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The Karate Kids

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Left to right, Brendan Dumont, Mitsuaki Uchida, Mitsunobu Uchida and Musashi Uchida

Photos by George Hunter

The students at Taido Karate Dojo in Peachtree Corners get to live every 80’s kid’s fantasy. They get to learn the patience and discipline of the ancient art of karate from a real-life Mr. Miyagi.

Ever since Mitsunobu Uchida was in grade school, he had a dream to one day move to America and teach karate. He knew that Americans loved organized sports, and karate not only gives you a great aerobic workout, but it also teaches you discipline unlike any other.

His father told him that he should move to Georgia, because the climate there is very similar to the one in Japan. So, in 1970, Mitsunobu moved to America to attend college in Nebraska, and eventually settled in Georgia — the land of “Gone with the Wind.”

Mitsunobu fulfilled his lifelong dream in 1975 by opening his first dojo in Doraville, Ga. Then in 1986, the dojo moved its location to Peachtree Corners, where today it stands on Spalding Drive as the most popular dojo in the Atlanta area.

Over 40 years later, two of his sons now help him run Taido Karate, bringing the words “family business” to a whole new level. Mitsunobu still serves as the Grand Master, with his son Mitsuaki as the General Manager, and his other son, Musashi, as the Assistant Manager. Not to mention Brendan Dumont, a 5th-degree black belt who has been the Head Instructor at Taido for so long that he feels like family.

Family extends into community

The Uchida family growing up in Peachtree Corners was not only a great influence on the community, but it made for an interesting childhood worthy of any box office screen. Mitsunobu never taught anyone to wax on, wax off, but he was once quoted saying “it’s raining dogs and cats outside.”

Taido Karate students with their teachers

And did we mention that all of his four sons are black belts? The boys each attended Pickneyville Norcross High School where his son Mitsuaki has fond memories of being able to show off his gymnastic skills in front of the cheerleaders. “We would walk into the gymnasium where they were holding practice, and just bust out a roundoff,” he said. “They would be so impressed, and that’s when we would tell them that so much of karate is similar to gymnastics.”

Taido Karate now boasts three generations of students. There are those who learned under the tutelage of Mitsuaki’s grandfather, then his father, Grandmaster Mitsunobu — and now even Mitsuaki is teaching the children or grandchildren of those same students!

The dojo has truly become a pillar in the community of Peachtree Corners, and they say that their favorite part about America is how diverse and wonderful the people are, especially the city of Peachtree Corners. “I think people feel comfortable with being a part of something run by an interracial family [half Japanese, half American],” Mitsuaki said. “We never pushed to be diverse because we never needed to.”

Now Mitsuaki notices whenever there is a Muslim or Jewish holiday, because large chunks of the class will suddenly be missing. Taido is truly a melting pot of the American dream, where all races and nationalities can come together and learn all the fulfillment that karate can give. He jokes that there was a surge in students after the famous 1984 flick, but the biggest drop in attendance they have seen was during the pandemic.

Meeting the pandemic head-on

Before COVID-19, Taido Karate had over 400 students in attendance; within a few weeks, that number dropped to zero. So, with some quick thinking, they switched the entire program to 100% online Zoom classes for April and May of 2020. “We received an overwhelming amount of support from the community, and so many wonderful emails from parents during that time.”

The parents of the Taido Dojo were extremely grateful that the Uchida family kept classes running for the kids and gave them something to do at a time when parents were going nuts.

Then in June of 2020, the dojo decided to reopen their in-person classes and combine them with the online sessions. Mitsuaki recalls that confusing time in the dojo’s history, “It reached the point where there was so much information out there, you could literally go online and find whatever you wanted to support your theory, so we decided to do what made sense for us.”

They kept the students six feet apart, allowed them to decide whether or not they wanted to wear masks, and over a year later they have a record of zero reported cases of COVID in the Taido dojo.

Currently, the Zoom class has been completely phased out, because almost the entire roster has decided to come back for in-person training with the Uchida family. But while the class size has returned to normal, they are still waiting for churches to open up — that’s where they hold competitions — so students can return to competing in tournaments.

Champions here and in Japan

While there are some similarities between the Taido Karate dojo and that famous tournament movie scene, there is one thing that Daniel LaRusso never got to do, and that is compete in in a worldwide tournament in Japan.

Every four years, the students of Taido Karate get the honor of traveling to Japan with their families to compete in worldwide Karate championships. Just like a mini version of the Olympics, the International Friendship Tournament switches off with the Japanese team, and every two years they come to America to compete, while the other two, the American team comes to them.

A total of 90 American students, plus their parents, travel together in a skillfully coordinated journey planned by Mitsuaki himself. Among many hurdles to overcome, he jokes that the hardest part of planning a trip that large was navigating the train system in Japan.

“It was like the Titanic,” he said. “The trains in Japan only stop for 60 seconds and that’s all you have to get 100+ people on board with their luggage. So we would have women and children enter one car while the men would throw all of the luggage into another car. It was crazy, but fun!”

The best part about the students getting to tour the country with a real Japanese tour guide, is that they get to experience the culture firsthand. One of the black belt students even ended up loving Japan so much that he moved there and is still living there today with his Japanese wife.

Mitsuaki boasts that they even won the Championships once while in Japan, and it was a great moment for the Taido team. The last tournament got cancelled three days beforehand due to COVID, and Mitsuaki has had all the trophies packed away ever since.

The Taido Karate family and their many students are eager to get back to competing in tournaments, including the World Taido Championships that will compete in Japan and Europe as soon as they receive the go-ahead.

Even if you’re not a Karate fan, you can surely appreciate the family legacy that the Uchida family has brought to so many generations of Peachtree Corners residents.

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Business

City of Peachtree Corners Extends Its International Reach

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A group of Japanese and American business people and city officials standing together for a photo at Peachtree Corners City Hall.

Although a precise number of countries with companies that do business with and inside the City of Peachtree Corners isn’t readily available, it’s obvious there is a broad international presence in this metro Atlanta community that is becoming the center of the Southeast’s Silicon Orchard — with technology incubator, Curiosity Lab, being a primary factor in this reach for global business.

One of the most recent endeavors took place at an announcement ceremony on July 1 when Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), formerly the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, signed a memorandum of understanding with Peachtree Corners. This agreement formalizes an already long-standing relationship between the city, Curiosity Lab and MUFG and recognizes a partnership aimed at advancing innovative solutions in transportation and Smart City technology.

(from left), Hiroyuki Akiyama, Brian Johnson, Yukata Fujishiro, Mayor Mason, Mio Maeda and Yuichi Arai; Photo by Rannulf Media

Joining Peachtree Corners Mayor Mike Mason and City Manager Brian Johnson at the event were Mio Maeda, consul general of Japan, Yukata Fujishiro, head of JCB for the Americas at MUFG Bank, Hiroyuki Akiyama, chief executive director of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Atlanta, a non-profit that provides business support services to companies expanding to Japan and Yuichi Arai of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia.

Two countries, one goal

The bank’s unique MOU with Curiosity Lab is the first of its kind, focusing on scaling startups and innovation, setting a new standard in the financial sector. Mayor Mason emphasized the economic development benefits of the collaboration.

“The reason we [built Curiosity Lab] was for economic development,” he said. “And when you have [an organization with] the same goals, a partnership like this develops, and it does nothing but further our goals for the economic development of our citizens in the broader community.”

Mason added that this collaboration will strengthen the already powerful relationship between the city and the country.

“We leverage that to open up our markets — your markets to us, our markets to you. And only good can come with that,” he said.

Maeda agreed that the association will open new doors for both entities.

“More than 800 Japanese companies and Japanese-affiliated companies and offices with activities are in the state of Georgia,” he said. “It’s huge, but mainly they are in areas of manufacturing. This partnership opens up new frontiers of the relationship between Japan and Georgia in advanced technology.”

Future success built on past engagement

Fujishiro put it all into perspective when he emphasized the company’s legacy and its future. MUFG’s mission is to connect companies, society and local governments, highlighting their extensive network in Japan.

“MUFG has been innovating for over three centuries, and Curiosity Lab is leading innovation for the future. Together, we can create cities that are smarter, faster, cleaner and more efficient,” he said.

One Japanese man wearing a grey suit standing between two American men, also wearing suits, at a business event at Peachtree Corners City Hall.
(from left), Brian Johnson, Mio Maeda and Mayor Mason; Photo by Rannulf Media

It’s not a coincidence that the partnership is taking place here. The support network in metro Atlanta has been instrumental in formalizing the relationship with MUFG. As the largest bank in Japan and one of the top ten in the world, MUFG embraces new ways of doing things while staying true to its core values.

“Urban infrastructure is a large part of our work,” said Fujishiro. “We financed the new Terminal One at New York’s JFK Airport. [And] MUFG is one of the banks that contributed to the investment in the construction of Mercedes Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Curiosity Lab,” he continued. “They are pioneering the next generation of city infrastructure with autonomous vehicles, solar-powered roads and smart public technologies from all over the world. And Peachtree Corners has created a dream come true for companies across industries: a testing site where local government encourages private industry.”

Innovation and growth

MUFG’s 360 years in existence isn’t a fluke. The company looks for innovative ways to enhance its profile. They host accelerate events in Japan and have a venture capital and equity fund to invest in startups globally — something that’s not standard practice in many American banks. But it has already proven successful in this country, as the Atlanta office is approaching its 50th anniversary.

“This milestone reflects our long-standing commitment to the economic development of the region,” Fujishiro said. “Supporting Japanese businesses has been an integral part of this commitment. We have the reach of a global institution and the client service of a local branch. This unique culture allows us to connect Japanese companies with the best opportunities abroad.”

The dedication to innovation and infrastructure shared by MUFG and Peachtree Corners makes the partnership more valuable, he said.

Johnson explained that the coalition with MUFG was an obvious win for the city.

“We have an opportunity and a location to scale technology, to make the world a better place and to make it easier to do so. And so we’re really excited that that goal and mission marries well with MUFG,” he said.

“MUFG is a bank that understands the challenges that companies in the innovation space have,” Johnson added, “and they created an internal framework to help those companies, and a framework for external partnerships so that we can connect companies and products … and together try to make the world we live in a little bit safer, smarter, cleaner.”

This partnership between the city and MUFG aims to foster innovation and urban infrastructure and connect Japanese companies with global opportunities, leveraging MUFG’s global reach and local client service.

For more about MUFG, visit mufgamericas.com.

To learn more about Curiosity Lab of Peachtree Corners, visit curiositylabptc.com.

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The City and PCBA Welcome Ride Lounge with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

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A group of people at an indoor ribbon cutting ceremony for Ride Lounge

The Peachtree Corners Business Association and the City of Peachtree Corners officially welcomed Ride Lounge, one of the city’s newest businesses, with a morning ribbon cutting ceremony on May 29.

From 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., members of the city and PCBA, along with members of the community, enjoyed mingling, getting to know the Ride Lounge staff and learning more about the unique company.

A group of men at an indoor ribbon cutting ceremony for Ride Lounge

Guests also enjoyed a light breakfast spread of bagels, fresh fruit, coffee and juice and brief speeches from featured guests.

Welcoming the business

Lisa Procter from the PCBA spoke first and thanked Ride Lounge for being part of the PCBA and the Peachtree Corners community. She also recognized the collaboration between the organization and Ride Lounge in hosting the ribbon cutting.

“The PCBA was proud to coordinate with Ride Lounge and the community to make this event a success,” Procter shared.

Mayor Mike Mason followed Procter in addressing the crowd and talked about the state of business in Peachtree Corners and how companies like Ride Lounge help make the city a great place to live and work.

Dave Codrea and Josh Friedensohn, founders of Ride Lounge, then thanked everyone for coming and shared a little about the company and their vision.

The cutting of the ribbon and photos followed the brief speeches. Afterwards, the crowd was invited to tour the space and spend more time chatting and networking.

About Ride Lounge

The Ride Lounge is more than a car storage facility, it’s a place that celebrates car culture; where car enthusiasts can meet to discuss their passion and show off their vehicles.

Founders Dave and Josh wanted to create a welcoming community that people would trust to store their vehicles, but that would also offer a club-like atmosphere and host fun, car-centered events that the whole family could enjoy.

Ride Lounge’s 20,300-square-foot facility is comprised of 58 parking spaces with the potential to include car lifts in certain areas. There are cozy seating areas, a meeting space and kitchen area so members can hang out, relax and talk cars.

Interior seating area at Ride Lounge.

Designed for cars that are driven and enjoyed by families, Ride Lounge has room to hold up to 400 people for special events and activities.

To learn more about Ride Lounge, visit ride-lounge.com.

For more about the PCBA, visit peachtreecornersba.com.

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Business

Music Matters Productions Expands Peachtree Corners Headquarters

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Interior of a spacious, clean and well-organized music production warehouse. There are tall ceilings with rows of lights, metal shelves full of audio/visual equipment and larger pieces of equipment grouped on the floor throughout the space.

Company adds 20,000 square feet to meet growing demand

Music Matters Productions (MMP), a premier provider of audio, lighting, video, staging and rigging solutions, has expanded its metro Atlanta headquarters, increasing the total warehouse footprint from 40,000 to 60,000 square feet.

In addition, MMP has opened a second 10,000-square-foot building directly across the street to house its growing corporate production division.

The expansion comes in response to increased demand across touring, festival and corporate markets, as well as the continued growth of MMP’s high-end gear inventory. With a fully dedicated shop for each department, including audio, lighting, video, rigging and staging, the new layout provides more space for show prep, pre-rigging and crew coordination, allowing for even more efficient load-ins and streamlined execution.

New features

The rigging department now features a new mobile motor hoist test stand, allowing for in-house motor certification, a service that’s now available to external clients in the production community.

Large warehouse space full of audio/visual equipment
Photo courtesy of Music Matters Productions

Five new truck bays were added in the process, as well, bringing the total number of bays to 17 — an important upgrade for MMP’s fleet and the increasing number of shows moving through the warehouse each week.

“This growth is a direct reflection of the work our team puts in and the trust our clients place in us,” said Aaron Soriero, owner of Music Matters Productions. “We didn’t expand for the sake of being bigger, we expanded because we needed the space to do the job right. More room means tighter prep, faster turns and better support for our clients.”

Expanding operations

The expanded warehouse and building across the street include additional offices, mixed-use areas and a dedicated repairs department, giving the team more capacity to prep, collaborate, QC and scale for increasingly complex events — both corporate and entertainment.

With a reputation built on reliable gear, experienced crews and an enhanced client experience, MMP continues to solidify its role as a go-to production partner for events of every size and setting — whether it’s a beachside festival, a stadium tour, brand activation or a high-stakes corporate show.

About Music Matters Productions

Music Matters Productions is a full-service live event production company based in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, providing industry-leading audio, lighting, video, rigging and staging solutions for tours, festivals, brand activations and corporate events across the country.

Known for its high-end inventory, seasoned crew and deep dedication to doing the job right, MMP supports hundreds of productions each year and is trusted by clients nationwide.

For more information, visit mmp-atl.com.

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