Last night (October 4, 2013) the students and families of the Cheshire karate branches got together for a dinner at Toro Sushi in Cheshire CT. Great times were had by all and I wanted to share it on here in appreciation of those who came and to share the experience for those who couldn't.
The folks at Toro Sushi were kind enough to give us a separate area to have our dinner via a couple Japanese paper wall dividers. The students, families, and myself all began scanning the menus, experimenting with chopsticks, and catching up on many aspects of our lives; some karate related, some not so.
As always, the food was great and I was glad to see everyone, even young students, trying new foods especially something as healthy as sushi.
Some of the conversation was serious and centered around possible futures for classes in Cheshire. We definitely have options. I plan to review the options and go with the option that is best for the students and their families.
Another conversation that I was glad to hear/take part in was discussion about the role of a healthy diet in karate training. This is a huge part of our training that often gets left out in many American karate organizations because of cultural differences among other things.
Great times were had by all it seemed and everybody went home smiling. That's a win as far as I'm concerned.
As a side note: If anyone took any pictures I'd be happy to
My name is John Opalenik. My students know me as Sensei O. I am a Sandan in Shobayashi-Ryu and have been training for over 20 years.
I am a teacher and a writer in addition to my responsibilities as a Sensei.
Be sure to check previous articles even if you've already read them. I edit the articles to add and include information newly discovered by the author.
*Note* Karate is an art that for many reasons has a lot of information and misinformation out there. While I don't post anything on here unless I get it from a credible source, don't feel argumentative if you have heard information different from what's on here. I in no way consider myself to be anything close to the end-all, be-all of karate knowledge.