Saturday, September 1, 2012

September 2012 Newletter

REGULAR ADULT CLASSES BACK IN SESSION

School is back in session and we are moving into fall. The Adult Classes are back to regular schedule. During the month of September we will have "Bring a Friend" to class on Monday evenings during the Adult Beginners class. For those parents that have children in class and have always wanted to take lessons here is an opportunity to bring a friend and come to class.

KARATE KID SATURDAY

On Saturday, August 25th Mr. Williams invited students from all the youth classes to bring a friend and come down to the school for a short class and viewing of the Karate Kid movie. Everyone had a good time. There was popcorn, cookies, chex mix and pretzels. Mrs. Clarke sent some homemade cookies that didn't last very long. Yum...yum! All the friends recieved five free lessons.

TOURNAMENTS

On September 8th there are two tournaments in El Dorado on the same day. I will be going to Mr. Estes's tournament and Ms. Warring will be going to Mr. Clayborn's. Feel free to attend which ever one you wish. 

Dave Estes Karate Tournament
Saturday September 8, 2012
El Dorado Ks 4H Building
200 N. Griffith
Eldorado, Kansas
CONTACT: Dave Estes 316-320-5425

Kent Clayborn's Annual Karate Tournament
Saturday September 8th
El Dorado High School Rec Center
401 McCollum Rd.
El Dorado, Kansas
CONTACT: Kent Clayborn 316-321-2380

WHEAT STATE CLASSIC RESULTS
Saturday August 18, 2012

Aaron Armbrust 7-8 Novice
3rd Place Sparring

Lazarus Garcia 7-8 Int.
4th Place Kata
4th Place Sparring

Dakota Douglas 9-10 Novice
2nd Place Kata
2nd Place Sparring

Nolan Clarke 11-12 Int.
4th Place Weapons
1st Place kata

Tate Sazama 11-12 Adv.
3rd Place Weapons
2nd Place Kata

Cristine Warring Adult Black Belt
2nd - weapons senior black belt division
1st - kata women's senior black belt division
2nd - sparring women's senior black belt division

MR. WILLIAMS RECEIVES TAEKWONDO PROMOTION

On August 15th Mr. Williams was promoted to 7th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo by his first instructor, Mr. Manuel Pina. Mr. Pina is a 9th Degree black belt in Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan. Mr. Williams was the first student to be promoted to black belt by Mr. Pina in August of 1982.

WOMEN'S SELF DEFENSE

American Karate's annual "FREE" Women's Self Defense workshop is coming up in October, date to be announced. It will take place on a Saturday. Check our website as the month of October draws closer.

SPORT KARATE

In today's terminology, Sport Karate (or Sport Martial Arts) is the application of competitive martial arts in a sporting environment, and has been around for a few decades. The two main categories/divisions of competition are Fighting and Forms. Within those two categories, there are various areas of competition such as weapon forms, musical forms, team forms, team fighting, continuous fighting, and many more divisions (depending what sanction an athlete competes in). Sport Martial Arts is quickly evolving as competitors continue to push the envelope of what people are physically capable of doing. This not only has increased the level of competition, but also allows martial art athletes to be more innovative in their traditional and competitive training. All of the various divisions at a Sport Karate tournament are broken up into age categories and levels of martial art experience to even out the competition. Age groups vary from event-to-event, but experience is usually the same. Less then 1 year is considered a beginner, 2 - 3 years is intermediate, 3 or more years is advanced and Black Belts are segregated from all other under belts (non-black belts). Will I get hurt? Well, you are fighting another person, so chances are you'll end up with a bruise or two at the end of a match. But Sport Martial Arts wouldn't have gained the popularity it currently has if athletes kept on getting injured like we did in the late 60's and 70's. Many times you can go through a match wondering when you got hit or kicked! Almost all sanctions require the athletes to wear protective gear to prevent injury and judges are always close by to monitor the match. Think of a sanction as a league, there are different types and different levels. Be sure you know what the rules of a particular sanction are before you join to ensure it is the type of competition you're looking for. Sport Karate is interesting to watch but is not for everyone. Traditional Tournament Karate however, is becoming a thing of the past.

If you or your employer would like to make a donation to the school to help purchase equipment or help a disadvantaged youth take martial arts lessons please fill out this form or pick one up at the school.