Bellevue Club Karate Kids

By Ning Liu

The 40^th Annual Shorin-ryu Open saw a glowing day for Bellevue Club Karate kids as they took home six trophies from the intense Karate championship.

Analise Butler, 12, placed first in kata, third in kumite and second in entertainment with Andrew Paley, as they performed a weapons demo, in which they displayed a wooden sword routine.

She took first in kata and second in kumite in last year’s Central Washington Karate Championship, the largest tournament in the state of Washington.

Kata (literally means "form" in Japanese) is known as patterns of movements practiced solo or in pairs to visualize imagined fighting scenarios. Kumite ("grappling hands") is a form of sparring in Karate.

David Gribble, 8, who participated in Shorin-ryu for the first time, placed second in kata and kumite.

Michael Simpson also deserves applause for his excellent performance in a strong division of contest of kata.

Thanks to James Penor Sensei, the karate instructor at the Bellevue Club, these young warriors all did a great job in showcasing their Karate talent and passion in the tournament.

For more information about the Karate class, or other youth programs at the Bellevue Club, click here.

The "Bridge" To Bridge

By Ning Liu

When Dee Berry first began teaching bridge at Bellevue Club, it was just a Monday evening of the game, which, as Dee says, "is now very huge with more than 15 bridge tables during the night."

Rated as a master teacher by the American Bridge Teachers Association, Dee is now the most-experienced bridge instructor in the Northwest. She learned bridge from her parents at the age of nine and she immediately fell in love with it.

“It’s hard not to love bridge once you start enjoying this game, which is pretty addictive,” Dee says. “And I enjoy the people part of the game, the social interactions involved between hands and rounds. That’s why I never play bridge on the Internet."

When Dee moved to Seattle, she searched for a writing job, but with no luck, she looked to bridge instead.

Dee has been teaching classes at the Bellevue Club since the Club opened. “I thought it was an ideal venue, and I enjoyed building a bridge program at the Club,” Dee says.

“Bridge is one of the most challenging games in the world. It’s like a crossword puzzle. Every hand is different, and one may never encounter the same hand twice in her life"

However, Dee recommends that everyone should experience the fun of bridge because there is no obstacle between a newcomer and a professional player.

“Bridge is the only game where a beginner can actually play against a world-class player. Anyone can play. That, to me, is the fascination of the game."