By Sentinel Staff
A former Sitkan earned her second-degree black belt last month, after years away from karate.
Stacy Smith, 53, now lives in Anchorage, but earned her first-degree black belt under the instruction of Duane Swanson, of the Sitka dojo, when she was 17, along with her father, Dean Davidson. On Oct. 25, Swanson tested Smith again and promoted her to second-degree black belt.
Stacy Smith poses with her second-degree black belt certificate, Oct. 25. She recently returned to karate. (Photo provided by Duane Swanson)
He had contacted Smith a year ago to encourage her to get back into karate. “I thought about who my best students were, and Stacy came to mind,” Swanson said in an email to the Sentinel.
Smith said she couldn’t believe her good fortune.
“I had been wanting to get back into Uechi-Ryu Karate, but I had no idea how to go about doing it. I didn’t have the support of a Uechi-Ryu community in the places I have lived,” Smith said.
She’s practiced virtually during the pandemic with Swanson and Darin Yee, president of the International Uechi-Ryu Karate Federation.
She said she found it difficult to return to karate after such a long hiatus, and struggled to remember and perfect the moves and learn new approaches and variations.
“But I persisted and practiced every day,” she said, and noted the expertise of the two instructors. “I feel extremely fortunate. I am learning from the best.”
