I got back from The Diamonds last night about 12 Midnight. I elected not to stay for the finals show since I have been to a finals show in the past and didn't want to spend another night in St. Paul. Instead the event was over about 4:30 PM so I found a nice place downtown to have a guacamole burger and then hit the road for six hours of driving from my house. The night show for The Diamonds is absolutely phenomenal. They use an auditorium with a balcony and seating is like being at a Rock concert. The tickets normally cost about $75 a piece except for those of us who helped out during the tournament. The show is about three- four hours long and goes from 7:30 PM until about 11:00 PM. This year Larry was to include some old school sparring teams on the front stage but still I decided to make the drive home instead.

As I had mentioned to you when you called. Sifu had awoken me at 7:00 AM to say that he had attempted to work at the club and stay awake but instead had missed his train to the airport which obviously meant that he had missed his plane to St. Paul also. I wasn't at the event as yet but instead of turning around and driving home I decided to represent CHKA on my own. When I go to the event about 10 AM there were already 30 rings at full force so I walked around for a short while until Larry Carnahan was available. I then walked on the center platform to tell him that Sifu Jack had missed his plane and that I was here to help out where needed. When I reminded him that about five years ago he had walked up to me at the AKA Grands and said " Augie, you and I had the exact same scores on all of the competitors. I am glad to see that somebody saw exactly what I saw." He was all smiles and told me that I would judge for the finals about 2:30 PM. Darryl, with all of the rings going simultaneously it reminded me of 30 some years ago when we used to compete at the Long Beach Internationals in Los Angeles, CA. That is when Sifu Shamburger and three car loads of USDTKA competitors would ascend on THE MAJOR US event at that time. Judging from the competitors it was very clear that the best point competition has to offer was at The Diamonds. Including competitors from other Martial Arts outlets such as the new Chuck Norris circuit.

I was anticipating picking up Sifu at the airport and working the event and then driving him back to the airport about 6 PM but since that didn't work out I had to make sure that Larry Carnahan the promoter and others knew that CHKA was in the house. I even saw Don Rodrigues up on the platform so I walked over to tell him that Sifu had missed his plane and would not be coming and that I would be working with him at the FAT BOYS event come January. He was also present and only a few feet away while his Team Paul Mitchell sparring competitors competed in our ring. One of his students yelled " We have some real judges in the ring" early during the ring competition. Both Team Mitchell and Team Straight Up seemed to dominate in the other rings they had competed in but in our finals ring their hand strikes seemed to slow down considerably. In what seemed to be a clash of strikes actually was one competitor making contact with the Gi while the ladder's hand was still about two-three inches from it's target. I am looking forward to attending the FAT BOYS just as long as I am not required to put on 20 pounds to do so. We have some folks here who say they want to attend also but as usual I don't depend on others and if you ask Sifu he will tell you that I even traveled to Mexico on my own to compete because that was an unsanctioned event for us back in the late 1970's but I wanted to go anyway so I just went alone.

This morning I was telling my wife about a beautiful scene that happened yesterday that I hadn't seen live in many, many years. It was Raymond Daniels (The top point fighter in the United States today) against an opponent for the Grand Championship of The Diamonds. The score was 5-2 in Daniels favor and the other competitor had forced Daniels back to the edge of the matt in my corner while Daniels took about 2 seconds to plan his move. While standing at the very edge with both feet inbound the other competitor had lunged a hand to Raymond as Raymond had done one of his famous jumping up spinning back kicks that would have been to the opponent's head. The problem was that at this championship level the opponent's lunge was actually a feint but Daniel's had accepted this opponent would have already have walked into his spinning foot. But, what actually happened is that the split second that Daniels went into the air for his spin the opponent had pulled back his feint hand and threw a rear sidekick to Daniels belt level that actually propelled Daniels away from the matt and into the crowd. I later spoke with a fellow judge in that crowd and he claimed that he caught Daniels form hitting the floor because he too had seen it coming. Now, that alone was worth driving the 800 miles roundtrip to The Diamonds. It also reminded me of some 30 years ago when a few of my opponents at the Long Beach Internationals also had that " What just happened to me" look on their faces while Sifu was just standing alongside the ring with a huge smile on his face saying, " That's Augie." Of course I would have liked to had met up with Sifu but that didn't happen. Still those in the know, know that CHKA and NFW and USDTKA were well represented in St. Paul at The Diamonds.

I hope this note finds you and all of my CHKA brothers in great spirits. I also hope to see you all on a cold winters day in New York come January. I have spoken with Sifu many times and he is really, really looking forward to having this FAT BOYS event. Keep up the great work.

I will also send this E note to both Sifu and to Dan out in Argentina since we can't forget about him since he too has done so much for us and with us. It is Sunday about 1:30 PM and my wife is out doing her STUDENT DRIVING with my 16 year old daughter since I did last Sundays training. I am watching the Bears vs Minnesota with a score of 14-14 near halftime. I had planned to send all three of you a note from this event but instead I hope the three ( NO, Fred Richmond makes four) of you will accept my lack of having sent you individual E notes.

When you can't count on anybody else, you can count on Augie Blancas.

Sincerely,

Augie Blancas, Rokudan
CHKA
USDTKA
NFW

PS
I called my son Marine PFC Justin Blancas ( Brown Belt) from the car last night to tell him what had transpired at The Diamonds. He too will attempt to get to the FAT BOYS event from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina come January. He will be leaving on a Navy Ship for seven months on an MEU come February 2008. He also informed me that he should be picking up Lance Corporal E -3 by December 2007. I want all of my US Servicemen to come home safely and real soon.

It's always difficult to report sad news, especially via the internet, which can be awfully impersonal, however, it's the best way we have of reaching out to all of you who aren't on our mailing list.

Sensei Jean's mother died late last week, and we send out supportive thoughts and our prayers to he and the rest of his family.

Bastienne, Sifu's fiancee, just successfully defended her doctoral thesis in biology and was awarded her PhD. Congratulations!

Word just in that Tanya P, who we last heard from in Israel, has had a baby... no details yet...

Word in from the Twin Towers Karate Tournament - Katy M took 3rd place in kata and 2nd in fighting in the brown belt division and David C took 2nd place in kata and 3rd in fighting in the adult intermediate division. Big congratulations to both of them!

Congratulations once again to Tor Hamer on his win at the Empire State Games, where he beat one of the eight Olympic martial arts finalists to take first place.

Word just in from the Gathering of Eagles 2007, where Sifu was indeed inducted into the Kenpo Hall of Fame, along with a good number of other inductees, including two of his own instructors - Orned "Chicken" Gabriel and Dick Willet. Also, as planned on and noted below, Shihan Augie Blancas of our Nine Fist Warriors affiliate was promoted to 6th dan, and is now Rokudan Augie Blancas; and Walter Barsell of our USDTKA affiliate was promoted to 3rd dan. So, official congratulations now!

Congratulations to Tor Hamer on his win at the 2007 New York Golden Gloves, Novice Super Heavyweight Division!

This fight was featured in Boxing Digest with a picture from the victory!

I almost hate to post this on April 1st, but no, it's not an April Fool's joke. Sifu and several students are headed out to the Gathering of Eagles 2007 in June. At the event Sifu will be inducted into the Kenpo Hall of Fame. At the same event, Sifu plans to honor two of our own with well deserved promotions - Sensei Tony Otero will be promoted to Shihan, or 5th Dan, and Shihan Augie Blancas will be promoted to 6th Dan. Official congratulations will have to wait until these things happen at the end of June, but in advance, unofficial ones!

I just heard from Shihan Augie Blancas - his son, Justin, a member of both our USDTKA and Nine Fist Warriors affiliates, just graduated from basic training in the Marines. Shihan writes:

"We just got home tonight about 12 midnight. Of course the new Marine Private First Class Blancas got in his car only 15 minutes later and went to see some good buddies. I just now called him to tell him that my wife's jewelry box is in the trunk so don't leave any doors open. That was a great graduation. My brother Rick and Colonel Roche all said the same thing. They didn't have the Marine Corps Band or the Base General out there along with 2,000 people when we graduated. We were cheated. It was truly a grand encomium that every Marine should experience."

Congratulations Justin!
 

For those of you who've been around CHKA for awhile, you'll remember Dennis Gorrez, who, when we had two locations was the main instructor for the beginner levels at the First Avenue school. He's just back from a tour in Iraq and sent on a few photos:

CHKA is closing as of March 1st, 2007 while we reorganize the school for the future.
Training will continue temporarily at The Fight Club, 122 West 27th Street, 2nd Floor
Monday 8 - 10 p.m and Wednesday 6 - 8 p.m.
We may expand this schedule depending on demand for training
Temporary class fees - $75 per month