Congratulations to Tristan “Raptor” Ligtvoet on the accomplishment of his Karate Institute of America 2nd Dan Black Belt rating.
Raptor, the 64th Black Belt of the KIA, is one of the finest human beings you could ever know. An exceptional young man, he has also become an exceptional martial artist. The KIA is very lucky to have Tristan, his talent, character, and skill in our family. Thanks, too, to his parents, Atousa and Ed, for raising such an exemplary young man!
As is Karate Institute of America protocol, everyone has a call sign. Once in a while, one may query how an individual got his/her call sign in the first place. Sometimes, this can be a mystery. Not so with Jon “Stretch” Vail. In the following pictorial catalogue, can you guess why Jon got his call sign? If you can’t get this, you fail the test!
This is too much fun! Jon “Stretch” Vail studied at the Karate Institute of America way back in his teen years. As destiny commanded, when he graduated from high school he went to college in Arizona, received a degree in geology, married his lovely girlfriend Janice, got a job, settled down and started a family.
Jon has been wonderfully connected to the KIA and, lucky for us, keeps us updated with his life. Following are a half dozen photos of the Vail family from 2008 and 2017. The changes are beautifully dramatic and so much fun to enjoy. So, enjoy them! And thanks, Stretch, for sending them to us to share with other KIA family members. What awesome memories! We all wish you, Janice, Jenny and Ryan a healthy, balanced, harmonious and successful 2018!
Just thought I’d share some pics of my daughter Chandra and her kids over Christmas vacation. How sweet it is to have them visit from Boston!
To all of our KIA Family, the King Family wishes you all a healthy, balanced and centered 2018!
Those of you who are long-standing Karate Institute of America members might remember Christa and Chandra when they were very little girls. Now they’re all grown up, pictured here with their awesome husbands and beautiful children. What a thrill for the “Old Man” to have the family together!
God Bless you all from all of us to you and yours.
Honing their hand-checking skills are Blue Belt Zemia “Barracuda” Garrett (right) and Purple Belt Judy “Striker” Gompf (left).
These two professional ladies are, to be sure, daunting, dangerous damsels. They have power, skill and intent. Athletically, Barracuda has a softball background; Striker a surfer and tennis background. They know how to use their bodies to deliver maximum damage to a target, and if their lives and/or well-beings are threatened they would have no compunction about using maximum force on their assailants to protect themselves.