After a lifetime of hard training, Sensei Gary finally has a brief forced break as he recovers from hip replacement surgery. His right hip was done in December, and his left hip will follow in the first quarter of 2026. Reportedly, his hip pain has been replaced with the dull ache of recovery, so we may be looking at a lot of high kicks in 2026.

Reverend Coy of the Koyasan temple made a special omamori for Gary Sensei to help expedite his recovery and return to classes. We’re hoping it works, we are feeling his absence as we try to remember the order of warm-up exercises!