Our first belt test went off with flying colours. Congratulations to: ~ Dallas Down and Susan Moore on their promotion to yellow stripe~ Michael Valentine, Tigh Jansen and David Labossiere for passing their yellow stripe review ~ James Down, Tigh Jansen, Spencer Jacobson, David Labossiere and Natalie Labossiere for receiving the first Sandalwood Martial Arts Special award certificates for their accomplishments at the William Cartwright Memorial Kick-a-thon All I can say...... WOW!!!!!!!! Great job Click
here
to see some of the pictures from the testing News and Notices
- 2001
Congratulations go out to the
entire
club for raising $ 1,060.77 for the William
Cartwright Memorial benefiting Emma Cartwright in
trust. (In less than two months at that!) We are so proud of you all.
The tournament day was filled with the spirit of caring of a community working together to help in whatever way possible, it was one of the moments in life that we will never forget. We would like to thank our
students and parents, selected
staff members of U-Vic and the Royal Bank, Lisa Hill of Raymond James,
the Foster family, the Lovo family and all those who donated to the
fund raising kick-a-thon.
To find out more about William Cartwright Memorial click here. On this day, November 1st, 2001, Sandalwood Martial Arts held its inaugural class wth seven students in attendance.
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