"A BODY IN MOTION STAY'S IN MOTION, A BODY AT REST STAY'S AT REST"
"A BODY IN MOTION STAY'S IN MOTION, A BODY AT REST STAY'S AT REST"
Al Gagne - was born in the United States on August 17th, 1947 and is still training today. He began his karate training in 1969, while serving in the U.S. Air Force, under Vince Weigand. He attained the rank of Sho-Dan (1st Degree Black Belt) 3 years later and in 1972 was honorably discharged from the military. In 1974, he was promoted to Ni-Dan (2nd Degree Black Belt) by his first teacher, Vince Weigand. Mr. Weigand studied under Fusei Kise and Hohan Soken while in the U.S. Army and serving in Okinawa. In 1976, Sensei Gagne attended a karate seminar conducted by Sensei James H. Coffman and promptly joined Sensei Coffman's organization (S.M.O.K.A.). Since that time, Sensei Gagne has continuously trained and has recently been promoted, by Sensei Coffman, to the rank of Roku-Dan (6th Degree Black Belt) May 20, 2005. Sensei Gagne is currently teaching out of Smithfield, Rhode Island and works as a Corrections Officer for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections.
