2025 AKANA Family Reunion

American Karate Academies National Association (AKANA) is a national karate organization founded by GM Jerry Piddington in 1976, first known as the National Karate Association (NKA). It evolved into the American Karate Academies in 1991 and now has AKANA chartered schools, individual black belt members, and individual kyu-rank members across the nation.  AKANA is a gathering place for everyone who is a part of the history and lineage of O'Shihan Piddington from the beginning to the present.  AKANA is a family of like minds that are bonded together for the purpose of supporting and encouraging each other. 

An AKANA Family Reunion is a gathering of AKANA family members who gather together in a relaxed family environment to celebrate our past, present, and future. Our East Coast Members will meet our West Coast Members. We will train and share old and new methods of our art with 14 seminars on Friday and Saturday. It will be an opportunity to learn from the pioneers that paved the way along with the younger teachers who will carry us into the future. Members will learn about our rich history from the Grandmasters who made it all happen with a rare opportunity to see them perform their art. Black Belt Members will be given the honor to receive rank and titles from our peers along with special awards and recognition.  We will unite as one body encouraging our leaders to continue spreading good karate throughout the world.  We will honor our heritage and move forward with new ideas.  We are AKANA and we are family! 

The 2025 AKANA Family Reunion & Seminars will be held on the first weekend of August: Friday, August 1st, and Saturday, August 2nd. Early arrivals are welcome to join the SideKick Dojo Classes on Thursday afternoon, August 3rd. The seminars and actual events are Friday, August 1st, and Saturday, August 2nd.  The AKANA promotions are Friday afternoon on August 1st and the Ceremony Awards Dinner on Saturday afternoon on August 2nd.

The 2023 AKANA Reunion will be held at the SideKick Karate Dojo of Salisbury, North Carolina. The address is 2600 Cottage Street, Salisbury, NC 28147. The AKANA Director, Ricky Smith, and his wife Edie, will host this event.

Anyone! All are welcome, although some scheduled events will be for AKANA Black Belt Members only.  AKANA Members receive a significant discount, along with perks for the event, so we invite you to consider joining.

Grandmasters such as O'Sensei Robert Bowles and O'Shihan Jerry Piddington (our founder), Grandmaster Joe Martin, and Danny McCall will offer their knowledge. Hanshi Ricky Smith, Kyoshi Robert Taylor, Randy Smith, Troy Price, CJ Mayo, Sam Hyatt, Cliff Kinchen, and Brandon Bennett are scheduled to share their respective arts.  Shihan Hari-Om, Sensei Alex Stephens, and Madison Hobbs will also offer their skills. Plus, there may be several well-known surprise guest teachers.

You must pre-register to receive this discount price with a free 2025 AKANA Family Reunion T-Shirt (value of $30) and a seminar certificate that can be signed by seminar instructors.  For non-AKANA members, please join here to receive an AKANA patch and certificate. All new AKANA members will receive an AKANA membership certificate honoring their existing rank at the Awards Banquet.  There will be no refunds.

VIP AKANA Member Price: $195

(Includes all seminars with lunch on both days and banquet dinner along with special AKANA meetings and events with special access to AKANA VIP Room)

Non-AKANA Member Price: $295

(Includes all seminars with lunch on both days and banquet dinner along with events)

Friday Seminars Only: $100

(Includes lunch)

Saturday Seminars Only: $100

(Includes lunch)

Kata Competition and Dinner Banquet Only: $50

(Kids under 12 yrs. old: $30)

Due to space, Martial Artists who are just spectators must pay the same fee.

(No Filming)

Dates:

Thursday, July 31 - Saturday, August 2, 2025

Wednesday, July 30

2:00–4:00 pm: AKANA Board Meeting (Board of Directors)

5:30-6:30 pm: Regular SideKick Karate Beginner Kobudo Class (everyone welcome)

6:30-7:30 pm: Regular SideKick Karate Advanced Kobudo Class (everyone welcome)

Thursday, July 31

SideKick Karate Karate (Visitors welcome)

1:00-2:00 pm: Meet & Greet (Registration and Packet Pickup)

2:00-3:00 pm: Registered AKANA Black Belt Meeting

3:00-4:30 pm: Seventeen Kata Tomoe/Kobudo Warrior (Must schedule by April 15, 2023)

4:30-5:30 pm: Break

5:30-7:30 pm: (1) Differences in Sparring Styles: Hanshi Ricky Smith/Kyoshi Robert Taylor/Kyoshi Randy Smith/ Kyoshi CJ Mayo/Sensei Madison Hobbs

7:30-8:00 pm: Depart for Dinner (Longhorn Steak House) Not included in the price.

Friday, August 1

8:30-9:00 am: Registration and Packet Pick-up begins

9:00-10:00 am: (2) Yoga by Eclectic Holistic Asian Martial Arts (EHAMA)

Weapons Training

10:00-11:00 am: (3) Eskrima by Shihan Hari-Om

11:00 am-12:00 pm: (4) Kyoshi Brandon Bennett

Catered Lunch Meeting

12:00-1:00 pm: (Fellowship)

Combative Arts

1:00-2:00 pm: (5) Kyoshi Cliff Kinchen

2:00-3:00 pm: (6) Grandmaster Hanshi McCall

Bujutsu Arts

3:00-4:00 pm: (7) Kyoshi Robert Taylor

4:00-5:00 pm: (8) Kyoshi Troy Price

Official AKANA Program

5:00-5:30 pm: Introduction of AKANA Members

5:30-7:00 pm: Grandmaster History Presentation of AKANA (Question and Answers)

7:00-8:30 pm: Black Belt Promotion Exams (AKANA Board/Advisors including 4 GMs)

8:30-9:00 pm: Depart for Dinner (Los Arcos) Not included in the price.

Saturday, August 2

8:30-9:00 am: Registration and Packet Pick-up

Soft Style Concepts

9:00-10:00 am: (9) Kyoshi Samuel Hyatt

10:00-11:00 am: (10) Sifu Joe Martin

11:00 am-12:00 pm: (11) White Crane Fist Style by O'Sensei Robert Bowles

Catered Lunch

12:00-1:00 pm: AKANA Fellowship Lunch

1:00-2:00 pm: (White Crane Testing) O’Sensei  Robert Bowles

Fighting Arts

2:00-3:00 pm: (12) Madison Hobbs/Josiah Newton

3:00-4:00 pm: (13) The Gold Dust Twins

Karatedo Concepts

4:00-5:00 pm: (14)  O'Shihan Jerry Piddington

Setup for Dinner

5:00-7:00 pm: Trained crew will reorganize the dojo for dinner.

Main Event (Dressy Casual)

7:00 pm: Doors Open for Dinner & Awards Banquet

7:15 pm: Welcome and Blessing

7:30 pm: Five-man East Coast vs. West Coast Kata Competition (outdoors)

8:00-9:00 pm: Presentation of Awards & Promotions, Demonstrations, Fellowship, Memorable Pictures, and Lots of Fun!

Aftermath Festivities

Sunday, August 3

10:00-10:30 am: Meet for Breakfast

Register right here.

If you are not an AKANA member and would like to join, AKANA would love to bring you into our family. Plus, all new AKANA members will receive an AKANA certificate honoring their existing rank at the Awards Dinner. Click on the application link provided here.

AKANA Membership Form (Black Belt or Below Black Belt Individual Membership)

If you would like to register for the AKANA Family Reunion, please click on the payment link provided here. These pre-registration prices are available until June 1, 2025.

2025 AKANA Family Reunion Payment Form (VIP AKANA Member Registration, AKANA Non-Member Registration, Seminars, Events, Promotion, Awards Banquet, & Family Reunion T-Shirt)

Seminars

There will be 14 Seminar classes taught on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with some of the greatest masters of our time including O'Shihan Jerry Piddington, O'Sensei Robert Bowles, Grandmaster Danny McCall, and Grandmaster Joe Martin. The theme of our seminars will be, "Bridging the Gap between Traditional Karate and Modern-day Arts of Combat."

• Everyone must be registered and stamped to participate in the seminars
• Due to space, everyone must pay, whether you watch or participate
• May participate in all of the seminars of your choice
• No filming will be allowed during seminars
• Must wear an appropriate martial arts uniform unless it is a combative or MMA seminar

Awards Banquet

The Awards Banquet is a way to honor individuals in front of all Board of Directors and Senior Level Black Belts. Examples of Awards that will be presented are the following:

• Proclamation/Head of System of Study Certification
• Yudansha Rank Certification
• Teaching Title Certification
• Honored Title Certification
• Pinnacle Award Recipients 
• Team Kata Winners Certification and Plaque
• Special AKANA Awards
• AKANA Hall of Fame Inductee from the East Coast and West Coast

Dress Code: Dressy Casual Attire

Black Belt Promotion Review

All AKANA Yudansha Members who wish to be reviewed and recognized with a promotion in rank during the AKANA Reunion will need to complete the following:

• Be a current AKANA Member in good standing
• Be recommended for promotion by their instructor
• Be approved to go in front of the promotion board by the AKANA Board of Directors
• Pass a normal rank exam by their instructor
• Information for AKANA paperwork must be sent by email to the AKANA Hombu Dojo at least 30 days before AKANA Promotion Recognition
• Complete the Promotion Order Form from the AKANA website
• Complete payment for rank
• During the AKANA Promotion Review, each member will perform 6-8 minutes of techniques that highlight the exam they passed by their instructor. For example, they might perform a kata with bunkai, a weapon with application, self-defense techniques, or fighting/sparring techniques
• Once the rank examination is complete, the members will be presented with their rank certification during the Awards Banquet

AKANA Board will wear formal uniforms.

TEAM KATA COMPETITION 

The Team Competition will be an Annual Competition. The rules are as follows:

• Each team member must be an AKANA member in good standing
• Each team (East Coast and West Coast) will have five (5) members. 
• Each team must have at least one (1) Male and one (1) Female
• All ranks are allowed to compete
• Traditional Katas Only (no screaming and yelling allowed)
• Teams Selected by the Coast Director
• Five (5) Officials selected by the Board of Directors
• A member from the East Coast Team will compete against a member from the West Coast Team
• The team that wins that round will receive one (1) point
• The team that receives the most points will win the competition
• Each member will receive a certificate acknowledging their team won the AKANA Battle of the Coast and will be awarded during the Awards Banquet