Shubham Debnath
									Karate - helps us to grow both physically and mentally. Karate - teaches us self-defense. Moreover, Karate - shows how to be "courteous of our manners." Karate - helps to "have a strong sense of justice." Karate - encourages us to "be responsible for our words and actions." Karate - prepares us to "respect one another." And finally, Karate continuously enforces and reinforces an important message: "Karate-Do is the way of the spirit to give us courage and ambition to reach goals as a part of our lives." Thank you all and Good Night.
							defense. It is fun and I have been at it for almost 7 years. I am very happy because I finally earned my red belt. It took lots and lots of work. I will be happy when I get my black belt, but I will never quit. Next, I would like to say what I have learned from Karate. I have learned self-defense, discipline and focus. After I started Karate I learned that focus always helps. I had to focus on homework, swimming, piano, and soccer. Self-defense will help just in case someone tries to hurt me in any way. I also learned and practice the Dojo Kun. All of them define Karate to me. I need to be respectful, responsible, and I should always have a goal in life. About four years ago I started Kobu-Do. Kobu-Do helped me to learn never to be careless. This year, I started Batto-Do. Batto-Do helped me to be even more careful and aware of my surroundings. When we did cutting, I had to be more careful with the swords and while I was not cutting, I had to watch out for flying mats after someone cut. I truly believe that Karate is for everyone. It is good for health and fitness, and it is fun. I sincerely thank my parents for giving me all the support.
		The following is Shubham Debnath's speech from the 2001 Minnesota Itosu-Kai Awards Banquet Hello everyone! I feel honored for the opportunity to speak in the presence of Sensei Demura and all the Sensei of the Itosu-Kai. My name is Shubham Debnath. I am one of the students who has earned a junior red belt at the Minnesota Itosu-Kai. I really like Karate and I like all the instructors. They are all nice and they can be funny at times. At the Karate junior classes, we do kata, basics, sparring, and we also play games sometimes. First, I would like to talk about why I do Karate. I started Karate when I was 4 years old. I had just turned 4. I thought Karate was what I saw on Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was lucky that I started. I would never have learned the real art of self