The Sitka Alaska Uechi-Ryu Karate Club was honored to host IUKF President, Darin Yee. Darin was in Sitka August 16-21 where he worked with members of the Sitka Alaska Uechi-Ryu Karate Club both in person and online. Duane Swanson is the dojo owner and hosted Darin.
On August 17, Darin tested Duane for Yondan. The test was attended by IUKF members online from around the world. Duane was particularly impressed and surprised when Grand Master George Mattson logged in to watch! Duane was pleased to pass the test and receive his certificate in person from Darin.
Duane’s daughter Heather and son-in-law Brett Allio traveled to Sitka from Juneau, Alaska to train with Darin. While in Sitka, Darin also attended and led a session with the Kenwa Karate Club.
On August 20, Andy Shea (Uechi-Ryu, Shodan) and his girlfriend Kim arrived in Sitka–one of several stops on their Alaskan cruise. Darin and Duane were pleased to show them around Sitka.
Besides karate training, Darin and Duane went boating with Captain Lloyd Swanson. On this outing, Darin fulfilled one of his dreams…catching some crabs and salmon! They also had a great time playing games like pool and cribbage, as well as practicing the tiger/crane form of hung gar kung-fu.
The Sitka Uechi-Ryu club thanks Hanshi Darin Yee for making the trek to their remote Alaskan town to share his immense knowledge and his friendship. They are already looking forward to his return to The Last Frontier.
