“We are what we repeatedly do, Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”
Aristotle
STATE GAMES OF AMERICA
August 2015
The National Congress of State Games has awarded hosting rights for the 2015 State Games of America to Lincoln, Nebraska. The biennial multi-sport festival will take place July 28–August 2, 2015 and will draw an estimated 20,000 athletes, 5,000 volunteers and 22,000+ spectators. All gold, silver and bronze medalists from National Congress of State Games Member State programs (Winter and Summer) in 2013, 2014 and prior to July 1 of 2015 are eligible to compete in SGA 2015.
If you are interested in attending the State Games of America let Mr. Williams know. Again, good job to those that competed in this year’s State Games.
AMERICAN KARATE & FITNESS Is An ATTITUDE
The aerobic kickboxing boot camp has been well attended and is going well. If you missed your goal on your “after the holidays” weight loss get a jump start now. Classes are Monday through Thursday. We dropped the Friday evening class.
We are still looking for an Aerobics Instructor that has experience in multiple programs including step, conventional, kettle bell, zumba and other aerobic exercise. The more versatile the skill set the better. If you know someone who is upbeat, high energy and interested in joining our team have them contact Tommy at 620-665-3800 or email americankarate1@prodigy.net for more information.
Monday and Wednesday…..….…6:30pm - 7:15pm
Tuesday and Thursday…………...4:15pm - 5:00pm
CLASS FEES
MONTHLY RATE $40.00
FAMILY RATE(X2) $67.00
AKMS PUNCH CARD $45.00
UNIVERSAL PUNCH CARD $45.00
DAILY WALK-IN $5.00
SPECIALTY CLASSES
For those that are interested in Team Kata, Musical or Weapons Kata take advantage of the opportunity. If you have several partners and want to give Team Kata a try class is Monday evenings at 5:30. If you have the desire to express your art through music give musical kata a go. For students that are purple belt level and above weapons classes are Wednesdays at 5:30. All of these classes a hard working, but rewarding. As a reminder, the weapons class is an “Add-On” class and there is a monthly fee of $10.00 in addition to your monthly tuition.
REGULAR HOURS
Summer hours will end effective August 31st, 2014. We will be back to regular scheduled hours September 2nd as the first is a State Holiday.
CLASSES OFFERED MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY By class:
Class
/ Level
|
Time
|
Days
|
Ages
|
Musical
/ Team Kata
|
5:30 – 6:30
|
M
|
6
& over
|
Weapons
|
5:30 – 6:30
|
W
|
Purple
belt & over
|
Youth
Novice
|
5:30 – 6:15
|
T
& Th
|
6
– 12
|
Youth
Intermediate
|
6:30 – 7:30
|
M
& W
|
6
– 12
|
Adult
Novice
|
7:30 – 8:30
|
M
& W
|
13
& over
|
Adult
Intermediate
|
6:30 – 7:30
|
T
& Th
|
13
& over
|
Adult
Advanced
|
7:30 – 8:30
|
T
& Th
|
13
& over
|
BLACK BELT CLASS & MEETING
Black belt class will be at 10:00 Saturday morning September 6th with a short meeting at 11:00 am. We will be discussing teaching format for kids and Monday class coverage for the 6:30 class.
TOURNAMENTS
KENT CLAYBORN’S ANNUAL KARATE OPEN
Saturday September 20th, 2014
El Dorado High School Recreation Center
401 McCollum Road
El Dorado, Kansas
CONTACT: Kent Clayborn 316-321-2380
WEST COAST MARTIAL ARTS TRI-STATE CLASSIC
Saturday September 27th, 2014
2110 1st Ave.
Dodge City, Kansas
CONTACT: Michael or Liliana Zuniga 620-225-3980
WOMEN’S SELF-DEFENSE
OCTOBER 2014
Domestic Violence Awareness Month evolved from the first Day of Unity observed in October, 1981 by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The intent was to connect battered women’s advocates across the nation who were working to end violence against women and their children. The Day of Unity soon became a special week when a range of activities were conducted at the local, state, and national levels. Domestic violence is best understood as a pattern of abusive behaviors–including physical, sexual, and psychological attacks as well as economic coercion–used by one intimate partner against another (adult or adolescent) to gain, maintain, or regain power and control in the relationship. Batterers use of a range of tactics to frighten, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, often injure, and sometimes kill a current or former intimate partner.
In support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month we will be holding our annual Women’s Self Defense Workshop. The date will be set as the month draws near.
OPENING A DOJO
Who would want to go through all of the actions it takes to opening a new school? Well, it would be someone who loves the Martial Arts, and wants to share the knowledge, skills and ‘way’ to others.
All of the preparation to open a new school (dojo/dojang) takes patience, time, money, support from others, equipment, etc. It truly is not an easy task to accomplish. One may wonder part-way into the process why am I going through all of this? The answer, I love the Arts, and want to share the knowledge, skills and ‘way’ to others.
The preparation, also, includes furniture, wall decorum, proper licensing of the business, as applicable, etc. If, you are working another job or not working (perhaps, retired), the entire process requires your most valued asset---your time.
The process does not end there/here! All at the same time, you must have enrollments/students, so advertising your new school is a must. No students, no purpose of establishing a new dojo. Hopefully, the “reaching out to touch people” to know about your new endeavor aligns with the opening of the newly opened school from the ads, flyers, mall scripting, demonstrations, workshops, radio, press releases, cable TV, word of mouth, Facebook, Linkedin, and list can go on and on in getting people to become students in your dojo.
Again, I ask, why would a presumably sane person want to open a dojo/dojang/school/training facility, etc. Answer, “I love the Arts and want to share the knowledge, skills and ‘way’ to others”, and the supporting part to the statement would be to earn additional income.
As most school owners know the rate per student per class of instruction is never a true value in what is taught or transferred in correlating it to instructions of improving one’s life, saving one’s life with many techniques to choose from, and/or giving one a different perspective on one’s life. There is no cost to substantiate a charge/tuition to equate to the multiple positive benefits from instructions.
The true sense of school ownership is not absent from the financial burden and gain from one’s supposedly desire to share the knowledge and skills of the martial arts. So, one should consider all of this, and then some in making a decision to open a dojo. What do you think? All comments: youngsankarate@youngsankarate.com.
H. James Young, Chief Instructor-Young San Karate-Maryland
CLASSICAL vs. TRADITIONAL MARTIAL ARTS
No martial art is supposed to stay the same. If it does it is a dead art. Your art is the art your instructors teaches you. But what makes it your own is your personal expression.
Sijo Steve Muhammad
When I heard this quote from “Papa” Sanders (Steve Muhammad) it made me think about the martial arts I grew up in as a kid. Back in the day, early 70’s for me, martial arts in American was starting to evolve. The first art I studied and earned a black belt in was Taekwondo, Moo Duk Kwan. It was a classical system under the Korea Taekwondo Federation. From the middle 40’s through the early 70’s most systems in America were what I call today as Classical. Back then they were called traditional systems such as Taekwondo, Goju, Shotokan, Shorinryu…etc. They were referred to as traditional because there was no deviation or altering of critical skill sets such as kata, step sparring, self defense even including how a technique was delivered. Now the lines are blurred and you can’t tell some systems from others. When it comes to your martial arts pedigree it was a “good thing” to be associated with a traditional system that linked you to the “masters” such as Mabuni, Miyagi, Yamaguchi, Funakoshi and Oyama. Many of these gentlemen were students of other instructors and they broke away and founded their own arts and systems. Of course they were highly skilled and moderately ranked. Today many of our American schools allow you to express yourself and make the skills that are given to you by your instructor as your own. There is no need for you to break away and form your own art. In today’s world that…is a good thing. Martial Arts are no longer taught to everyone in a military format where everyone has to do the same series of moves the same way. That was good for the military and good for structure but not always good for the individual. Today we have tools and not techniques. In order for us to excel in our craft or art we must be able to take a tool and make it second nature. If it does not work for us we can discard it or put it in our tool box for another day. At five foot nine and two hundred and seven pounds I have to take everything my former instructors gave me and make it my own. I can’t express myself if I am held to a lesser or greater person of statures standards in the arts. At American Karate & Martial Science we are not a “Classical” school but we are “Traditional”. Our traditions are rooted in classical systems but our system excels by allowing our students to express themselves with the physical gifts and personal talents God has given them. In turn what they give back traditions for further growth of the system. Reach One***Teach One
Thomas Williams, Chief Instructor
