Alexander Newell, 19, of Norway practices his roundhouse kick June 26 in preparation for the 1,000 days he will spend in Saitama, Japan, training to be an Uchi Deshi. Newell is the first person from New England to be accepted into such a program, according to Martin Petrovich, the owner of Maine Kyokushin Karate on Main Street in Norway.

NORWAY — During the final year of high school, students typically spend their time figuring out if they want to pursue higher education or do something else, whether it’s entering the military or the workforce.

Alexander Newell, 19, of Norway has his sights set on something different.

Newell, the youngest of six children and a recent graduate of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, is set to become the first person from New England to be accepted as an Uchi Deshi student at a Kyokushin karate academy in Saitama, Japan.

An Uchi Deshi is a student or apprentice who trains and assists under a sensei (instructor) full-time.

Martin Petrovich, the owner of Maine Kyokushin Karate in Norway and a practitioner of karate, said the Uchi Deshi course consists of 1,000 days of intensive karate training at an academy in Japan.

“It’s rough and it’s intense,” Petrovich said. “It has a very low graduation rate. Some people leave because they can’t handle it.”

Newell, however, is unfazed.

“I’ve wanted to participate in this program the whole time I’ve done Kyokushin karate,” Newell said. “It fascinated me, and it’s the challenge I want. I think it’ll make me a better person.

Petrovich agrees.

“Alex is dedicated,” he said. “I don’t think he’ll have a problem.”

Throughout his four years in high school, Newell took honor classes, AP courses, and four years of Mandarin and Spanish.

He also volunteered for after-school programs at local elementary schools during his last two years in school and started a martial arts club that was open to all students.

Newel also spent his high school career training at Maine Kyokushin Karate on Main Street in Norway.

“I’ve been doing Kyokushin karate for four years,” he said.

“A lot of other styles of karate don’t do the same kind of fighting that we do,” Newell said. “We do full contact karate. We don’t hold back as much as other types. It’s a whole other discipline.”

Petrovich said Newell approached him to ask about the Uchi Deshi program. Petrovich submitted Alex’s name and he was accepted.

In order to prepare for the 1,000 days of training, Newell said he is focusing on conditioning.

“Being able to get hit is a big part of training,” Newell said. “I’m also doing lots of running, strengthening myself, and doing lots of training at the dojo.”

For the first year Newell trains, he will be prohibited from contacting his family and friends. The one person he can contact is Petrovich, who Newell calls his “Shihan,” or “master.”

Newell will also have to shave his head and wear a white belt, an indication of his status as a “lower student.”

“The first year students have to do things for the senior students,” Newell said. “If a senior has eaten their bowl of rice, the first year students have to ask them, ‘Do you want more rice?’ There are penalties if you don’t follow the rules that are established.”

Petrovich said, “It’s like going to a Naval Academy or something.”

Newell said the chores he does at the academy outside of training will pay for his tuition.

When Newell returns in three years, he wants to go to the University of Maine at Farmington to become a psychologist.

“I want to open a dojo for martial arts while I’m in college, and when I graduate, I want to have my own private practice for psychiatry,” he said.

At some point, he also wants to go into the Peace Corps and “volunteer around the world for awhile.”

“Alex just wants to make the world a better place,” Petrovich said, “and I think we need more of that right now. He’s a good soul.”

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

Donations

To donate to Alexander Newell’s trip to a karate academy in Japan go to www.gofundme.com/UchiDeshiJapan, or visit Oxford Federal Credit Union, 54 Fair St., Norway.