Georgia Tech Taido Club

Profile

Head instruc­tor - Bryan Sparks — 3dan
also

• Laura Sparks — shodan
• Shelley Matthews — shodan
• Bolot Kerimbaev — shodan

URL - defunct

Phone - nope

Schedule —  Course info page @ GT Campus Recreation Center

History

1984

• Andy Fossett begins prac­tic­ing Taido.

1986

• Bryan Sparks begins prac­tic­ing Taido.

1992

• Andy tests for black belt.

1993

• Bryan tests for black belt.
• US Taido sends its fourth team to Japan for the first world cham­pi­onships, includ­ing its first children’s team. The del­e­ga­tion includes Andy and Bryan as the two youngest com­peti­tors in the adult divi­sion. They make many Taido friends from var­i­ous countries.

1995

• Andy and Bryan begin exper­i­ment­ing with new Techniques and prac­tice meth­ods out­side of the honbu dojo on a weekly basis. None of their train­ing part­ners from that period will ever look at stairs the same way again.

1996

• US Taido hosts the Sun Data inter­na­tional Taido cham­pi­onship. Andy tests for 2dan. Andy decides that his Japanese is not nearly good enough.
• Andy and Bryan found the Georgia Tech Taido club, and not much else hap­pens. Their first stu­dent is Jacob Langseth, and some oth­ers come and go as well. It is dur­ing these first few months that the tra­di­tions and con­ven­tions of the club orig­i­nally come to be.

1998

• Andy takes his first solo trip to Japan, liv­ing and prac­tic­ing in Yokohama with Negishi Sensei, in Hirosaki with Sekiba Sensei, and in Fuji with Akiyama Sensei, where he picks tea and meets a few girls.
• Tech Taido finally makes it to US Taido’s annual sum­mer camp. Five stu­dents attend, includ­ing the now-legendary Kirk, a mys­te­ri­ous fig­ure of whom many have heard, but few have actu­ally seen.

1999

• Andy returns to Japan for three months. Again, he vis­its Negishi, Akiyama, and Sekiba.
• Bryan tests for 2dan at sum­mer camp.
• The begin­ning of Andy’s “dark period.”
• Laura Bardey and Shelley Matthews enter the club at Tech.

2000

• Bolot Kerimbaev joins Tech Taido.
• Bryan grad­u­ates from Tech and moves to Colorado Springs for work. He buys a house and a kegerator.
• Chris Healy trans­fers to Tech and helps Andy hold things together in Bryan’s absence.
• US Taido 25^th anniver­sary cel­e­bra­tion. Andy tests for 3dan.

2002

• Bryan makes his return debut at sum­mer camp to the sur­prise of the entire club. There is much rejoic­ing, and Guinness flows.
• Andy and Bryan make a week-long visit to Ft. Lauderdale to help out at Tom DeVenny’s dojo and demon­strate advanced techniques.
• It’s about this time that Andy emerges from his three-year funk.
• US Taido cham­pi­onship. Tech stu­dents per­form well, but alas do not win any events. Andy is awarded 4dan.

2003

• US Taido sum­mer camp. Chad Gilmartin tests for 2dan. Andy belat­edly demon­strates for 4dan.
• Andy moves to Japan to teach English. He begins prac­tic­ing reg­u­larly with Negishi in Yokohama.
• Chad enters the Tech club as a freshman.

2004

• Andy vis­its from Japan and attends classes at Tech and the honbu dojo.
• The Georgia Tech Taido Wiki makes its cyber-debut.
• Chris vis­its Negishi and Andy in Japan. They have a good time and learn the hard way that Samsonite doesn’t nec­es­sar­ily resist vomit stains.
• US Taido sum­mer camp. Bryan tests for 3dan.
• Corey Myers and Mary Gezo enter the club as freshmen.
• Mary tests for black belt.
• The Georgia Tech Taido Wiki causes its first con­tro­versy and is sub­se­quently lim­ited to pass­word access only.

2005

• Corey tests for 2dan.
• US Taido 30^th anniver­sary cel­e­bra­tion and tour­na­ment. Andy vis­its from Japan along with about 75 Japanese Taido stu­dents and instruc­tors, includ­ing Negishi, Akiyama, and Sekiba. 100% of the com­peti­tors from Georgia Tech place in at least one event with sev­eral gold and sil­ver medals.
• Georgia Tech Taido finally gets a new pub­lic web page. The inter­nal site is updated as well.
• Taido/Blog is qui­etly established.

2006

• Chris returns to Atlanta to fin­ish his Master of Science at Georgia Tech. He then moves to California and buys a Ducati.
• Bolot, Laura, and Shelley test for black belt.
• Andy vis­its for US Taido sum­mer camp.
• Andy fin­ishes his con­tract in Japan and returns stateside.
• Taido per­forms a demon­stra­tion for Japan Fest at Stone Mountain Park.
• The GT Taido Wiki van­ishes into the void.
• Bryan and Laura are married.
• The Georgia Tech Taido club cel­e­brates its 10^th anniversary.

2007

• Andy vis­its Holland to com­pete in the World Taido International Friendship Games.

2008

• Andy moves back to Japan and begins train­ing in Osaka.