Mid Hudson Aikido would like to welcome to our NGA Family -- Jeanine Karasinski, Rafal Brzostowski, Michael D'Antonio, Brian Lekhmus, Michael Sperling, Dan Passaro, Megan Murray, Isaiah Williams, Bryan Sweeney, Audrey Sievers, Dave Sexton, Connor Charlebois, Michele Weiss and Christina Saia from the Marist Aikido program

PROMOTIONS - MHA would like to congratulate the following on their promotions.

Junior Division:
White w/ 1 stripe - Bryan Sweeney, Isaiah Williams, Audrey Sievers
White w/ 2 stripes - Audrey Sievers
Yellow - Allie Coughlin
Yellow w/ 1 stripe - Stephen Merrill, Erik Merrill, Allie Coughlin
Yellow w/ 2 stripes - Brendon "Capt. Underpants" Layumas, Allie Coughlin

Adult Division:
White w/ 1 stripe - Karl Holzer III, Michele Weiss, Jeanine Karasinski, Michael Sperling,
Brian Lekhmus
White w/ 2 stripes - Christina Saia, Michele Weiss, Karl Holzer
Yellow (Go-kyu) - Andrew Carroll, Matthew Scarano, Christina Saia, Michele Weiss
Yellow w/ 1 stripe - Andrew Carroll, Matt Scarano
Blue (Yon-kyu) - Nick Sienty
Blue w/ 1 stripe - Jenna Margolin, Nick Danese, Nick Sienty
Blue w/ 2 stripes - Steve "Brutus" Burke, Justin Glass, Nick Danese, Jenna Margolin
Green belt (San-Kyu) - Steve "Brutus" Burke, Justin Glass
Green w/ 1 stripe - JC "Big Daddy" Francis, Sidd "Vicious" Panda
Green w/ 2 stripes - Umit "Strong like 2x4" Uygur, JC "Big Daddy" Francis, Sidd Panda
Purple (Ni-kyu) - Mike "Coolata" Singleton, Joe "Joe-man" Sautner, Umit "2x4" Uygur
Purple w/ 1 stripe - Umit Uygur
Brown belt (I-Kyu) - Rusty "The Iron Chef" Russomanno

NEWS:

Welcome to 2006... Now Get your Butt to Class and Train.
People who are successful are the same people who set goals for themselves...
Ask yourself... What are YOUR goals for 2006?

We have received some great news as four potential black belts were born!

- Congratulations to Rusty and Christine on the birth of their daughter, Lilli Rose.
- Congratulations to Steve Burke and his family on the birth of their 2nd boy!
- Congratulations to Dave and Lisa Perantoni on the birth of their 2nd girl, Nichole
- Congratulations to Sensei Edgar and Belinda Mendez on the birth of the 2nd boy!

- Thanks to everyone who participated in our annual Kangeiko ( New Years Day Workout!)

- Layumas Sensei was invited to demonstrate Aikido with Matt Scarano at his school,
St. Columba in Hopewell Junction as Matt was named "Star of the Week." Congrats to Matt!

- Since last year's Annual Vassar Aikido Tournament and Seminar was such a success, Sensei Layumas was asked to come and teach once again.  It was interesting and enlightening.

- Brazilian BBQ - It was so good, we are going to have to do that again!  Next time we follow MonkeyBoy to Newark for authentic Rodizio.

- The Kid's Demo was a success; everyone did great, noone got hurt and there was food afterwards at Tina's Pizzeria. 

- "Missing In Action" - Chris "It's My B'Day" Letterio - We're still on the lookout for this fella!  

- We had a great time at Saratoga Martial Arts Festival (SMAF) on April 2 - 3 and have been invited back for the '06 Festival.

- Layumas Sensei & Joe Sautner accompanied NYMAG Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu intstructor, Gene Simco to the Fox Lane Middle School Far East Day in Bedford , NY where they were able to demonstrate NGA & BJJ to almost 100 middle school students.

- MHA held our annual picnic with Aikido School - HQ dojo from Guttenberg, NJ at Bear Mountain State Park and It was a hot one, but everyone had a good time.

- Don't forget to stop by and train with Mr. Sienty who is once again teaching Marist Aikido, now held on Tuesday and Thursday from 8-9:30 at the Dance Studio, McCann Center.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

- Fri. Jan. 20 - 22 - Grand Opening at Aikido of Norwalk - Aikidopalooza - 14 instructors and good training, please help Aikido of Norwalk and learn at the same time!  For details, please inquire with Mr. Layumas or check out www.aikidonorwalk.com

- Saturday, February 4th - Sean Flynn Sensei of Vassar Aikido will be teaching a class at MHA

- Sunday, February 5th is a special Advanced Class in Guttenberg, NJ with Sensei Mendez, followed by Rodizio de Churrasca in Newark, NJ.

- April '06 - Saratoga Martial Arts Festival at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY.

- Advanced Class - Scheduled Dates - Jan. 8th, Feb 5th, Mar. 5th, April 9th, May 7th & June 4th. The Advanced class is held between 10-11:30 AM and open to green belts and above.

- * Don't forget to Sign the Guestbook * - Click Here

Nicknames: We decided to add this section occasionally to help everyone keep up with all the nicknames that continue to get slung around the dojo and on the website.

Sensei Earl Layumas - Sho Nuff ( ie.. The Masta'), Tajiri
Adam Weissman (Webmaster) - MonkeyBoy, aka... Letsy The Clown, Adam Andretti
Joe Sautner - The "Joe" Man
Steve Burke - Brutus
JC Francis - Lightweight, No-Show, "Big Daddy"
Umit Uygur - The Turkish Prince, aka...Turkish Tower, 2x4
Sidd Panda - "Vicious" ie... Sidd "Vicious" Panda
Mark Verity - Mark "I Flip 4 U" Verity - aka... Flipper, aka... Flip, aka... Flippy
Chris Letterio - Chris "It's my b'day" Letterio
Rusty Russomanno - "The Iron Chef"
Brendon Layumas - "Captain Underpants"
Dave Perantoni - "Master Dave Perantoni"
Andy Seidel - "Andy 'Sup Seidel"
Larry Burroughs - Larry "Hari Kari" Burroughs
Matthew Scarano - Matthew "Chipboy" "Ruffles" Scarano,
Mike Singleton - Mike "Coolata" Singleton
Paul Zarcone - Paul "The Incredible Flying Machine" Zarcone
Stephen Merrill - Stephen "Loudspeaker" Merrill
Erik Merrill - Erik "Fashion Show" Merrill

If you do not YET have a nickname... DON'T WORRY, YOU WILL SOON!