Makoto Kai hosted our annual tournament on May 4, 2019. It was our 29th annual contest. Like most years it was a kata contest.
Contestants, judges and family from eight regional schools gathered on a sunny spring day for the tournament. Many drove for hours in each direction to the competition.
For some, a tournament is a fun romp. For others it is nerve-racking! If you are in the category that finds tournaments nerve-racking, I can assure you that it gets a little easier each time you compete.
In any case, a kata tournament is a great way to practice for black belt examination. And you can begin that practice at any rank. You get extra work on some techniques, you get to demonstrate under a spotlight, and you get feedback from black belt judges.
Many thanks to our families who support us and our training, to the contestants who prepared and competed, to the judges who gave their time and expertise, and to everyone from Makoto Kai who helped make the contest run smoothly.
| Division | Level | Team | Dojo | Place |
| Age 4 – 6 | Beg | Lake Smithline / singleton | Makoto Kai | 1 |
| Age 4 – 6 | Beg | Levi Coultas / Dylan Coultas | Redding Jujitsu Academy | 2 |
| Age 4 – 6 | Beg | Alec Galachyan / singleton | Nemuri Kuma | 3 |
| Age 7 – 9 | Beg | Wendell DelaVaughn / Julian Aguilar | Makoto Kai | 1 |
| Age 7 – 9 | Beg | Miles Walter / Elise Smithline | Makoto Kai | 2 |
| Age 7 – 9 | Int | Sam Seeley / Lucas Shobe | Makoto Kai | 1 |
| Age 10 – 12 | Int | Madilyn Watkins / Eleanor Watkins | Makoto Kai | 1 |
| Age 10 – 12 | Int | Amelie Enger / Clair Garrett | Wasenshi Kan | 2 |
| Age 10 – 12 | Adv | Ashlynn Whitehead / Kaitlynn Whitehead | Jobu Shin Kan | 1 – junior high score combative sequence |
| Age 10 – 12 | Adv | Celeste Plascencia / Cora Lambie | Makoto Kai | 2 |
| Age 10 – 12 | Adv | Dominik Kasparek / singleton | Nemuri Kuma | 3 |
| Age 13 – 15 | Adv | Ronan Lambie / Lillian Shobe | Makoto Kai | 1 – junior high score kata |
| Age 13 – 15 | Adv | Christian Brown / singleton | Nemuri Kuma | 2 |
| Adult | Blue | Nate Seeley / singleton | Makoto Kai | 1 |
| Adult | Blue | Cesar Espina / Vince Seeley | Makoto Kai | 2 |
| Adult | Green | Sara Rogers / Jeff Whitehead | Jobu Shin Kan | 1 |
| Adult | Green | Mayra Plascencia / Jon-Paul Valcarenghi | Makoto Kai | 2 |
| Adult | Green | Baden Blankenship / Sojourner Thompson | Davis Ju-do Kai / Seidokan | 3 |
| Adult | Brown | Scott Blankenship / Jean Frost | Davis Ju-do Kai | 1 – kyu high score |
| Adult | Brown | Seth Watkins / Brian Mayer | Wasenshi Kan | 2 |
| Black Belt | Diane Carlson / Jessica Conover | Seidokan / Davis Ju-do Kai | 1 | |
| Black Belt | Nerissa Freeman / Rodrigo Garcia | Wasenshi Kan | 2 (tie) | |
| Black Belt | Joe Bendorf / Michael Thompson | Makoto Kai | 2 (tie) | |
| Black Belt | Erin Carlson / Jason Spake | Davis Ju-do Kai | 3 |
Junior High Scores
Senior Participants
Co-School Head, Makoto Kai
Katie Murphy Stevens