MR. WILLIAMS’ SURGICAL PROCEDURE
Mr. Williams underwent total hip replacement surgery on March 24th. Everything went well and he is at home resting. He contributes his injury to years of martial arts training, competing, being taken down and performing exhibitions on concrete and hard wood floors with no mats. Mr. Williams stated that he could only imagine what shape his joints would be in today if he had all the equipment and flooring that he has in his school now that was non-existent for him all those years ago. He will be out for several weeks while classes will be continued by his black belts. The aerobic kickboxing boot camp will also continue to meet on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon with Christiana Wise covering the class. He would like to thank you for all the prayers, visits and assistance from his family, friends and students.
WOMEN’S SELF DEFENSE
Every year in April, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) helps lead communities throughout the country in their annual observances of National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW), which will be observed on April 10–16. This year's theme Serving Victims, Building Trust, Restoring Hope underscores the importance of early intervention and victim services in establishing trust with victims, which in turn begins to restore their hope for healing and recovery. In support of Crime Victims Week, American Karate will be hosting their first self defense workshop for women this year. This year’s workshop will be Saturday, April 16th from 9:30 am until 2:30 pm open to women and young ladies 13 and over. Visit with your friends and family. There will also be discussions on concealed carry and active shooter options.
-AKMS Defensive Tactics Team
TOURNAMENTS
AMERICAN SPORT KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
Saturday, March 5th, 2016 Lenexa, Kansas
Dylan Kiatoukaysy - 4th in Kata/Sparring (11 yrs old)
Brandon Kiatoukaysy - 4th in Kata/Sparring (10 yrs old)
Adam Kiatoukaysy - 3rd in Kata/Sparring (7yrs old first timer)
Andrew Kiatoukaysy - 2nd in Kata/Sparring (7yrs old first timer)
ST. JUDE BENEFIT TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Saturday, March 19, 2016 Topeka, Kansas
Chance Barr 7-8 Intermediate 1st Kata, 1st Weapons Kata, 1st Kumite
Jake Winters 7-8 Intermediate 2nd Kata, 2nd Kumite
Marcus Espinoza 7-8 Novice 2nd Kata, 2nd Kumite
DAVE ESTES KARATE TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Saturday, March 26th, 2016 El Dorado, Kansas
Cristine Warring Black Belt 2nd Kata, 1st Weapons Kata
Jake Winters 7-8 Intermediate 1st Kata, 4th Kumite
Dominic Rivera 7-8 Intermediate 4th Kata, 1st Kumite
MATT LEBEAU MEMORIAL KARATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday, April 30th, 2016
Memorial Road Church of Christ
2221 East Memorial Road
Edmond, Oklahoma
CONTACT: Johnny Whatley 405-330-1996
SAM’S SUMMER KICK OFF
TBA
CONTACT: Sam or Jessica Price 316-669-9051
KANSAS STATE SUNFLOWER GAMES
Saturday, July 9th, 2016
Christ The King Church
SW 25th and Wanamaker
Topeka, Kansas
CONTACT: Tony Mielenz, 785-554-4220, anthonymielenz@yahoo.com
JOURNALS FOR KARATE KIDS
Theoretically martial art training is the perfect activity/sport for kids with challenging behavior. For those of us that teach kids, it may be perfect for them but it is far from easy for us as instructors. If you believe everything you read in the forums and parenting magazines you’d think that simply enrolling a child in a martial art class is a miraculous remedy for their challenging behavior. I first started teaching kids about 27 years ago. Our school had grown to such an extent that we needed to add separate children’s classes. A small class of about 5 kids quickly grew to 20 and eventually 40 with different ages, different grades and only one instructor, me. Add to the mix at least one child with a diagnosed behavioral disorder and then on occasion those who because of the environment also exhibited challenging behavior. When teaching challenging kids it is best to remember that nothing is a quick fix. Most kids take a month or so to settle into regular classes. The more difficult kids about 6 months. Those with more entrenched problems can take up to 18 months, sometimes even longer. The fact is like any behavioral modification strategy, to get these kids engaged, keep them motivated and limit their disruptive behavior takes enormous amounts of support, planning, time and patience on the part of the instructor. This month we will be introducing journaling and some other physical activities to American Karate. Keeping a journal doesn't necessarily mean just writing about things that happened to you - that's more of a diary. Instead they can write about their thoughts and feelings, or work through a problem they may be having. Journaling for kids is a wonderful way to open up new horizons. A journal can be a friend, a confidant and a mentor. They can use them to be creative, find out more about themselves, develop intuition and solve problems. They can provide thoughts on kata, step sparring or other martial arts task. By getting thoughts out of their head and down on paper, they can gain insights about themselves that you and them otherwise never see.
-Tommy Williams, Chief Instructor
